Lube Group

New recipes from VEM for even more efficient IT system

Cucine Lube relies on the consultancy of VEM Sistemi for highly innovative projects. Thanks to a solution based on NetApp MetroCluster, Lube now has a reliable, cost-effective, easy-to-manage, and energy-efficient storage infrastructure.

The Company

Cucine Lube is one of the most important Italian brands in the production and sale of modular kitchens. Lube products, known for their design and quality, are made in the company’s plants in Treia (province of Macerata), an area of over 110,000 square meters where about 550 people produce more than 55,000 kitchens annually. Founded in 1967, the Lube brand has grown steadily, reaching numbers that set it apart in both the national and international markets. At the core of its success lies an optimistic vision of the future and the ability to face increasingly complex challenges.

In addition to a strong focus on customers—through a widespread presence across Italy and post-sales services—one of the key pillars of Lube Group’s strategy is its commitment to environmental sustainability. This is exemplified by the adoption of the Lube Ecologic label in 2009, offering products made in full respect of the environment and consumer health. Since 2011, Lube has also powered its plants with clean energy, thanks to one of the largest photovoltaic systems in Italy: 27,000 square meters of panels that sustainably feed the production line.

Green thinking and design excellence go hand in hand with a strong drive toward technology and innovation—including in IT. Lube applies a highly advantageous model: for several years, it has adopted hardware operational leasing, allowing it to refresh its infrastructure every three years and support new projects with cutting-edge tools, handled by dedicated in-house staff. Group companies benefit from an expert IT team that designs, delivers, and guarantees essential services across departments—managing both the data center and IT infrastructure to ensure business-critical operations (orders, production, etc.) are handled effectively and without interruption.

Objectives

Mirko Giardetti, head of this IT structure, identified VEM Sistemi as a strategic partner for a Data Center redesign project, with the goal of minimizing storage infrastructure downtime and enhancing data processing reliability. Lube was looking for a solution that would ensure greater availability for Disaster Recovery, while also being cost-effective and energy efficient—key factors that would otherwise undermine the benefits of virtualization.

“Our Storage Area Network had reached its limits in terms of space and performance,” notes Giardetti. Expanding the existing infrastructure wasn’t feasible, due to the risk of device obsolescence and because it didn’t align with the company’s energy consumption reduction goals.

Only a solution offering competitive cost and modern, green-conscious technology could meet Lube’s needs. Based on this, VEM designed a project using NetApp MetroCluster, a storage solution that ensures uninterrupted availability and prevents data loss. It was integrated into a Data Center architecture where computing components are distributed across two physically separate locations, both within the same site, providing adequate business continuity guarantees.

VEM’s expertise allowed Lube to meet all goals: reliability, cost containment, and reduced energy consumption.

Solution

The solution proposed by VEM, based on NetApp MetroCluster, proved to be the most suitable, both in terms of cost and benefits for Lube’s Data Center.
“We were impressed by the ability to operate a system with computing capacity spread across two sites within our premises,” explains Giardetti. “This provided the redundancy we needed for both data and services.”

The project fully met the need for reliability and fast data access—even in simulated test scenarios involving accidental damage or infrastructure failures.
“The implementation of MetroCluster allowed us to take a significant step toward our Disaster Recovery goal,” adds Giardetti. “Our systems are now distributed across two on-site locations connected by fiber, ensuring storage and computing redundancy in case of physical damage.”

Lube was also determined to cut energy consumption in its Data Center. VEM presented the most suitable solution from that standpoint as well.
“Our management responded very positively to the decision—especially since we were not willing to compromise on reducing energy impact.”

Resoults

“Thanks to the solution proposed by VEM, we have completely eliminated the risk factor,” says Giardetti. “If one of the two units fails, the other continues working thanks to real-time synchronization.” This feature protects Lube from data loss, service downtime, and business disruption.

Using NetApp MetroCluster also reduced the Data Center’s energy consumption by 50%, a result achieved through the virtualization of around 30 physical servers consolidated into the new architecture.
“It was a winning choice that lets us essentially forget we even have this kind of storage infrastructure—which means it’s working perfectly.”

Moreover, VEM’s system made IT administrators autonomous in handling routine tasks using the MetroCluster dashboard, such as creating new logical partitions for departments or expanding existing storage—tasks that previously required external consultants.
Thanks to a user-friendly control panel, Lube can now handle these operations without specific storage skills, enabling faster response to business needs. VEM remains available for support whenever needed.

“These are the factors that gave us back our time,” Giardetti notes. “Time that our IT staff can now invest in developing innovative services for the company—something often precluded in IT due to the daily burden of maintenance tasks.”

From the start, Lube found a strong alignment with VEM through the quality of their responses.
“We saw real opportunities through their consulting,” adds Giardetti. “VEM has stood by us from the initial connectivity setup to the NetApp implementation—a true intervention at the heart of our company’s historical data archive.”

VEM also provides services through its Network Operations Center (NOC). Thanks to continuous monitoring, Lube receives real-time alerts for service malfunctions or preventive checks.

VEM’s value also lies in introducing such an innovative solution into a critical component of IT and, by extension, the business.
“Lube’s challenge was to question a previous solution that had never caused significant issues—apart from physical limitations and lack of flexibility,” says Andrea Giuliani, Cloud Technologies Team Leader at VEM Sistemi. “Our challenge was to make them perceive all the advantages of a highly reliable and flexible technology, compared to more well-known but less effective options.”

“Thanks to VEM, we consider ourselves pioneers in this innovative approach to storage,” concludes Giardetti. “Being supported by excellent consultants and system engineers who advocate for robust, forward-looking solutions has been a very positive experience for us.”