Elena Balleri, Operations Manager at 3Bmust International, shares her insights.
What does participating in GIS Expo 2025 mean for 3Bmust, and what are your expectations for this edition of the trade show?
We’ve been attending GIS Expo since 2017, and the 2025 edition will mark our fifth consecutive participation. Over the years, the event has evolved significantly: it has grown in visibility, quality, and its ability to represent the entire lifting and heavy machinery sector. Today, GIS Expo is undoubtedly the main point of reference for the lifting industry in Italy.
For us at 3Bmust, attending GIS is essential: participating in the trade fair means reaffirming our active role in the market, engaging with other industry professionals, and showcasing our solutions to those looking for real, tangible innovation. Even the symbolic elements of the fair — such as the “badges” for each exhibiting company — make us feel part of a dynamic and ever-evolving technical community. We are confident that GIS Expo 2025 in Piacenza will be even richer in content, connections, and opportunities.
What technological solutions will you bring to GIS Expo 2025 to surprise those working with complex equipment and lifting systems?
Over the years, we have presented different solutions at GIS Expo in Piacenza, all developed by listening carefully to the real needs of construction sites. In the past, for example, we introduced wearable devices for the safety of ground operators, control systems for port cranes and offshore platforms, and remote diagnostics projects developed for international operations.
In the 2023 edition, we chose to highlight our international presence by displaying our global partner network on a world map. This year, we will continue along that path but with a much more ambitious project: at GIS Expo 2025, we will unveil a virtual reality simulator for training crane operators and heavy equipment drivers.
This is an absolute first in the lifting industry: at the moment, no one is offering a similar technology with such a high level of detail. In short, we hope to bring something truly unique to GIS Expo!
How was the simulator project born, and what are its advantages for operator training?
Everything started from an idea by our CEO, Francesco Rodella, during a visit to Congo, where we are involved in several projects related to offshore platforms. A local partner, CFPP, told us about the great difficulties in delivering practical training in complex and expensive environments like the lifting sector.
That’s where the idea came from: to develop a system capable of offering a realistic, immersive, and safe simulation. We collaborated with Better Than Real Simulators, a spin-off of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, with whom we designed a VR platform specifically for offshore scenarios.
The simulator allows trainees to “experience” real operational conditions in highly complex environments, learning to manage unexpected situations and critical issues without any risk.
GIS Expo 2025 will be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how this technology can revolutionize the way we deliver training.
Learning without climbing into a crane: how revolutionary – and believable – is virtual reality for those who live construction sites every day?
Extremely believable. We have already started the certification process with an international body. The assigned inspector — a seasoned professional training expert — was highly impressed. One of the biggest obstacles in technical training is organizing the hands-on sessions: finding an available crane, provided by a company in a fully controlled environment, is often a real challenge. With our simulator, that limitation is eliminated — it simply doesn’t exist anymore.
Another major advantage of the VR simulator is the ability to greatly increase the actual practice time for each trainee. In traditional training, access to real machines is usually limited to just one day, and in large groups, not everyone gets to test operations in the cabin. With the simulator, each participant can practice continuously, without any logistical or safety constraints. In addition, thanks to the “teacher station,” other students can also observe the maneuvers in real time, turning each session into a shared learning experience.
The system is mobile, compact, and available for purchase or rental. It adapts to many different contexts, making highly specialized training possible anywhere, regardless of geographical location.
The project was initially conceived with African countries in mind, aligned with Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa, but it is perfectly applicable worldwide. Thanks to the simulator, GIS Expo also becomes a global training space.
At GIS Expo, you meet companies with very specific needs: how does 3Bmust respond to a market increasingly focused on customization?
At 3Bmust, we see ourselves as technology artisans. We don’t just sell standard solutions — we integrate systems in a tailor-made way, building exactly what the client needs.
Over time, we’ve worked on requests ranging from agricultural systems to railway equipment, and even feed distribution machinery. For us, integration also means identifying the right partners, selecting high-quality components, and delivering unique solutions.
GIS Expo is also about relationships, direct interaction, and idea sharing: what do you expect from conversations with the visitors at your stand?
We are very eager to receive feedback on our simulator. At GIS Expo, we often meet existing clients and partners with whom we already have an active relationship, but the fair is also a great opportunity to open up new conversations and interactions.
It’s an informal environment that encourages dialogue — people sit down, discuss, explore future projects in a space that’s very different from a meeting room. And naturally, it also allows us to explore the market ourselves, visit other booths, discover new solutions, and network.
What market signals and technological innovations are guiding you in the development of new 3Bmust solutions?
Corporate training is undergoing a radical transformation. Virtual reality is becoming central to workforce development, and we are riding the wave of this change.
Our simulator is part of a complete training package, which includes immersive practical experience and a strong theoretical foundation, developed in collaboration with professionals from Fondazione CIF Formazione. Students study regulations, safety, crane stability, electronic and mechanical components, and load charts, all guided by highly qualified instructors.
What message would you like to leave with visitors who stop by your booth at GIS Expo 2025?
We’d like visitors to walk away with this understanding: for 3Bmust, technology is never an end in itself, but a tool serving people.
We are a company that is growing, evolving, and opening up to the world and collaboration. At GIS Expo 2025, we want to show that true innovation is possible — by always putting training, safety, and expertise at the center.
3Bmust invites you to GIS Expo Piacenza, from 25 to 27 September 2025.
You’ll find us at Booth B86, Hall 1 — come visit, try our simulator, and discover how we’re changing the way operators are trained for the future.
GIS 2025 will be a chance to connect, exchange ideas, and imagine new solutions for the lifting industry — together.
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