Tell us something about CECIMO (European Association of the Machine Tool Industries).
CECIMO focuses on raising awareness of EU decision makers in different sectors. First, we sensitise the EU institutions to the risks of falling into the trap of “low investment – low productivity – low growth”, caused by enduring economic uncertainties and problems to access finance. In some cases, underinvestment is making industrial assets obsolete, all to the detriment of productivity growth. We therefore ask for higher amounts of direct equity and loan guarantees for SMEs, so to help them overcome capital shortages. Secondly, we ensure that EU decision-makers earmark more investments in advanced manufacturing capabilities, so as to boost our sector’s productivity. Such investments help Europe to optimize the use of resources, unlock the innovation potential of companies, compensate for high labour costs, and encourage value-chain cooperation in transferring new manufacturing technologies to the market. Third, CECIMO aims at advancing the skills of MT workforce. The nature of the advanced manufacturing technologies we just mentioned implies that the workforce needs to be equipped with new competences. Fourth, we advocate for the EU to pursue free-trade deals with our trade partners, while ensuring a real global level playing field for European manufacturers. In such context, CECIMO continues paying attention to the existing trade deal negotiations conducted by the EU, in particular with US and India. Lastly, we are an active actor in the discussions over EU ecodesign legislation, which is essential for market acceptance, technology readiness, industry standards and global competitiveness.

What are the initiatives taken by CECIMO to help European machine tool builders?
The initiatives that will keep us busy in 2017 range from additive manufacturing to digitisation, and they aim at helping the machine tool industry to perform excellent results and set a favorable legislative environment at the European level.

Just to give you a glimpse, CECIMO has taken a position on the EC communication for a European Data Economy, where we welcome the prominence of connectivity and production technologies, but we stand for non-legislative approaches that incentivize business to share data and create awareness on access to and re-use of machine-generated data.

In the same field, we launched a digitisation campaign among our members in order to accelerate the uptake of the digital solutions provided by the European machine tool industry. In doing so, we collect and exchange the best practices of European frontrunners.

CECIMO is also involved in additive manufacturing through EU-funded projects. We teamed up with researchers, universities and companies to develop new technologies such as hybrid manufacturing (Kraken Project) or identify the skills needed in the MT industry (METALS Project).

What are the current trends in the European machine tool industry?
According to most of the companies that participated in a CECIMO enquiry, data-driven business models will be one of the main trends over the next 10 years. New service-oriented business models are emerging with the aim of providing greater value for end-users. Indeed, machines, systems and factories of advanced manufacturing are getting connected across borders and the competitiveness in the manufacturing sector is gradually pushed from “producing goods with certain functions” to “generating systems that increase performance and create value”. By analysing industrial data available along the global value chain, European machine tool builders can improve the performance, energy- and resource-efficiency as well as safety of their products.

Additive manufacturing techniques too plays a positive role in boosting productivity, as their layer-by-layer production minimizes the number of operations. It therefore drastically cuts time and costs as well as reduces time-to-market. In addition to it, investments in Europe are being made in hybrid machines, a new technology that combines additive and subtractive manufacturing.

What is the current market size of European machine tool industry? Please provide some data about production, consumption, export and import?
With a yearly consumption of more than 18 billion euro, the European market size is certainly appealing to machine tool exporters. CECIMO countries account for around 85% of it, which corresponds to nearly one fourth of the global MT consumption. We also foresee in the short run that some previously postponed investments will likely have a positive impact on MT sales in the continent, boosting our consumption.

To get into details, our analysis of the preliminary data for 2016 show that all CECIMO countries altogether forecast 24.2-billion-euro of production and 15.4-billion-euro of consumption, data which is slightly better that the previous year. As for the trade figures, we expect MT exports to amount to 18.7 billion euro and imports to 9.8 billion euro.

What’s the European market share in the global machine tool industry?
The European market share of global production is above 40%, and Europe accounted for one of every four euros of consumption in machine tool in 2016. This clearly reflects that our industry is coping quite well with the relatively negative global trends.

In recent time, Asian countries like Japan, S Korea, China, Taiwan and India have witnessed significant growth. How do you see the competition from Asian countries?
Competition from Asian countries is increasing. Their major economies aim at driving up the manufacturing sector through initiatives such as “Make in India” or “Made in China”. In particular, they have been relying on the machine tool sector to pursue their economic development. Apart from the fact that 4 out of 10 machine tools (by value) exported originate from Asia, their domestic markets account for approximately 55% of the MT worldwide consumption.

Looking ahead, both Chinese and Indian economies will keep growing at the present rates of 6.5-7% in the coming years. China, in spite of its economic rebalancing and effects of cuts to investments, is predicted to remain the major machine tool consumer and producer, at least over the short term. As for India, it shows healthy prospects for machine tool consumption: the growth rate is forecasted at 8% both in 2017 and 2018.

