CERFITT

Sectors

• ICT and Industry
  • Multimedia
  • Electronics/Electro-Technology
  • Microelectronics
  • Mechanics
  • Robotics
  • Industrial automation
• Life Sciences und Materials
  • Diagnostics
  • Nanotechnology
• Agricultural/food
  • Agricultural production
  • Microbiology
• Energy and Environment
  • Energy
  • Environmental protection

Services

• Research and Development
  • Commercialization of technologies
• Human Resources
  • Organisation of conferences, courses and seminars
  • Staff training
  • Partnerships with universities and other research institutes
  • Management consultancy
• Business
  • Development of business contacts
  • Consultancy related to intellectual property
  • Access to venture capital
  • Network formations
• Administrative services
  • Consultancy for dealing with public administration
  • Administrative services for located companies
  • Support of relations with the EU
  • Technical support in the selection of locations by companies and laboratory facilities
• Other services
  • Territorial marketing
  • Location marketing

Data and Facts

Key data

• Founded in: 1996
• Seats: 1
• Companies: 15 currently (20 altogether)
• Employees: 4 employees in the technology transfer pool + about 100 employees in the resident companies + about 150 employees in the university research centres
• Area for research facilities: altogether 950 m², of which the 350 in the pool and 600 in the research centres
• Total area: 7.000 m²
• Available area for new locations: 250 m²
• Research centres: 7 associated university research centres

Companies

• Aedit srl (www.aedit.it)
• Age Solutions snc (www.age-solutions.com)
• Aim srl (www.aimconsulting.it)
• Branciforti Elettronica (www.branciforti.it)
• Electrawinds Italia spa (www.electrawinds.be)
• Encrea srl (www.encrea.com)
• Energy Master srl (www.energy-master.it)
• Ergo srl
• Fatronik Italy srl (www.fatronik.com)
• Forsense Technology srl (www.forsense-tech.com)
• Glayx srl (www.glayx.com)
• Iamboo snc (www.iamboo.it)
• ProteoGen Bio srl (www.proteogenbio.com)
• VR-Media srl (www.vrmedia.it)
• Win srl (www.winmed.it)

Sponsors

Predominantly public authorities:

• Public facilities (4): Province Pisa, Commune Pontedera, Commune Bientina, Commune Calcinaia
• Universities (2): Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa; Università di Pisa
• Credit Institutions (3): Fidi Toscana; Banca Popolare di Lajatico; Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Fornacette
• Private companies (1): Piaggio & C SpA
• Professional associations (2): Unione Industriali Pisana - Industrial Association of Pisa; CNA - National Crafts Association and the SMEs

Objectives

• Technological consulting for companies and institutions
• Enhancement of the technology level of companies and institutions
• Intensification of relations between universities and companies
• Enhancement of the competitiveness of companies
• Site marketing

Network

• APSTI (Italian Association of the Science and Technology Parks)
• ADACI (Italian Association of Inventory Management)

Location

Location and Environment

Infrastructure and links

Accessibility

• Dual carriageway Florence-Pisa-Livorno: 1 Km
• Motorway A12: 25 Km
• Motorway A1: 65 Km

Technology transfer

Activities

Pharmaceuticals / Biomedicine Sectors

• In the Medical Devices sector, the focus is on the cooperation in networks between Italian and foreign companies
• Build-up of a GMP structure (Good Manufacturing Practices) for the development and production of drugs
• Project for the promotion of biomedicine (Hong Kong, USA, Arab Emirates): Cooperation exists between Tuscany and ICE. The aim is the organisation of diverse delegation trips to push ahead with business matching in the field of biomedicine (in addition, similar cooperations exist with the National Institute of Health and the American Consulate to support business matching also in these countries)

Alternative Energies Sector

- Project H2 – Hydrogen (Ministry for Universities and Research):

• SAVIA Project (drive systems based on hydrogen and ammoniac) – Tuscany Region
• NanoCatGeo Project (New nanostructured catalysators for the generation of electro-chemically produced hydrogen by wind devices) (private commission)

Mechanics Sector

• ESSETRE Project: Experimentation in the Pisa – Livorno - Luca urban area in the use of simulation and virtual reality for the provision of information on industrial process and co-design, for goods and materials movements and for industrial safety at work training.
• PRAGMA Project: Experimentation with virtual aggregation models between the most important local small and medium sized suppliers. Topic areas such as logistics solutions at the local level, co-dedesign and planning and the diversification to national and international markets are the centre of attention.
• Mechanical Training Project: the new training initiative, which, in particular, is aimed at the suppliers of mechanical components, is intended to react to specific ruiements and enquiries manifested in the industrial system in the Italian Region of Valdera.
• SINTEGES Project: The project supports the integration between the corporate application of Piaggio SpA and those of the local suppliers. This integration is intended among other things to be guaranteed among other things by progressive qualification and the use of a joint IT platform.

