CAD

What CAD does

CAD sas (legal name CAD di Cortinovis Attilio & C. s.a.s.) is an Italian industrial automation and mechanical design company founded in 1987 by Attilio Cortinovis and headquartered in Brembate di Sopra, Italy. The company operates through two divisions: CAD Machinery (est. 2010), which designs and constructs special and standard industrial machines including assembly lines, packaging palletizers, material cutting/finishing systems, and robotic islands; and CAD Service (est. 2019), which delivers upstream mechanical design, engineering services, and dimensional quality control. Its technology stack combines in-house mechanical engineering, FEM structural analysis performed by registered professional engineers, PLC programming, electrical design, and robotics integration through its KUKA System Partner relationship and Schneider Electric Machine Integrator designation.

The business model is project-based enterprise B2B: CAD designs, builds, and commissions custom machinery and provides engineering and assembly services on a quote-driven basis to industrial customers across manufacturing, logistics, quality control, and energy/environment verticals. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of special machines, professional engineering services, third-party assembly, and plant revamping/retrofitting. The company reaches customers primarily through direct enterprise field sales, on-site consultations, and inbound contact-form inquiries, supported by a light digital presence on LinkedIn, YouTube, and downloadable technical brochures.

Customers include long-tenured enterprise clients such as Gildemeister (DMG MORI group), Farrel Pomini, Rulmeca, Schneider Electric, and Italy's National Research Council (CNR), with multi-year relationships dating back as far as 1995. The company is family-owned, structured as a società in accomandita semplice, has received no external funding, and operates from a 1,500 sqm production facility plus 500 sqm technical office. International footprint now spans more than ten European countries and the United States following installations from 2020 onward.

Name

CAD

Legal name

CAD di Cortinovis Attilio & C. s.a.s.

Website

https://cadsas.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAD sas is an Italian industrial automation and mechanical design firm founded in 1987 that designs, engineers, and builds custom special machines and provides engineering services for manufacturing, logistics, quality control, and energy clients across Europe and the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation & Custom Machinery

NAICS

Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (33324), All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (333248)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550), Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

Keywords

• Custom industrial machinery
• Mechanical design services
• Industrial automation systems
• PLC programming services
• Special machine manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonate Di Sopra

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Special Machine Manufacturing and Sales: Design and construction of custom special machines and standard machines for industrial production lines, sold as capital equipment to manufacturing clients.
2. Engineering and Technical Services: Technical office support, mechanical design services, engineering consulting, and PLC/third-party programming services offered on a project basis.
3. Third-Party Assembly Services: Specialized mounting and assembly services for third-party clients, supporting customer workshops with skilled assemblers.
4. Revamping and Retrofitting: Modernization and upgrade of existing plants and machines, giving new life to old equipment rather than replacement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CAD sas designs, engineers, and manufactures custom special machines and standard machines for industrial production lines, including assembly, packaging, palletizing, and material handling applications. It also provides mechanical design services, PLC programming, third-party assembly, plant revamping, and dimensional quality control to industrial clients in manufacturing, logistics, and related sectors.

Product overview

CAD is an industrial automation and mechanical design company operating since 1987, organized under two main divisions that form an integrated engineering-to-production offering. CAD Service (established 2019) handles the upstream mechanical design phase — providing technical office support, project development, engineering services, and dimensional control. CAD Machinery (established 2010) handles the downstream execution — engineering and constructing special and standard machines, performing PLC programming, third-party assembly, and plant revamping. Together, these two divisions enable CAD to take a project from initial concept through mechanical design to finished machine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAD Machinery — Special and Standard Machine Design & Manufacturing CAD Machinery handles the engineering, design, and construction of special and standard industrial machines for production lines, including fully automatic production lines, component assembly machines, packaging palletizers, material cutting and finishing machines, robotic islands, and operator support equipment. It serves industrial clients in manufacturing, logistics, and related sectors needing custom automation solutions that standard equipment cannot address.
• CAD Service — Mechanical Design and Engineering Services CAD Service provides professional mechanical design services including technical office support, project development, engineering services, and dimensional control/quality verification. It serves client companies needing supplemental mechanical design capacity, specialized engineering expertise, or dimensional quality checks on components and finished products.
• PLC Programming and Automation Services PLC programming and control system development for industrial machinery, delivered as a service to industrial clients and integrated into the company's special machine manufacturing projects. The in-house programming team supports both new machine installations and post-sale assistance.
• Specialized Third-Party Assembly Services Specialized mounting and assembly services offered to third-party clients, leveraging the company's skilled assemblers and production workshop to support customer workshops with custom assembly requirements.
• Plant Revamping and Retrofitting Services Modernization and upgrade of existing industrial plants and machines, giving new life to older equipment rather than full replacement. Includes Industry 4.0 compliance upgrades to bring legacy equipment up to current automation and digital standards.
• Dimensional Control and Quality Verification Services Professional dimensional control and quality verification services including individual component verification, finished product validation, and full testing systems and plants. Offered to clients needing measurement accuracy and product quality consistency.