How do you see the Indian machine tool industry?
India continues to be a leading economy with high growth prospects, and its strong industrial development makes it performing as a key player at the global level. The machine tool sector is certainly not an exception.

Indian exports of machine tools significantly increased in 2015 and, even though at a slower pace, still expanded during the first three quarters of last year. Moreover, MT companies enjoy a strong internal demand and a healthy expansion prospects across the main MT consuming sectors, as, for example, the motor vehicles sector. These figures are confirmed by a weighted output expected to pick up around 7.5-8% in 2016 and 2017. To conclude the positive overview, the investments in this sector are forecasted to increase by 7% on an annual base, both in 2017 and 2018.

Needless to say, CECIMO companies have strong commercial links and solid partnerships with Indian MT businesses, which was confirmed by our active presence at the last IMTEX edition. India ranks as the third major Asian client, the seventh most important customer and the eighth supplier for CECIMO.

How much (in numbers) does India import from Europe?
According to 2015 figures, India imports nearly 400 million euro in machine tools from Europe. India stands as one of our major external sales’ destinations for Europe. Indeed, as our third Asian client, India accounts for 7.5% of sales from CECIMO to Asia, and 3% of the total sales overseas. Thought it must be said that, in line with the global trade trend, in the period January-September of 2016 Indian imports from Europe counted probably 4-5% less than the same period of 2015.

From the Indian perspective, the national industry does rely on European MT suppliers, as half of its top 12 machine tool providers are from European countries (Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and the UK).

What would be the theme for EMO Hannover this year?
As you know, EMO is the leading trade fair for metalworking technology, offering a comprehensive overview of the sector and providing an innovative and international platform where the whole world of metalworking meets. As EMO trademark owner, CECIMO plays a major role on the international market for promoting the exhibition, so let me introduce you some novelties for the 2017 edition.

First of all, young companies will have the possibility to exhibit in a special stand themed around “Start-ups for intelligent production”. Moreover, we will continue showing best practices of “Industry 4.0” and connectivity around Europe and create a platform for Additive Manufacturing, where researches can meet industry and vice-versa. We will also continue sending the message that the future of our industry depends on well-educated and highly skilled workforce.

Any message for Indian companies regarding EMO Hannover?
I would like to confirm to Indian companies that the relations between our continents are solid and EMO is the perfect occasion to foster our links and partnerships.

This is evident when we look at EMO figures. In December 2016, it was announced that the official registrations at the EMO Hannover 2017 counted to more than 1,700 firms from 40 different countries, which means that the current registration status lies significantly above the comparable result of the Hannover 2013 edition. A key difference with the previous editions is that not only German manufacturers have registered for sizeable stands, but also Asian companies. Overall, Asia currently accounts for more than a fifth of the EMO’s exhibitors.

Indian companies will therefore have the possibility to explore its attractive and high-potential market during “India Day”, which will take place on September 20, 2017. It will feature conferences to report technical and commercial trends from Indian experts and representatives from Indian user sectors.

CECIMO will be glad to welcome you at our booth to exchange information, good practices and nurture connections.

By Nishant Kashyap

The CECIMO General Assembly that took place in Fuschlsee, Austria on 21 June 2016 confirmed:

• The European machine tool production increased 5% to 24.3 billion euro in 2015;
• The machine tool exports are estimated to reach a record level of 19.0 billion euro in 2016;
• To tap into opportunities offered by digitisation, Europe needs to develop a new and forward-looking policy approach addressing the entire manufacturing value chain;
• European machine tool builders are concerned that production plants in Europe are slowly becoming obsolete.

Economic situation and outlook
Despite the global economy’s weakening growth and increasing volatility, the European machine tool industry ended the year 2015 on positive note. The machine tool production grew 5% to 24.3 billion euro. Economic activity in Europe shows stability and the growth is dominantly driven by strong consumer spending. The very accommodative monetary policy and recovering business confidence have also set the scene for a pick-up in investment in Europe. Combining this with the emerging markets’ calmer outlook, CECIMO estimates the machine tool production to stabilise this year, keeping its previous year’s level.

The developed markets were the main source of export growth in 2015. CECIMO exports posted 18.9 billion euro, just a fraction below the record year of 2012. Taking into account that Chinese government have so far demonstrated its ability to transform the economy relatively smoothly towards more consumption based growth, the European machine tool export outlook remains bright also this year. Machine tool exports are forecasted to grow to 19.0 billion euro in 2016.

