Meet Getecno People - René Rais

The door is located at Aggius, Gallura, Sardegna, is decorated in original by Simone Sanna

Meet Getecno people - René

07/06/2022

I am not a person of sensational actions and short results, I think that what we innovate today is fundamental to the future.

Good morning René, just to introduce your role can we say that between you and the company there is a long-term relationship?

Hello, yes indeed, the years of service are over 40 so far, but the fun is never over for me!
Getecno and I actually grew up together and went through very interesting historical phases. The first IT wave (the first PCs in the company with archives on external floppy disks), the opening of trade borders, the introduction of the Euro.

Even the working tools will have changed a lot in over 40 years!

All this time the objects around me for daily activity have had such an evolution that it seems incredible to review today what we used in the early years: paper files, bulky telephones, typewriters, telex machines, large fax machines, huge and heavy cathode-ray tube screens.

At first what were your duties in the company?

In those very first years I was the “young guy” in the company and I have gradually taken care of many activities linked to the evolution we went through, such as establishing coding criteria for SKUs, edit catalogues and technical documents and build up the tools for data collection about the market and potential customers and -last but not least- establish new contacts abroad.

And what brought you where you are today?

I have always been very curious and attracted to understand all the technical implications behind the customers’ inquiries; to visit a factory or workshop (it was once more frequently possible!) and to have a very close look even on critical applications was a really tasty opportunity for me.

How much has the relationship with customers changed thanks to technology?

Today the customer base is much wider, with locations in dozens of countries around the world; thousands of contact persons, we talk over the phone, we write by mail, see each other by video-calls and we miss the personal encounter a little but we have learned to live with these modes of interaction as well.

Can you ever separate from your work?

I have a nice family, we do a lot of things together, whenever possible we travel, we go to arts events or stay outdoors, especially with the youngest member, Hombre, our Chocolate Labrador dog who is often also with us at the office.
It sounds weird to say my hobby is work, but it’s a pretty true statement, because every day I face new challenge.
I am not a person of sensational actions and short-term results, I like to think that what we innovate today is fundamental to the future.

Very last question, how does, a company like Getecno, that has customers in beyond 40 countries worldwide, fits in the Genoese context?

Genoa, today, is certainly not the most typical industrial city, but here you can live very well, we enjoy the sea, the nature, the climate and the historical richness of a city with a glorious past and so much desire to return to the top of the rankings.

It sounds weird to say my hobby is work, but it’s a pretty true statement, because every day I face new challenge.

René

Co founder & CEO