where they are designed and made customized, special models, sewn on the customer’s needs
Proxaut’s DNA has deep origins, coming from the intuition of a visionary entrepreneur Stefano Ballotti, who in the 90s decided to leave the family company and dedicated himself to automation.
This is how in 1996 Proxaut was founded, the “tailoring of the AGV”, where customised, specialised and tailor-made models of automated guided vehicles are designed and produced.
“1996 and 2022” are the years that Mr. Ballotti Stefano promptly answers when we ask him the most important dates he remembers about PROXAUT.
“1996 is the foundation year, the year I decided to open my own business and dedicate myself to the design of automation systems.
Hence the company name from the Italian words Pro (Progetto meaning design) X Aut (Automazione means automation).
The other year is 2022, the year in which I decided to sell the company to the Middleby Group, an American group that I already knew as an important customer of ours for AGVs systems in the meat / protein and bakery sectors.
When we ask Mr Ballotti what he has pursued over the years, he replies with a smile: “What have I really wanted to do over the years?
Well…special vehicles with a unique style. In other words technology, but in the way the Italians mean it: quality and design… that’s what the world is looking for, isn’t it? The technology and the know-how. The unique style.
Our curiosity is high and we naturally ask the question that everyone more or less asks: “Why do you have a unicorn as a symbol to complete the PROXAUT logo?”.
Ballotti answers: “In 2020, a team of people from the Sales and Marketing Department and I realised that the time was right for a new brand.
A new logo that would have to represent us in Italy but above all abroad. It was time to go outside the borders and export our products to new markets. So UNICO was born.
The reason why we chose a unicorn is very simple. It is the animal that most personifies and conveys the soul of PROXAUT. UNICO is a leading animal that always looks ahead – hence our motto KEEP GOING-. UNICO is powerful and fast. It faces life with pride, aware that it is different from others. An excellence icon ready to move towards the world”.
When we ask: “What do you expect from the future, at Middleby’s side?”, Mr. Ballotti stares at us in a fatherly way, the look of a father who has grown up a son who is now free to lead his own life, and answers: “We expect a great future, many new projects in collaboration with the other brands in the group, and a stability. Research and development.
Now PROXAUT is ready to take a further leap forward and grow. I have done my part, now it is the turn of others.
Proxaut is a solid company, the Middleby Group is a colossus, there are all the prerequisites for a rich and prosperous future. If you drink or eat anything, it is certain that there is a Middleby Group company behind this product that has played an important role in producing it. Believe me!”
With these words Mr. Ballotti greets us and says “KEEP GOING”.