New Materials Sector

• Design and running of laboratories for research into new and re-usable plastic polymers (University of Pisa)

Netzwerke

• INCUBA.TO.RE Project: Structuring of a regional incubator network based on the identification of parameters, which should represent a joint basis for a recognisable incubation structure for the foundation and growth of new SMEs.
• Feasibility studies for competence centres for the sectors: o Life Sciences o Corporate incubation o ICT applications

Contacts to Germany already exist:

• Institute of Healthcare Industries, Steinbeis University.
• Institut fur Medizintechnik and Biophysik, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe
• Novineon Healthcare Technology Partners

There are numerous contacts with Germany, above all with the research centres IMM (Mainz), the Karlsruhe Research Centre (Karlsruhe), Steinbeis University (Berlin).

Contacts to foreign companies are welcomed in the following areas:

Contacts would be welcome in the automotive sector.

Research and Development

New polymer compounds

Description

The research project deals with the search for new polymer compounds of used plastics.

Aim

The project is aimed at the research and experimentation of new compound polymers of used plastic. Specifically for this project, a special technology laboratory is being made available in cooperation with the University of Pisa. The four phase project based on industry investments for the preparation of plastic materials belongs, as a result of the agreement concluded between the Tuscany Region and the Province of Pisa for regional development to the priority projects in the region. The experimenting and testing of new compound polymers are the centre of attention; activation of a chain, which generates new products by means of material recycling and production of new goods, also with compatible characteristics for movement components. The project has the special feature of having committed one of the main actors for the processing of used plastics as a partner, exclusively for collection in the whole region.

Project H2

Project H2 – hydrogen compound (Ministry for Universities and Research)

Description

Aim

• Realisation of concrete applications, in particular, in the field of motion systems. This should on the one hand reduce the environmental contamination caused by road traffic in towns and on the other hand support alternative mobility systems.
• Rapid agreement for the use of hydrogen also for engines, which are based on traditional and already available technologies; thus today there can be effective dealing the problems so the 'system' (infrastructuring, legislation, components, mobility models, etc.), which in any case also should be considered with respect to the use of innovative technologies such as for example fuel elements (an own activity series was dedicated to it).
• Experimental tests with regard to the reduction of environmental loading and the efficiency enhancement of the whole process, the methods and the technologies for hydrogen production, in which use is made both of energy sources gained from renewable energy sources and also from the exclusion produced by means of the refining of hydrocarbons or other industrial processes.
• Research and Development of industrial IT applications and enabeling technologies in the field of process and product safety. In the limelight, besides the safe production of energy are, above all, systems for monitoring parameters for hydrogen combustion.

Incubator and Incentives

Incubator

• Space available in the incubator: The maximum utilisation is currently for 22 companies (in total 1500 m²), plus conference and common rooms.
• Pont-Tech is located near the industrial zone of Pontedera (there, among other things, Piaggio SpA is situated, the largest European motor cycle manufacturer)
• Offices with broadband Internet access, server room, laboratories for micro-robotics, micromechanics and electronics, equipped clean rooms, mechanical workshop, use of multimedia rooms and videoconferencing. From 2011, in addition to a room for immersive visualisation and a large conference room, there will be new laboratories for material samples and tests available.
• Two foreign companies are located on site: Electrawinds (B) and Fatronik (ES).

Regional incentives

• Regional premium for the purchase of “advanced services“(including those for the incubation)
• “Early Stage” fund (Toscana Region)
• „SICI Toscana Innovazione“ fund

Other incentives

• Rotating fund of the Pisa Chamber of Commerce for funding start-ups
• Receipt of the regional premium for funding start-ups