Almost two thirds of CECIMO imports originate from other European countries. Therefore, machine tool imports to the region were supported by the stable economic conditions in Europe. In 2015, machines in value of 9.8 billion euro were imported. Despite the weakness of the euro causing imports of machines from outside the euro area to be more expensive, we expect the growth to reach to 3% in 2016.

The European machine tool consumption increased by 12% to 14.9 billion euro in 2015. The growth of consumption is expected to slow down to 1% and machines in an estimated value of 15.4 billion euro will be installed in 2016. The domestic order intake supports the forecast. The value of bookings by the domestic clients increased 2% in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the same period a year before. For the next three years, we forecast the European machine tool consumption to grow about 3.7% annually. “We are glad to see that the machine tool consumption in Europe shows good pace. Upgrading and modernising its production base is an essential condition to keep the competitiveness of European manufacturing sector at high levels,” added Dr Frank Brinken, Chairman of the CECIMO Economic Committee and Vice-Chairman of Starrag Holding AG.

Policy priorities

Digitisation of manufacturing 
Digitisation re-defines the rules of global competitiveness in the advanced manufacturing sector. The use of digital technologies leads to significant gains in productivity, energy efficiency and mass customization, altogether generating great avenues for the re-industrialization of Europe. Against this background, Europe is required to move faster and generate the framework conditions needed for advanced manufacturers to tap into new opportunities.

To make Europe a centre of excellence for digital manufacturing, it needs to develop instruments generating new ways of collaboration between advanced manufactures and ICT actors.  In particular, manufacturing SMEs from across Europe should be well integrated in the digital manufacturing transnational value chain. Various initiatives pertaining to digitisation have already been launched by regional, national and European authorities to help manufacturers generate innovative solutions, but to cope with the increasing pressures from competitors across the world, the EU must pool its resources and act in a coordinated manner.

Luigi Galdabini, President of CECIMO says: “We need large-scale initiatives launched by public authorities putting together various actors of digital manufacturing at transnational level. Digitisation is a key issue for machine tool builders and our companies are the heart of the value chain. For Europe to realize its re-industrialization, policy-makers must develop a holistic approach addressing the entire manufacturing value chain. To ensure that that digitisation supports Europe’s global manufacturing leadership, we need to develop forward-looking policies, instead of premature rules, underpinning the innovative character of the European machine tool builders.”

Upgrade of the machinery park  
European machine tool builders are concerned that production plants in Europe are slowly becoming obsolete. According to available figures collected by some of CECIMO National Associations, the age of the machinery park in some Member States with a strong manufacturing base has reached 19.1 years while the lifespan of a machine tool, depending on its type, is around 15 years. Despite the existence of a political will to advance manufacturing in Europe, progress on investing in new machines and equipment by industrial users has been insignificant so far. Further delays in the recovery of investments in machinery and equipment weaken the entire competitiveness of the European manufacturing industry. Filip Geerts, Director General at CECIMO, adds: “The slowdown in demand for new equipment hampers the ability of developing breakthrough production technologies, as innovation is mainly driven by customer demands and cooperation between suppliers and users in the machine tool sector. We urgently need an action plan mobilizing the EU’s major policy instruments to put an end to the lack of investment in modern production equipment by end-users. If Europe wants to stay in the global race for advanced manufacturing, it needs to maintain a strong supplier base in Europe.”

AMT and CECIMO represent together over 2000 companies from both sides of the Atlantic. The organisations advocate for better market opportunities and support free trade. AMT and CECIMO welcome the commitment expressed by the European Union and the United States to reach to comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The highly innovative machine tool sector stresses the need to tackle wider area than only abolishing of tariffs to provide concrete and measurable reductions to trade barriers.

Divergences between the EU and the US regulations create different technical requirements, specifications, standards, conformity assessment procedures and licensing procedures. The lack of regulatory convergence forces companies to invest time and resources in duplicative procedures in order to demonstrate compliance. More compatible standards could lead to considerable savings and increased production efficiency in the manufacturing sector. AMT and CECIMO stand for efforts to standardise the testing procedures and authorisation processes.

The difference between the EU and the US regulations often lies in the use of different legal tools for the same public policy choices. TTIP should enhance cooperation between the EU and the US to ensure that existing and new regulations are complementary and minimise the burden on companies. Tackling regulatory divergences between two countries will benefit businesses of all sizes and increase transatlantic trade flows. Trading countries should aim for the mutual recognition of technical requirements for machine tools in line with the international consensus-based standards.

TTIP is an opportunity to address the challenges of the internationalisation of the SMEs. In the EU, companies with fewer than 250 employees represent 90% of businesses and 66% of the workforce. In the US, companies with fewer than 500 employees represent 99% of businesses and about half of the total employment. We support measures that improve the SME’s access to the information and markets.

