In the first quarter of 2016, the index of machine tool orders, processed by the Studies Dept. of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, registered a 14.3% increase compared with the same period of the previous year.

The overall outcome was mainly due to the excellent performances achieved in the Italian market; a positive response also came from the foreign markets.

In particular, the index of orders collected in the foreign markets recorded a 1.7% rise versus the period January-March 2015.

A much more significant upturn was reported with regard to the collection of domestic orders, grown by 31.8% compared with the same period of the previous year. Therefore, the positive trend, registered by the manufacturers in the Italian market, has extended to eleven consecutive quarters.

Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, stated: “In these first months of the year, the demand for machine tools is getting stronger and is growing again considerably, after the slight slowdown experienced in the last period of 2015. All this proves that end users, especially the Italian ones, are willing to invest. In this sense, the weakness at the end of last year is presumably to be attributed to the users’ willingness to take their time in deciding which investments to make, in the light of what was presented at EMO MILANO 2015, the world exhibition held in Milan in the month of October”.

“On the other hand, – continued Luigi Galdabini – the provisions implemented by the Government authorities to support this “new course of the real economy” have undoubtedly contributed to stabilize what at first seemed only a weak trend reversal”.

“Besides the New Sabatini Law, the provision of Super Depreciation is yielding benefits, even if below potential, which could instead be fully exploited with a small amendment to the provision. In particular, – went on Galdabini – we believe that the fixed deadline of 31 December 2016 should concern the collection of orders accompanied by a down-payment bank transfer and not the delivery of machines, which should rather be postponed until 30 June 2017. The separation of the deadlines for the order collection and for the machinery delivery respectively is justified by the fact that the production time of a machine is generally estimated at 5-6 months. By postponing the delivery time of machines – stressed Galdabini – the provision will actually remain valid for its whole planned duration, without causing a burden in the State budget that would only have a delayed inflow of a part of the income related to the operation”.

“Moreover, while acknowledging the effectiveness of these provisions regarding the economic situation, it is necessary to contemplate structural actions aiming at stimulating and supporting the replacement of production systems in the Italian enterprises, the only way to ensure a prosperous future to the manufacturing industry of our country. In this connection, it could be useful to introduce the liberalization of depreciation charges, by which the purchased machinery can be depreciated in shorter time. Besides incentivizing new purchases, this provision would not actually imply costs to be borne by the State, which would only see the cash inflow delayed. If this is not possible, at least it would be necessary to update the depreciation coefficients, still dating back to 1988.”

“This said – concluded Galdabini – the most adequate remedy to avert the ageing of machine tools is the adoption of an incentive programme to encourage  the voluntary replacement of obsolete machinery with new technologies, designed and built according to the new requirements of productivity, energy saving and compliance with the EU regulations concerning safety at the workplace. Also because the recent survey conducted by UCIMU on the total machinery installed in Italy provides a really alarming picture of the manufacturing industry of the country, which uses means of production with an average age close to 13 years: the worst result of the last forty years”.

The Italian machine tool industry, one of the largest in the world, finished 2015 with “double-figure increases” in production volume, total sales, and exports, according to the year-end summary issued by UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre. The trade group also predicted continued strong results for 2016 are expected.

UCIMU is a confederation of designers and manufacturers of machine tools as well as automation products. While Italian and other machine tool manufacturers in the region have struggled for several years to maintain steady growth, 2015 has seen some stability in industrial demand.

The economic studies arm of UCIMU reported that preliminary figures for 2015 show total production of the Italian machine tool industry rose to €5.43 billion ($5.93 billion), up 12.2% over 2014 total production. The group attributed this to improvements in both exports and domestic deliveries that began to be demonstrated last year.

UCIMU described the growth in Italian machine-tool consumption as “really remarkable,” reaching €3.595 billion ($3.9 billion), a 31.3% increase compared to 2014. The revived demand was evident in both domestic manufacturers’ deliveries, up 21% to €1.92 billion ($2.1 billion); and in imports of machine tools, which increased by 45.5%, to €1.675 billion ($1.83 billion.)

The group also reported that its members’ 2015 exports increased 7.9% over the previous year, to €3.51 billion ($3.8 billion.) According to the available data, the U.S. was the top export market (€248 million / $271 million, +10.8%) for Italian machine tool manufacturers in 2015, followed by China (+0.5%), Germany (+7.1%), Russia (+38.1%), and France (+23,5%.)

