PREO

Designing different products around one industrial culture.

PREO has been developing precision engineering solutions since 1938 and has specialised in hot-melt adhesive application systems since the 1990s. Across products with different functions, price points and technical architectures, the design work translates engineering requirements into clear, recognizable and production-ready industrial objects.

Collaboration

Different requirements. Different answers. One coherent identity.

PREO’s product range brings together machines and accessories with very different roles: advanced melters, cost-sensitive systems and equipment designed to support automated adhesive handling.

After a background in fine arts and a Master in Industrial Design from Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Federico Villa developed a long-standing practice across industrial design, technical products and complex systems. His approach brings design into close dialogue with engineering and production, while keeping the company’s identity – rather than the designer’s signature – at the centre of every project.

Design Approach

One identity. Different product logics.

The visible form is only one part of the project. Function, manufacturing methods, maintenance, usability, cost and mechanical architecture determine how each product should be designed. Identity emerges from the way these requirements are resolved, not from a stylistic formula applied afterwards.

Function First

A flagship melter, a cost-efficient system and an automatic adhesive loader cannot be designed according to the same priorities. Function and operational context define the architecture before styling begins.

Engineering Integration

Mechanical components, production processes, access requirements and assembly methods are treated as part of the design language, allowing technical complexity to guide rather than compromise the final form.

Product Identity

The objective is not to make every PREO product look identical. Proportions, surfaces, colour relationships, graphics and details are interpreted differently according to each machine, creating continuity while preserving its specific character.

01. VELA

A new product language built around performance, modularity and precision.

VELA is PREO’s advanced family of hot-melt adhesive melters, developed to combine ease of use, modular configurations, maintenance accessibility, energy efficiency and integration with existing production lines. The current range includes different tank capacities and pneumatic or gear-pump configurations, all managed through a 7-inch touch interface.

Function

VELA is designed to adapt to different production requirements through interchangeable configurations and components. Accessibility, compatibility with existing systems and an advanced digital interface make the machine easier to install, operate and maintain.

Design Challenge

Different tank sizes, loading configurations, pumps and functional components had to coexist within a recognizable architecture. The challenge was to move beyond the rigid visual conventions of industrial gluing equipment while preserving clarity, robustness and complete compatibility with the technical system.

Design Response

Fluid connections, pure surfaces and sculpted volumes wrap the mechanical core in a coherent silver body. The modular architecture remains visually stable across different configurations, while the digital interface and controls emerge naturally from the machine rather than appearing as added components.

02. JV

Design value within strict cost and manufacturing constraints.

JV is PREO’s competitive 5 kg hot-melt system for manual and semi-automatic applications. Designed as an easy-to-install turnkey solution, it combines a touchscreen interface, reliability, safety and simplified maintenance with a more cost-conscious product architecture.

Function

The JV platform is conceived to simplify installation and operation while reducing unnecessary downtime and maintenance costs. Pneumatic and gear-pump versions share a compact architecture and a 7-inch icon-based touchscreen interface.

Design Challenge

Here the constraints were particularly strict. Bent sheet metal, optimized industrial processes and simplified assembly had to remain central to the product rather than being hidden behind expensive solutions.

Design Response

Straight lines, sharp folds and a controlled two-tone treatment transform simple manufacturing processes into recognizable visual elements. The contrast between volumes and the disciplined use of geometry give the machine a strong presence without introducing unnecessary parts or production complexity.

03. Twister-F15

Automatic adhesive handling designed around safety, continuity and reliability.

Twister F-15 is an automatic hot-melt adhesive filling system developed to maintain a constant adhesive level inside the melter without continuous operator intervention. A level sensor activates a Venturi suction system when required, automatically transferring adhesive from the storage unit to the melting tank.

Function

The system automatically monitors adhesive levels and refills the melter when required. This reduces manual intervention and downtime while helping limit adhesive contamination, carbonisation and harmful thermal shocks.

Design Challenge

A high-capacity storage and feeding unit designed for demanding production environments. Its technical constraints leave little room for purely formal gestures, making proportion and surface treatment key to building a clear identity.

Design Response

A continuous stainless-steel body with softened edges gives the product a clean, controlled presence. The upper functional area and front graphics organize the vertical volume while reinforcing PREO’s industrial identity.
One company identity, shaped around different constraints.
VELA, JV and Twister F-15 demonstrate three different ways of designing for the same industrial culture. What connects them is not a repeated shape, but a shared design attitude: function first, technical and production constraints as part of the design process, and identity built around PREO rather than around the designer.