TTIP should enhance transparency in the rulemaking, private sector engagement, and increase opportunities to provide timely inputs. AMT and CECIMO stress the importance of transparent and predictable regulatory environment for the machine tool industry. We call for transparency by regulators and competent authorities in providing information on planned regulatory acts and roadmaps. 

CECIMO, the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries presents the state of the European machine tool industry at EMO Milano 2015:

• The European machine tool production will grow to 23.6 billion euros in 2015;
• Machine tool sales in Europe will reach 14.2 billion euro in 2015 thanks to the improving business confidence.

Together with the European economy, the European machine tool (MT) production also intensified in 2014:  it grew by1.3% to reach 23.0 billion euro. Since the European MT industry exports worldwide, it is affected by two opposing trends. First, a slowdown in emerging markets makes these reduce their investment in industrial machinery. Secondly, growth is relatively stable in developed markets like Europe and North America, which implies more investment in industrial machinery. Both trends considered, the European machine tool production is estimated to increase to 23.6 billion euro in 2015 (+3%).

Despite the slowdown of global economic growth, the European MTs’ exports still perform well. Machine tools with a total value of 18.2 billion euro were shipped abroad in 2014. CECIMO expects the exports to grow by 3% to 18.7 billion euro in 2015, which would be the second best result of all times. “Rising wages in the emerging economies put pressure on production costs. The European machine tool industry focuses on productivity and high efficiency that gives us our competitive edge. Our highly innovative, state-of-the-art machines are in demand all over the world because they offer intelligent and cost efficient manufacturing solutions. These are promoted on a large scale during EMO Milano 2015,” explained Dr Frank Brinken, the Chairman of CECIMO Economic Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of several machine tool companies.

CECIMO imports rose to 8.8 billion euro in 2014. The weak euro will slow imports’ growth down but we estimate that the European industry’s needs will push the MT imports to 9.2 billion euro this year (+3%).

After two years of stagnation, the European businesses’ investments picked up in 2014. The European MT consumption expanded by 10% in 2014 to 13.7 billion euro. The consumption is expected to go on increasing and record 14.2 billion euro in 2015. The improving demand in European markets is confirmed by the strong order intake. In the second quarter of 2015, the CECIMO domestic orders’ index increased by 6% and 14% in comparison with the previous quarter and the same quarter last year respectively. We expect the European MT consumption to grow for the next four years.

The industry in need for political action at EU level

Europe generates 39% of the global machine tool output and European exports (including intra-EU trade) account for 50% of the world machine tool exports. As much as 50% of all patents filed globally for machine tool technologies are European. Europe’s strength lies, in fact, specifically in its capacity to supply advanced machine tool technologies.

The European MT sector goes towards the adoption of disruptive manufacturing technologies like intelligent production and additive manufacturing. It wants to participate in public-private partnerships and focuses on cross-disciplinary cooperation. The sector is accelerating the integration of new technologies like big data and industrial internet into its equipment and services, laying the foundations of the future’s intelligent and connected factories. They are also heavily involved in helping our manufacturing workforce to adapt to new technologies and the new business environment.

It is clear that innovation is and will be the motor of growth for the MT industry, and the lack of investment in manufacturing is its most important obstacle. Filip Geerts, director-general of CECIMO says: “The EU decision makers must use the European Fund for Strategic Investments to finance support programmes helping to accelerate “technology transfer” whilst tackling the underinvestment problem.”

During the General Assembly that took place in Bordeaux on 6 July 2015, CECIMO’s Economic Committee confirmed:

• The value of European machine tool production increased to 22.8 billion euro in 2014;
• European machine tool consumption is expected to continue to grow this year.

Economic situation and outlook

After two years of contraction and flat trend, the European economy showed again a positive economic growth in 2014. The improving economic climate has an impact on the European machine tool industry’s results. The European machine tool production increased from 22.7 billion euro in 2013 to 22.9 billion euro in 2014. We estimate that the cautiously positive mood will continue this year and the European machine tool production will increase of another 3%.

The CECIMO countries exported machine tools in 2014 for a value of 18.2 billion euro, which is marginally less than in 2013. This can be explained by the slowdown of economic growth in the emerging markets. On the other hand, the changes of consumption pattern in those counties and the improving growth outlook in developed markets forecast a growth in our exports this year.

The increasing business confidence supports an investment recovery in the main machine tool consumer sectors. The European machine tool consumption grew 7% to 13.5 billion euro in 2014. Taking into account the positive trend in industrial capacity utilisation, European manufactures will look for possibilities to expand their production lines. Therefore we forecast that the machine tool demand will continue to grow in 2015.