UCIMU also reported that rising demand from the domestic industry meant that Italian machine tool manufacturers’ export/production ratio slipped to 64.6% over the past two years, compared to 75.4% in 2013.

Even 2016 will be a favorable year for the Italian industry of the sector, which, according to the forecasts, will experience a growth for all main economic indicators.  Production will achieve €5,820 million euro (+7.2%), getting close to the “record” value of 6 billion euro registered in 2008.

For the year ahead, UCIMU predicted its members’ production volume will rise 7.2% over the current year, to €5.82 billion ($6.36 billion); exports will rise 6.6% to €3.74 billion ($4.09 billion); and that domestic consumption will rise 8.3% to €2.08 billion ($2.27 billion.)

According to Luigi Galdabini, president of UCIMU: “2015 was a positive year for the Italian machine tool industry that was able to take full advantage of the consumption recovery, and of the improvement with regard to the national and international situation, recording increases for all main indicators.

“However,” he continued, “EMO Milano 201, on one hand, and the measures of industrial policy provided for by the government authorities on the other hand, further boosted this recovery by making it stronger and more stable.”

The Italian enterprises are again investing in production systems. 

In 2014 the Italian machine tool, robot and automation industry recorded a positive outcome, showing a production growth driven by the recovery of domestic consumption. The resumption of Italian domestic demand benefitted mostly the deliveries of Italian manufacturers, registering a strong increase.

Thanks to its positive performance, the Italian industry strengthened its fourth position in the world ranking of manufacturers and confirmed its third place in the ranking of exporters.

In particular, in 2014, the production grew by 7.9%, reaching 4,840 million euro: it was driven by the recovery of domestic consumption that increased by 33.8% to 2,738 million euro, favouring both the deliveries of Italian manufacturers, – up by 44%, to 1,587 million – and imports – grown by 21.9%, to 1,151 million euro.

An opposite sign was highlighted by exports, down by 3.9% to 3,253 million euro: this outcome was due, at least partly, to the choice of manufacturers to readdress their offer to the domestic market, where consumption started again.

This is in short the account of the 2014 situation, given by President Luigi Galdabini, this morning, on the occasion of the annual Members’ Meeting of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, in which Giorgio Squinzi, President of CONFINDUSTRIA (Italian Industrial Federation) also took part. The meeting, hosted by fieramilano, was attended by about 300 people, among entrepreneurs, institutions and media representatives.

The recovery of the Italian industry of the sector will be confirmed also in 2015, as emerged from the forecast data processed by the Studies Dept. & Business Culture of UCIMU. In particular, in 2015, all main indicators will show an increase: production will grow by 5.2%, to 5,090 million euro, consumption will reach 2,895 million euro, 5.7% more compared with last year, driving both the deliveries of manufacturers, expected to rise by 4.3% to 1,655 million, and imports (+7.7%). Back to a positive sign, exports will also grow by 5.6%, achieving the amount of 3,435 million euro. The export/production ratio, decreased in 2014 as a consequence of Italian demand, will remain stable at 67.5%.

With regard to exports, in 2014, the United States turned out to be the first destination market for the “Made in Italy” of the sector, followed by China, Germany, Russia and France. The last available survey, concerning the period January-March 2015, highlights a recovery of sales to foreign markets, which materialized with a 2.1% increase versus the first quarter of 2014. China came back to the top position in the ranking of outlet countries, thanks to a 9.3% rise in the purchases of Italian machine tools. Germany (-9.4%) and the United States (-3%) followed in the ranking. Good performances were registered in Russia (+40%). The last of the top positions in the ranking belonged to the United Kingdom (+155.7%).

Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU stated: “After a year 2013 to be forgotten, in 2014, the Italian industry of the sector is growing again, starting off a positive trend that has already been confirmed by the 2015 data. However, last year – went on Galdabini – will be remembered for the recovery of Italian demand which seems to have awaken from its torpor”.

“The increased investments in production machines are certainly good news for the whole country, because they testify a general restart of manufacturing activity in many production fields, for example in the automotive and the aerospace sectors. Nevertheless, if it is true that optimism is necessary to support this newly started trend, it is also true that it is not enough, mainly because, in reality, the growth we are experiencing is still weak and not sufficient to completely recover the ground lost in the 2009 crisis”.