Quantifiable outcome

• 24/7 assistance service activated across European installations from 2020
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• EnginSolutioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019EnginSolution is a young, cohesive engineering design company founded by brothers Simone and Cristian Teoldi. CAD chose to partner with this company to expand its engineering services. In 2019, this partnership enabled CAD Service to begin delivering engineering services.
• Schneider ElectricflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2016Schneider Electric promotes digital transformation by integrating energy and process technologies. CAD sas was selected to become an official Machine Integrator of Schneider Electric due to the capabilities and competence of its programming staff. This partnership provides CAD with exclusive technical integration status.
• KUKAflagshipTechnology or IntegrationKUKA AG is a leading global supplier of robotics, plant technology, and systems. Through the System Partner relationship with KUKA, CAD is able to provide safe and efficient robotic islands for any logistics or production need.
• GildemeistercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly major collaboration starting in 1995. Gildemeister (a DMG MORI group company) is a leading manufacturer of machine tools. CAD provided mechanical design, execution of mechanical drawings, and assembly drawings.
• Farrel PominicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly major collaboration starting in 1995 alongside Gildemeister. Farrel Pomini is a manufacturer of mixing and compounding equipment for the polymer industry. CAD provided mechanical design and assembly drawing services.
• RulmecaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration began in 2013 with Rulmeca, a major manufacturer of conveyor rollers and components. CAD offered design support and assembly of modules, which also led to a third-party assembly service opportunity.
• CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImportant new challenge undertaken in 2004 collaborating with Italy's National Research Council on specialized engineering projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cama Group: Italian manufacturer of secondary packaging machinery and robotic end-of-line solutions. Direct peer in custom packaging machinery, robotic palletizing islands, and material handling automation for industrial customers.
• IMA Group: Italian manufacturer of automatic packaging and processing machines for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and logistics. Direct peer in custom industrial special machines for assembly, packaging, palletizing, and material handling lines.
• Marchesini Group: Italian producer of packaging and processing machinery, primarily for pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Direct peer in custom special machine design/build and turnkey line integration serving European industrial customers.
• Comau: Italian-headquartered automation and robotics systems integrator serving automotive and industrial customers globally. Direct peer in special machinery, robotics integration, and PLC-based production line automation across the same European customer base as CAD.
• GIMA Group: Italian manufacturer of packaging machinery and end-of-line automation solutions. Direct peer in special industrial machines for assembly, packaging, and palletizing within the Italian/European industrial customer segment.
• Manz AG: German-based industrial automation and equipment specialist serving electronics, automotive, and energy storage with custom production lines. Direct peer in custom industrial machinery, automation integration, and turnkey line delivery.
• SACMI: Italian cooperative manufacturing industrial machinery and automation systems for ceramics, packaging, and food industries. Direct peer in custom special machines and turnkey industrial automation lines for European manufacturers.

Regional players

• Bonfiglioli: Italian-headquartered manufacturer of power transmission and drive solutions serving industrial automation and machinery OEMs. Comparable Italian industrial machinery peer with stronger product portfolio in motion control adjacent to CAD's automation offering.

Broad incumbents

• ABB Robotics: Global broad incumbent in industrial robotics and automation, operating as both robot supplier and integrator. Comparable as the principal robotics partner whose ecosystem CAD competes within for system integration projects.
• Bystronic: Swiss-based broad incumbent in sheet metal processing machinery and automation solutions for metalworking customers. Adjacent incumbent offering overlapping capabilities in industrial machinery and automation, with a much larger global footprint.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CadSas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cadsas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CAD