The European machine tool imports are mainly driven by the European machine tool consumption. After a decline in 2013, the machine tool imports to CECIMO countries increased to 8.9 billion euro in 2014. The weak euro, making imported goods relatively more expensive, will also influence those flows this year.

“On one hand, we see growth slowing down in emerging markets, the risks relating to possible Greek exit from the euro zone and the effects of EU sanctions on CECIMO export sales to Russia. On the other hand, we see a solid demand in advanced countries. The weak euro will certainly have a positive effect on machine tools exports. Therefore, our expectations for 2015 are still on the positive side,” explained Dr Frank Brinken, the Chairman of CECIMO Economic Committee and a member of the Board of Directors, Starrag Holding Group.

Challenges for industrial policy

New industrial trends and technologies transform the manufacturing industry, and they change the rules of global competition. The digitalisation of manufacturing and the penetration of disruptive technologies into the industrial base lead to significant productivity and efficiency gains. Breakthrough production techniques, such as additive manufacturing, stretch the limits of product design and innovation whilst providing solutions to societal challenges. Moreover, the mass-customisation trend opens the way to

the reindustrialisation of Europe. Against this background, Europe has to move faster than competitors to tap into opportunities in advanced manufacturing. “An ambitious European Industrial Policy should promote smart and coordinated investments, especially in the areas of research and development, education and training, SME finance, infrastructure and standardisation,” added Mr Jean Camille Uring, the President of CECIMO and Executive Board Member of Fives Group. CECIMO urges the EU policymakers to shape supportive framework conditions for the digitalisation of industry and for the development of additive manufacturing technologies to increase the competitiveness of the European industry as a whole.

Harmonised standards have been one of the success stories which helped to establish and develop the EU internal market. The standards must also be relevant to European manufacturing companies who sell on global markets. The standardisation policy has a strong impact on the competitiveness of advanced manufacturing sectors like machine tools. The European machine tool industry is actively contributing to the standardisation processes on machine tool safety (via CEN TC 143) and we are pleased to see that also the topic of addictive manufacturing  will be finally on the European standardisation  agenda within the CEN structures. CECIMO stresses that European standardisation should reflect the state-of-the art technological developments. I It should also fully take into account industrial competitiveness by consulting with industry throughout the standardisation process.

The European Commission and the the United States’ government have expressed their strong commitment to intensify the trade talks and aim for an ambitious and comprehensive agreement. CECIMO welcomes the positon of the European Commission to target technical requirements, standards and conformity assessment in the chapter specific to engineering of the TTIP.  Moreover the foreseen stakeholder consultation procedures on regulatory issues will be instrumental to avoid the emergence of new barriers to trade. “The European machine tool industry is dominated by SMEs who lack resources to cope with excessive red tape in regulatory or custom procedures. The TTIP will be beneficiary for innovative SMEs who will be able to tap into market opportunities in the US, especially in the view of the ongoing re-shoring trend,” highlighted Filip Geerts, the Director General of CECIMO. While recognising the significant progress made during the trade talks, CECIMO continues to stress the importance of addressing non-tariff barriers, technical requirements and regulatory cooperation in the final agreement.

More than 1,300 companies registered six months before the opening of the event: Italy with its 400 companies leads the ranking followed by Germany and Taiwan. Over  110,000 sqm of net exhibition space already booked.

After six years, EMO, the worldwide exhibition of machine tools is back in Italy. Promoted by CECIMO, the European Association for Machine Tool Industries, the trade show will take place from the 5th to the 10th of October 2015 in the prestigious exhibition centre of fieramilano.

The biennial travelling exhibition, EMO – whose trademark is owned by CECIMO – has chosen Milan as one of its locations alternating with Hanover: this is a confirmation of the efficiency of the organisation, relying on a long-standing experience in the organisation of events and of the expertise of the Italian industry which ranks fourth worldwide for production and third for export.

More than 110,000 square meters of net exhibition space has already been booked six months before the opening of EMO MILANO 2015. The threshold of 95,000 sqm of exhibition occupied by the last edition of EMO MILANO (2009) has been exceeded. Should the current trend be confirmed it is reasonable to assume that the exhibition will occupy 120,000 sqm.   

More than 1,300 companies are already registered at EMO MILANO 2015. The leaders in the ranking of the companies which already registered are the “masters of the house”, Italians, closely followed by the Germans; the Taiwanese are ranking third for the number of applications to the trade show, followed by Chinese and Swiss exhibitors.

The halls of the exhibition centre of fieramilano Rho-Pero will host the biggest factory in the world, where machine tools, robots, automation, additive manufacturing, mechatronic solutions and auxiliary technologies will be exhibited, expressing the sector’s international production, representing an industry that accounts for 64 billion euros.

