We interview Vincenzo Morra, Service Director at Mozzanica since 2015.
Good morning, Mr. Morra, and thank you for this new interview. From your LinkedIn profile, we see that you’ve been working at Mozzanica for eight years. In other words, you’ve been managing the Service Department for nearly a decade. Rather than focusing on the numbers, we’d like to ask: how has the relationship with customers evolved? Are they better informed? What kinds of requests are you seeing?
Good morning, and thank you for giving me another opportunity to share my thoughts. It’s true, I’ve had the privilege of leading the Industrial Service business line at Mozzanica for nearly ten years now, and during this time I’ve seen a significant evolution in our relationship with customers.
Our customers have always operated in industries with a high risk of major accidents, so their awareness of safety and risk management has always been strong. However, in recent years I’ve noticed a major shift: beyond just focusing on safety, customers have developed more specialized technical expertise, especially when it comes to fire protection system design and maintenance. Of course, I wouldn’t say this applies universally — much depends on the industry — but in most of the sectors we serve, the evolution is clear. And if I may say so, I’d like to think we’ve played a part in that growth. Our approach has always been to stand beside the customer not just as service providers but as technical partners. We point out issues and weaknesses in a constructive way, helping customers understand and address them together by developing shared strategies. This has helped build a relationship of trust and collaboration that goes far beyond simply performing interventions.
In short, today’s customers are more aware, more skilled and more engaged, and we’re proud to say that, in part, this growth is the result of the work we do every day alongside them.
What did you have to do to manage them effectively?
To manage the evolving needs and skills of our customers effectively, I had to work on several levels.
One of the areas I worked hardest on was building a system that could capture and build on the experience we’ve gained over time. We capitalized on our learning curves, turning critical episodes, best practices and adopted solutions into structured workflows. Today, these workflows allow us to handle complex situations more quickly, consistently and reliably.
This approach also led to greater internal transparency. We developed processes that make our company structure — with all its different departments — more transparent in the eyes of the customer, who now sees us as a unified, cohesive organization focused on solving problems. That’s essential for building trust and ensuring operational continuity, especially in industries where safety is non-negotiable.
At the same time, I invested in team training, process digitization and strengthening communication with customers.
In other words, effective management is the result of a systemic approach: experience, method, transparency and collaboration are the pillars on which we’ve built a Service Department that can evolve with our customers and face today’s and tomorrow’s challenges alongside them.
You must certainly need good support. How many people are in your department?
Absolutely. Managing a Service Department like ours requires solid team support. Right now, the department is made up of 42 people, but for us, it’s not about the numbers; what really matters is the quality of the people and their ability to work together toward a shared goal.
At Mozzanica, we strongly believe in the value of teamwork. We all row in the same direction, getting to know each other, recognizing each person’s strengths and naturally making up for any weaknesses. That’s what allows us to handle even the most complex situations with calm and cohesion, because we know we can count on one another.
Another key aspect is our approach to mistakes. We never see errors as failures but as valuable learning opportunities. We analyze what happened together, share our experiences and use them to keep improving our processes and skills. This mindset has helped us grow as a team and offer our customers a service that’s increasingly reliable and high quality.
The strength of our department lies in the quality of the people, in collaboration and in our ability to turn every experience, even negative ones, into opportunities for growth, both for us and for our customers.
We imagine it must also be challenging to balance your team’s needs, including personal ones, with customer demands…
Being responsible for a business line and leading a team means never losing sight of company goals, but at the same time always remembering that people are, first and foremost, people. I firmly believe that a manager should serve their team, not the other way around. My role is to enable, support, lead by example and ensure a healthy balance between work and personal life.
I never hide my limits and I have no problem taking on operational tasks when needed — I’m always the first to step up. I believe credibility is built that way too, by working side by side with everyone, with mutual respect.
From my perspective, this approach helps create an atmosphere of trust and collaboration where everyone feels valued and part of a shared mission. Only when people feel good and truly engaged can they give their best, both to the customer and within the company.
What’s a difficult challenge you’ve had to overcome, and how did you manage it?
One of the toughest challenges I’ve faced was the distance, not just physical but also cultural and communicative, between maintenance technicians in the field and the office staff. At first, I didn’t fully realize how little a field technician, even though they are an integral part of the company, actually experiences the day-to-day life of the organization. What seemed obvious to me — ways of working, how we perceive problems, how we interpret communications — wasn’t obvious to them at all.
That awareness came with time and led me to rethink how we communicate, collaborate and connect. Creating a unified, aligned team required strong, sometimes difficult and decisive actions that challenged me both professionally and personally. But those actions were necessary if we truly wanted to build a team that operates as one.
I had to do a lot of listening, question myself and get out into the field (literally!) to really understand the operational dynamics.
Today I can say that gap has mostly been closed and the team works with greater awareness, cohesion and a sense of belonging. It was a tough challenge, but also one of the most formative experiences of my career.
Name three qualities that a manager must have for effective team leadership.
If I had to name three qualities a manager must always have to lead their team well, I’d say:
- Credibility: A manager needs to be credible, consistent in what they say and do. Only then can the team truly trust and follow them, even during difficult times.
- Leading by example and taking responsibility: It’s not enough to give directions. You must be the first to step in, take responsibility and face challenges alongside the team. It takes passion and courage.
- Humanity: A manager has to show their team that they too are a person, with limits, emotions and personal challenges. That’s not a sign of weakness but of authenticity. Only then can you build a real relationship based on trust, respect and collaboration.
To wrap up, considering we’re now in the last quarter of 2025, what goals have been achieved so far and what’s next?
We’ve reached the last quarter of 2025 and I can say that, as of now, our financial indicators are aligned with budget goals, which is definitely a positive sign.
However, to me, the most meaningful indicators go beyond numbers. We’re seeing that customers reach out to us when they need problems solved, they involve us as experts and trust us with increasingly complex tasks. Contracts are evolving, often integrating new services, which confirms the confidence customers have in our capabilities and reliability.
That kind of recognition from the market is probably the most important result, because it means we’re being seen as partners, not just suppliers.
Looking ahead to the coming months, our main focus will be renewing maintenance contracts. That’s the real final exam for anyone working in service, because it’s where customer satisfaction and long-term work quality are truly measured. At the same time, we’ll continue working on service innovation, team training and strengthening customer relationships, so we can solidify and grow our position as a key player in the industry.