We Thought We Would Land In Tuscany!
Tandem Spirits had a dream to live in Europe ever since we did a foreign exchange program for a semester in Kiel, Germany in 1981. Not only did we have a wonderful experience studying and traveling there, we also went to Italy and met James’ cousins. We were swept away by my relatives and the experience left a profound impression on us. We knew that we wanted to live in the Bel Paese someday!
Fast forward to the 2000’s, when we made several trips back to Italy and spent a bit of time with James’ cousins who live near Lucca in Tuscany and Torino in the north of Italy. We began to give serious thought to the idea of moving to Italy. The dream became even more real after James acquired his Italian citizenship in 2011. Shortly after this, he went back to school and got a TESL degree so, if we actually moved, he would be qualified to teach English. We thought we would land in Tuscany.
Then, something amazing happened……
In 2012, James got his TESL certificate, and he ended up teaching quite a number of students. One day he was approached by Antonio Baldacinni, the General Manager of a company in Everett called Umbra Cuscinetti (30 minutes north of Seatttle). He was looking for an English teacher who could work with two of his employees who were machinists. It just so happens that the company’s corporate office was in Foligno, Italy.
To make a long story short, James told Antonio that we wanted to move to Italy and that teaching his employees would be a good experience. He also showed Antonio his Italian passport at which point he said, “I would never have thought an American would walk into my office here in Everett and say they want to move to Italy. Are you sure about that?”
2 years later, James was offered a job in Foligno as the English coach for the managers and many of the engineers. The Tandem Spirits packed everything up and moved to Italy!
Today, Virginia is the Customer Service Manager of our Maintenance and Repair Operation. James is the Credit Analyst for our Aerospace Division.
Here's Where the Tandem Spirits Work
This video was one of the first projects James worked on after we arrived in Foligno and he started working at UMBRAGROUP!
So What Does UMBRAGROUP Do?
To answer this question, here’s a snippet from our corporate website:
We produce ball screws, high precision mechanical and mechatronic components for the aerospace market, critical for flight. In every aircraft with more than 100 seats, an UMBRAGROUP-brand component is installed: we guarantee safety in flight!
We operate in a global context with a wide range of products. UMBRAGROUP produces such as ball screws, bearings, actuators and balls.
The illustration above shows all the different aeronautical ball screws installed on commercial aircraft. They are what make the flaps and stabilizers work. Ball screws are what make the wing flaps move downward (most everyone has seen this). They are incredibly important components and if you’ve flown on a plane, you’ve flown with us!
We Work For A Great Company!
UMBRAGROUP is a company that was founded by truly outstanding individuals. The two founders, Valter Baldaccini and Reno Ortolani created a forward-looking company that produces exquisite, manufactured products while, at the same time, recognizes the value of all of the individuals who work for the company.
We recently celebrated the company’s 50th Anniversary and here’s our most recent corporate video:
The View From James' Desk