“EMO has always been considered the most important event at the disposal of trade operators from the world’s manufacturing industry to keep up-to-date on the new production technologies” – states Pier Luigi Streparava, appointed by CECIMO as Commissioner General EMO MILANO 2015 – “It’s exactly for this reason, that we decided to include additive manufacturing into the technological index of products of the sector’s leading international exhibition: this is one of the technologies that will be increasingly developed in future and to which the tradeshow will dedicate a special in-depth focus”.

150,000 visitors from approximately 100 countries: these are the figures expected for EMO MILANO 2015, an edition which will also take advantage of the concurrence with EXPO 2015. On this occasion, Milan will show a completely renovated look and an improved traffic flow, thanks to a revised and strengthened public transport service.

Directly connected with the exhibition centre of fieramilano Rho-Pero, Expo 2015 will offer the trade operators of EMO MILANO 2015 many attractions for a unique programme of fringe events. In this respect, the concurrence of the two events will create really interesting synergies for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will be coming to Milan from every corner of the globe.

“As organisers of this exhibition – Pier Luigi Streparava goes on – we are committed to transforming the concurrence of the two trade shows into real opportunities for our operators, by planning “connection activities” and by activating numerous special services. An example is the programme Hospitality which accurately lists a large range of accommodation options reserved for trade operators attending EMO MILANO 2015”.

“Since December we have indeed activated many agreements which allow, through the exhibition website, www.emo-milano.com, the booking of accommodation in and around Milan before, during and after the exhibition period; in addition to this there is also a parking reservation service” – concludes Pier Luigi Streparava.

“In the first quarter of 2015 – declares Alfredo Mariotti, Director of EMO MILANO – the index, produced by the Studies Dept. of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE regarding the quantity of machine tool orders received by Italian manufacturers, registered an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period in 2014, making it 6 positive quarters in a row. The increase in the internal market (+15.4%), has been instrumental to this  positive trend. This information confirms a new period of development and increase for the use of machine tools in Italy. This will materialise with stronger and stronger increases: +5.3% in 2015, +5% in 2016, +7.4% in 2017 (Oxford of Economics figures), to the benefit of EMO MILANO 2015”.

“This data, together with the positive forecast on the global use of machine tools, that will reach 60 billion in 2015, 63 billion in 2016 (+5.2%), 66 billion in 2017 (+4.8%), are a good indication for a successful exhibition” – concludes Alfredo Mariotti.

Updated information, special services for exhibitors and visitors, the video advertisement and one of the music tracks from the EMOTION 2015 collection, the CD made to promote the event, are available on the website www.emo-milano.com.

• The surface covered in 2009 has been exceeded;
• Ahead with this trend 120,000 sqm can be reached.
• More than 1,300 companies registered in march: italy leads the ranking followed by germany and taiwan.

Six years later, EMO, the worldwide exhibition of machine tools is back, promoted by CECIMO, the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries. The tradeshow will take place from 5 to 10 October 2015 in the prestigious fairground centre of fieramilano.

The biennial travelling exhibition, EMO – whose mark is owned by CECIMO – has chosen Milan as its only location alternating with Hanover: this is a confirmation of the efficiency of the organization apparatus relying on a long-standing experience in the organization of events and of the expertise of the Italian industry which ranks fourth worldwide for production and third for export.

110,000 square meters of net exhibition surface have already been booked seven months before the opening of EMO MILANO 2015. Well in advance, the threshold of 95,000 sqm of exhibition occupied by the last edition of EMO MILANO (2009) has been exceeded. Should this trend be confirmed it is reasonable to assume that the exhibition will occupy 120,000 sqm.

More than 1,300 companies registered at EMO MILANO 2015. The leaders in the ranking of the companies which already registered are the “masters of the house”, Italians, closely followed by the Germans; the Taiwanese are ranking third for the number of applications in the tradeshow, followed by the Chinese and Swiss exhibitors.

The halls of the fairground of fieramilano Rho-Pero will host the biggest factory in the world, where machine tools, robots, automation, additive manufacturing, auxiliary mechatronic and technological solutions will be exhibited, as the expression of the international production of the sector, representing an industry that accounts for 64 billion euro.

“EMO has always been considered the most important event at the disposal of trade operators from the world’s manufacturing industry to keep up-to-date on the new production technologies” – states Pier Luigi Streparava, appointed by CECIMO as Commissioner-General EMO MILANO 2015 – “It’s exactly for this reason that we decided to include additive manufacturing into the technological index of products of the world exhibition of the sector: this is one of the technologies that will be more developed in future and to which the tradeshow will dedicate a special in-depth focus”.