“We should also say that, even if sometimes in a fragmentary way, our government authorities proved to be “willing to give a shake to our country”. The reduction of IRAP (regional tax on production activity), the Jobs Act, the tax credit for research: these are all measures to be intended in that direction. An excellent measure was also the re-financing for the whole year 2015 of the New Sabatini Law that allowed to activate loans for around 2 billion euro between March 2014 and May 2015, and the machinery bonus, which unfortunately has not been extended”.

“These two measures – affirmed Luigi Galdabini – have favoured the recovery of Italian consumption in a significant way, but, most of all, their merit was their contribution to maintaining the competitiveness of the Italian manufacturing industry, by stimulating the acquisition of new production means that are essential to grant the “Made in Italy” the necessary standards to fight foreign competition”.

“For this reason – went on the President of UCIMU – we ask President Squinzi that CONFINDUSTRIA may support the proposal of extension of the Machinery Bonus, a measure enabling tax deduction of investments in high-technology machinery, as well as that of an incentive programme to support the replacement of obsolete machinery installed in Italy, so that the production systems may meet the new requirements of productivity, energy saving and compliance with the current work safety EC regulations”.

“This said – concluded Luigi Galdabini – however, it is necessary to stress again the need for specific measures capable of supporting, in a structured way, the relaunch of the domestic market and of the Italian manufacturing sector. A complementary action to these measures should be the liberalization of depreciation on purchased capital equipment and the revision of coefficients for its calculation, dating back to 1988″.

Mchine tool orders: Moderate increase in the first quarter 2015 (+2.2%) a decidedly positive collection of orders in the domestic market (+15.4%) foreign markets are stationary (-1%)

In the first quarter of 2015, the index of machine tool orders, processed by Centro Studi & Cultura di Impresa (Studies Dept. & Business Culture) of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, registered a 2.2% growth in comparison with the same period of the previous year.

Therefore, there has been an extension to six consecutive quarters of the positive trend reported by the index of machine tool orders collected by Italian manufacturers, who, as recorded all over the year 2014, showed the best performances in the domestic market in this first quarter, too.

The index of domestic orders indeed marked a new upturn, in the amount of 15.4% compared with the period January-March 2014. The index of orders collected abroad remained stationary (-1%).

The analysis of data, conducted by the method of the “moving average”, – which surveys the trend of the last four quarters, thus allowing to reduce the effect of seasonality determined by the different collections of orders in the different quarters, – is currently showing a value of 119.3 (basis 2010=100).

“The year 2015 is thus opening with good expectations for the Italian manufacturers who – pointed out Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE – while remaining loyal to their own traditional inclination to the export business, have been able to fully exploit the recovery of the Italian demand for production systems”.

The United States, China, Germany, Russia, France, Turkey, Poland resulted the most important outlet markets of the “Made by Italians” in the sector in 2014; moreover, Italy has finally gone back to investing again in machine tools supported by the New Sabatini Law.

“The official data presented by the Ministry for the Economic Development – stated Luigi Galdabini – are proving that the New Sabatini Law generated 1.6 billion euro investments (not only in machine tools) in the period between March 2014 and March 2015. Considering that the value of investments concerning the submitted applications amounts to 2.3 billion euro, it is reasonable to suppose that, already in the short term, this datum will be likely to increase: this will also be due to the decision included in the “Investment Compact”, which allows to obtain a state subsidy on the interest paid also by using autonomous funding on loans granted by banks and by leasing companies, without utilizing the funds offered by the public financial institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti”.

“Another very interesting provision – added the President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE – is the Bonus Macchinari (Machinery Bonus) that enables the tax deduction of the investments in high-technology machinery. In order to make this measure really effective, the Italian manufacturers are asking to considerably increase the 15% deduction, which is currently applied to the part exceeding the average amount of investments made by the company in the last five years; they also ask to apply it to all investments made in the next three fiscal years. In relation to this measure, they also ask to separate the due date for order collection, now fixed within 30 June, from that of machine delivery. This should be postponed till 31 December 2015 in order to facilitate the Italian manufacturers in acquiring orders in the first part of the year, as they are generally suppliers of tailor-made machines, for whose production many months are needed”.

“This said, however it is necessary to stress again the need for specific measures capable of supporting, in a structured way, the relaunch of the domestic market and of the Italian manufacturing sector. A complementary action to the New Sabatini Law should be the liberalization of depreciation on purchased capital equipment and the revision of coefficients for its calculation, dating back to 1988”. In this connection it could be interesting to consider the provision announced in France which offers the possibility of depreciating 140% of the value of plants or machines purchased in the twelve months following the entry into force of the law provision”.

