Bertazzon 3B is one of around 50 family firms in a manufacturingcluster in north-east Italy that leads the world in turning steel, fibreglass and electronics into roundabouts, bumper cars and other fairground thrills.
The relocation of manufacturing from upstate New York has weakened the industrial cluster, which in turn has greatly impacted the ability of remaining firms to be innovative.
Benetton, whose headquarters and design centre are located amid a clothing cluster in the Veneto region, has long outsourced most of its manufacturing.
By having a tightly connected system of research, service providers, small and large companies and workforce, manufacturing innovation can be core to a successful scale-up of products within cluster companies.