Matteo Forgione, President & Founder of Forgione Engineering, was interviewed on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast by Adam Torres.
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Matteo Forgione believes in providing a customer experience that makes people feel like there’s someone who cares. “This passion drives me to support the missions of my clients, customers, and colleagues,” he says. “The process of guiding and supporting them to the path of success is my mission.”
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How did you get started?
“My physics teacher in high school (suggested I become) a mechanical engineer because I was good at physics,” Forgione says. He says he believes that opportunities may happen by chance, but when they present themselves at the right time, it’s important to take advantage of them. He notes that his talent for starting businesses and implementing experts’ ideas to bring them to life in real-world applications are two keys to his success.
Tell us about Forgione Engineering.
Forgione explains that his engineering company, which was established in Massachusetts in 2008, offers new product development, design consultation and full-service design and manufacturing.
“We have unique ideas though we are a small company,” he says. “Our team has the agility and flexibility to take on projects in any industry just like the bigger companies. We design and build projects from scratch.”
“We have a plethora of internal resources,” he continues. “Finding resources, brainpower, and skill all under one roof is a rarity. We’re pretty dangerous when it comes to what we can do,” he says good-naturedly.
Forgione notes that collaboration and relationship-building with strategic partners is critical. “Our customers, clients, colleagues, consultants, fabricators, and shops that make hardware are a big part of our success, and we value those relationships,” he says. “Those companies can lean on us too. We’re able to move forward together.”
Do your engineering skills lend themselves to other interests as well?
The engineering firm’s president and founder notes that his background and certifications lays the foundation for a host of other business and interests, ranging from high-risk engineering projects to farming to skateboarding.
“I bought a historic farmhouse to live in,” he says. “Maple Leaf Farm is my place. I love the agricultural lifestyle, so I have chickens, ducks, two horses, a farm dog, and a big field on my farm. My family and I enjoy living there.”
“Teaching is one of my talents—I love to teach, explain and answer things. I started teaching at the University of Massachusetts Lowell last year. I’m a visiting professor there and I teach thermal fluids.”
In Forgione’s spare time, he’s parlayed nearly three decades’ worth of skateboarding experience (recreational and professional) into a free weekend skateboarding clinic in Lowell where he instructs as many as 20 young students at a time.
What’s your advice for young entrepreneurs?
“The most important thing with any business is performance and commitment,” he says. “You cannot do the project only for money or to be successful. You need to be customer-centric. For the first 10 years, the time commitment is huge but your hard work will pay off after that.”
What are your plans for the future?
“I’m starting a new business on cybersecurity compliance,” he notes. “We have a new venture to help smaller companies, especially small to medium enterprises. We have expertise in both the IT and the functional side.”
Alongside that, he says, “I intend to have more involvement with the university, tying in some of my outside projects, potentially with academic projects, research, and plenty more other businesses.”
“It’s all about problem-solving,” he says. “To me, it’s one big project, and I’ll keep doing it.”
Connect with Forgione Engineering
Visit forgioneengineering.com to learn more. Follow on Instagram @forgioneengineering
