Interview with Aldo Fontana and Sergio Ravasi

Aquarelle’s production

Fabric cutting for bikinis and men’s swimwear: tailor-made solutions and millimetre-precision.

The acquisition of the right FKgroup machine for cutting fabrics for bikinis and men’s swimsuits has given a boost to Aquarelle’s production, a company specialised in the production of swimwear for third parties.


It is a Made-in-Italy excellence that’s able to offer a complete service to its customers and which runs on 100% renewable energy.

With the purchase of a FKgroup fabric cutting machine, Aquarelle has sped up production and enhanced the quality of automatic cutting.

A historic company founded in 1978 in Novedrate, in the province of Como, Aquarelle has decided to rely on FKgroup to consolidate its position as a partner specialised in the production of bikinis and men’s swimsuits for third parties. The company’s point of sale in Novedrate offers a selection of top-quality swimsuits and beachwear, all strictly made from eco-friendly materials. The entire production is made with Italian fabrics and processes that put quality, sustainability and the beauty of every single garment first.

As pointed out by Aldo Fontana and Sergio Ravasi, the acquisition of a Biliardo cutting machine with an augmented reality camera (ARC) has made it possible not only to reduce production times, but an increase in orders and the possibility to manage the cutting of fabrics with complex graphics with extreme precision as well.

Where did the need for a FKgroup fabric cutting machine come from?

Sergio Ravasi: The need for a FKgroup cutting machine stems from our optimistic vision of the future, which sees Aquarelle as a company capable of growing, positioning itself increasingly as a leader in the sector in Italy and beyond.
We work mostly with materials such as polyamide elastomer, cotton and 100% polyester cotton, both stretch and non-stretch. That’s why we needed a machine that could adapt to the different specificities and that would help us to provide an increasingly complete service to our customers.

With FKgroup, we have chosen the top of the range of fabric cutting machines, a choice that has enabled us to take on jobs that were previously impossible.

Aldo Fontana: That’s right, we opted for a 4.2 m Biliardo fabric cutting machine.
We are able to cut up to 2.5 cm of suctioned fabric and, thanks to the ARC augmented reality system, we achieve single-sheet cutting of fabrics with centred and symmetrical lines and graphics.
Today, we have the possibility to work with traditional spreading and also with single-fabric photographic spreading as well.

How has your production changed after the investment in the new fabric cutting machine equipped with ARC (Augmented Reality Camera)?

AF: With the Biliardo fabric cutting machine from FKgroup we have increased the speed of work, but the ARC photo system has been a real revolution.

As far as Biliardo is concerned, we have drastically reduced the time dedicated to cutting and vision work, because the collection of pieces no longer has to be divided manually by colour.
This new production speed has allowed us to increase the volumes produced in the same time frame and accept more orders.

The ARC system has also made it possible to automate the cutting of fabrics with complex geometries.
Today we are able to cut with precision down to the millimetre, guaranteeing the perfect positioning of complex elements such as decorations, patterns and logos.
This is work that, in the past, was done manually with pins, with exponentially higher error rates and execution times.
By switching from manual to photographic handling, we can now do in 20 minutes what we used to in four to five hours.
ARC has amazed us with its ease of use and intuitive logic which allowed us to be up and running from day one.

What made you choose FKgroup?

SR: Certainly an important role was played by the sales department, which immediately listened to our needs and offered us a solution particularly suited to them.
We decided to put our trust in FKgroup, and we haven’t regretted our choice.
The fabric cutting machine as well as the ARC photo system have revolutionised our production capacity.
In addition, we also value FKgroup’s excellent customer service which is ready to intervene remotely if necessary, and their attention to the environment. We have been surprised by the sustainability that FKgroup products guarantee through a lower energy consumption than the market standards.
This is in line with our corporate values. We only use energy from renewable sources and that allows us to reduce our energy costs.

We are truly satisfied with this acquisition and the partnership that has been created between Aquarelle and FKgroup.

Thanks in part to this partnership, we are now increasingly able to offer our customers excellent quality solutions that are ecological and delivered in reduced times. FKgroup has proven to be a strategic partner, always available when needed.