150,000 visitors from about 100 countries: these are the figures expected for EMO MILANO 2015, edition which will also take advantage of the concurrence with EXPO 2015. On this occasion Milan will show a completely renovated look and an improved traffic flow, even thanks to a revised and strengthened public transport service.

Directly connected with the exhibition centre of fieramilano Rho-Pero, the website of Expo 2015 will offer the trade operators of EMO MILANO 2015 a lot of attractions for a unique programme of fringe events. In this respect, the concurrence of the two events will create really interesting synergies for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will be coming to Milan from every corner of the globe.

“As organizers of this exhibition – goes on Pier Luigi Streparava – we are committed to transforming the concurrence of the two tradeshows into real opportunities for our operators, by planning “connection activities” and by activating numerous special services. An example is the programme Hospitality which timely lists a large range of accommodation solutions reserved for the trade operators that will take part in EMO MILANO 2015”.

“From last December we have indeed activated a lot of agreements which allow, through the website of the exhibition www.emo-milano.com, the booking of accommodation solutions in and around Milan before, during and after the exhibition period; in addition to this there is also a parking reservation service – concludes Pier Luigi Streparava”.

“On the other hand, after a particularly critical 2013, the year 2014, – which marked the trend reversal by showing a growth in production (+4.6%) and consumption (+18.2%), – will launch a new period of development for the consumption of machine tools in Italy. This will actualize with stronger and stronger increases: +4.6% in 2015, +5.9% in 2016, +8.1% in 2017 (Oxford of Economics figures), to the benefit of EMO MILANO 2015 and of those who will participate in the world exhibition” – points out Alfredo Mariotti.

Updated information, special services for exhibitors and visitors, the video advertisement and one of the music tracks of the collection EMOTION 2015, the CD made to promote the event, are available on the website www.emo-milano.com.

At EMO MILANO 2105 1,200 companies have already registered, booking an exhibition area of more than 100,000 sq.m.

Italy will host the 2015 edition of EMO. Promoted by CECIMO, European Association of the Machine Tool Industries, the world machine tool exhibition that runs every two years in Hannover and Milan alternatively, will take place from the 5th to the 10th of October at the prestigious exhibition centre of fieramilano.

Machines to build the future, cutting-edge solutions that give the possibility of achieving what mankind has imagined, and technologies on which the improvement of the quality of life depends: this and much more will be EMO MILANO 2015. The spotlight will be on the wide offer of machine tools available, capable of attracting users from all the main sectors that use metal working systems.

Occasion for updating and assessing the technological progress of the sector that more than any other defines the development and the competitiveness of the industrial system, EMO is the ideal occasion for all manufacturing operators interested in assessing and planning new investments in production machinery. On the other hand, the professional profile of visitors (124,660 visitors at EMO MILANO 2009), mostly from purchasing, production, management (CEO, General Management, owners), research and development, fully demonstrates the competence of the public normally attending the exhibition, and who will visit EMO MILANO 2015.

The undisputed leading exhibition of the sector, EMO is a point of reference for the operators of the manufacturing sector, who will meet at an event that like no other is capable of promoting the contact between the demand and the offer of manufacturing systems, irrespective of sector trends. The results of the previous Italian edition (EMO MILANO 2009) demonstrate in fact that even during a year when recession was at its deepest, the eventcv was nevertheless capable of responding positively to the existing difficulties and of keeping its top position compared to the other international exhibitions.

The recently concluded multi-stakeholder Design_MTS project has facilitated enterprises in Europe’s Machine Tool Sector (MTS) to take a strategic approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. Since July 2013, Design MTS partners in the partly funded European Commission project have raised the bar for CSR in machine tool sector by practically integrating a multi-stakeholder approach to develop awareness and socially responsible best practice and to enhance the visibility and value of CSR in the MTS.

As the project drew to a close in December 2014, it formulated the principles around raising awareness and communication on CSR and facilitating a strategic approach to CSR in the MTS. These promised to bring continued benefits in terms of risk management, cost savings, access to capital, customer relationships, and human resource management and innovation capacity.

Training

Free-of-charge online training modules are now offered to machine tool companies (mainly SMEs) and trade associations in MTS in a bid to raise awareness about the strategic value of CSR and CSR international standards to help the sector meet the growing requirements on large customers of machine tool SMEs. Access the training modules here: http://designmts.eu/training-modules/

On conclusion of the project, key findings resulting from project activities above all highlighted the importance of continuing to build on the CSR awareness and understanding for stakeholders through continued education. Specifically, further scope for improvement and action was linked to the need to develop practical competence of stakeholders by focusing on skills development, monitoring performance, information sharing and transfer of innovation initiatives.

Stefan Crets, Executive Director of CSR Europe has reiterated this by saying, ‘’only through continued communication and sharing of good practice on CSR can the capability of MTS enterprises be further enhanced. In a complex and multidimensional sector, good CSR practices potentially impact on several sectors in the supply chain including automotive, aerospace, renewable energy and medical devices. Future cross sectorial incentives such as CSR awards or training programmes for MTS enterprises and their partners in the value chain will be key.’’

The European machine tool industry is an SME-oriented B2B sector providing customers with innovative, highly customized and sustainable solutions. Communication of CSR and sustainability in the sector varies from one company to another depending on many factors including customer demands. It is often larger companies and trade associations at national and European levels which take the leading role in CSR communications.

Filip Geerts, Director General at CECIMO, states “in response to stakeholder expectations, technical requirements and legislation affecting particularly larger companies from user industries such as the automotive sector, the issue of CSR and sustainability is likely to remain a strategic issue among European machine tool builders. Through initiatives like Design MTS project, we raise the level of CSR awareness in the sector and help companies gain competitiveness through sustainability”.

Policy recommendations

To consolidate and continue good progress made by stakeholders to date, project partners have published policy recommendations and a networking strategy to set the foundation for longer-term commitments and enterprise engagement in CSR.

Aligning policy approaches towards CSR and sustainability at the National and European level was identified as key to highlighting its relevance to industry and specific sectors as well as offering insights to policy makers on implementing, fostering, and disseminating CSR within MTS.

Principally, recommendations call for the continuation of partner initiatives that target awareness raising, training and capacity building with the sharing of best practice examples of integrated CSR management in the MTS, other sectors and regions. This will also go a long way to securing sustainable solutions and a robust and viable industry into the future.

As part of the CECIMO Fall Meetings 2014, roundtable discussion was held with members of the European Parliament and the European Commission: Matching the EU environmental agenda with the trade strategy. CECIMO expressed its full support for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement (TTIP) which is under negotiation between the EU and the US. “The removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers can eliminate unnecessary burdens on exporters of machine tools without jeopardizing the level of protection, safety and the performance of machines,” stated Jean-Camille Uring, CECIMO President.

Freer and more open trade between the two sides of Atlantic will create a level playing field and will stimulate competition based on the delivery of the highest level of innovation in production technologies. Martin Kapp, CECIMO Vice-President affirmed: “TTIP can play a significant role in promoting a genuine manufacturing renaissance across the Atlantic.” CECIMO advocates that the priority should be given to the harmonisation of regulatory requirements in the area of health, safety and environment, and to the use of consensus-based international standards as the basis of regulations. Moreover, appropriate consultation and notification mechanisms should be put in place to ensure the alignment of future legislations. Other priorities for CECIMO are the simplification of customs procedures, the removal of barriers to the mobility of the professional personnel and investment protection.

CECIMO also called on European policy-makers to fully integrate the global market reality when applying the Ecodesign Directive to highly export-oriented business-to-business sectors such as machine tools. Technical requirements which do not meet user demand in export markets may have a negative impact on the competitiveness of the sector. Furthermore, overly-prescriptive ecodesign rules may even compromise the productivity, accuracy and performance of machines which are the core procurement criteria for customers all over the world. More than half of the European machine tool production is exported outside the EU. “The international dimension of the machine tool business and its global competitiveness should be placed at the heart of discussions,” stated Luigi Galdabini, CECIMO Vice-President. The sector generates a trade surplus worth 9.5 billion euro and contributes to the EU trade balance.

Given the technical and market characteristics inherent to the machine tool industry, Ecodesign can be best achieved via stimulating market-based competition with reference to international standards.. Therefore, CECIMO has proposed a self-regulation measure (SRM) to the European Commission based on the principle of manufacturers’ self-assessment. CECIMO’s SRM proposal received positive feedback from member state representatives at the Ecodesign Consultation Forum in summer this year, but awaits the Commission’s final evaluation.

Ecodesign became one of the major components of the Circular Economy package recently proposed by the Commission. CECIMO is of the opinion that, in order to remain competitive, Europe has to develop along the lines of sustainable consumption and production. As the Commission and the European Parliament discuss introducing resource-efficiency criteria in the future review of the Ecodesign legislation, CECIMO called on them to carefully consider market acceptance, technology readiness, the existence of industry standards and the aspect of global competitiveness. Incentives for competition and innovation have a far greater potential to deliver resource-efficiency in industry.

The European Council of 21 March 2014 concluded that Europe needs a strong and competitive industrial base, in terms of both production and investment. CECIMO underlined that the integration of this strategic objective in all EU policy areas will be key for sustaining European leadership in the global machine tool production and exports.