“The recovery of machine tool consumption in Italy – stressed Luigi Galdabini – is indeed an issue of interest not only for manufacturers, but, on the contrary, it is and must be more relevantly among the priorities of our country, whose manufacturing industry is working with more and more obsolete and less efficient production technologies. To avoid a loss in competitiveness in our country system, we need to consider an incentive programme to support the replacement of obsolete machinery. The provision, which was favourably considered by the Ministry of Economic Development, could actually give a shake to machinery consumption, but, most of all, it would encourage the necessary modernisation of production plants, in response to the companies’ requirements of higher productivity and of compliance with stricter and stricter regulations in terms of energy saving and improvement of safety standards at the workplace”.

“The positive trend of orders in the domestic market – concluded Galdabini – proves that the recovery of the Italian manufacturing industry has really started. Now the enterprises have to be stimulated to improve their facilities, in order to be able to face the challenges of the future, starting from the great international meeting scheduled to take place next autumn, EMO MILANO 2015, the world exhibition of machine tools, robotics and automation hosted at fieramilano from 5 to 10 October”.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the index of machine tool orders, processed by the Studies Dept. of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, registered a 19.1% increase compared with the same period of the previous year, for an absolute value of 138.4 (basis 2010=100). The global outcome was determined by the positive results achieved by the manufacturers in Italy, as well as abroad.

The index of orders collected in the foreign markets reported a 19.3% upturn versus the period October-December 2013, for an absolute value of 134.8.

The domestic orders index recorded a new growth, in the amount of 18.8% in comparison with the same period of the previous year, for an absolute value of 163.3.

On an annual basis, the index showed an average increase amounting to 14.7% in comparison with 2013 (absolute value 118.5). The outcome was determined by the positive performances of manufacturers in the foreign market (+10.1%), as well as by the good results achieved on the domestic market (+37.2%) which went back to investing in capital goods, supported by the introduction of the New Sabatini Law.

“This last survey – stated Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE – highlights that there were five consecutive quarters of growth registered by the index processed by our Studies Dept.; this certainly confirms a good expectation for the near future, taking into account that the collection of orders will materialize in production in the next six-eight months”.

Alfredo Mariotti, General Manager of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, pointed out: “These data and the good forecasts for 2015, – which is envisaged as a positive year for the Italian and for the European machine tool sector, as confirmed by the figures Oxford of Economics, – are a good omen for the success of EMO MILANO 2015, the world exhibition of the sector, hosted in Italy every six years (alternating only with Germany). Ten months before the tradeshow scheduled at fieramilano from 5 to 10 October, 1,100 companies have already sent their applications for participating, booking an exhibition surface of over 100,000 square meters (95,455 sq m was the final surface booked in the last edition, 2009).

“On the other hand – went on Luigi Galdabini – the recovery of the Italian demand for machine tools shows that the manufacturing industry of our country is getting back on track. We hope that this new phase will be confirmed even in the long term, to the benefit of the whole country system”.

“In this connection, the introduction of the New Sabatini Law, in force since last March, plays and will play a fundamental role which goes far beyond the mere economic calculation of the financed operations. According to the note of the Ministry for the Economic Development, at the end of 2014, funds amounting to 1,048 million euro were granted by the public financial institution “Cassa Depositi e Prestiti”, for 3,681 accepted applications. From our observatory of entrepreneurs we can say that the value of the measure is much higher in comparison with the over 2,000 million euro of investments financed so far: it corresponds to the injection of trust brought into the market by the New Sabatini Law. For this reason our Association fought in order to have this measure again within the Decree Law of Stability 2015. Now, it welcomes the decision included in the Investment compact, which allows to obtain a state subsidy on the interest paid also by using autonomous funding on loans granted by banks and leasing companies, without utilizing the funds offered by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti”.

“This said, however it is necessary to stress again the need for specific measures capable of supporting, in a structured way, the relaunch of the domestic market and of the Italian manufacturing sector. A complementary action to the New Sabatini Law should be the liberalization of depreciation on purchased capital equipment and the revision of coefficients for its calculation, dating back to 1988”.

“Finally – concluded Galdabini – the recovery of machine tool consumption in Italy is an issue of interest not only for manufacturers, but, on the contrary, it is and must be more relevantly among the priorities of our country, whose manufacturing industry is working with more and more obsolete and less efficient production technologies. To avoid a loss in competitiveness in our country system, we need to consider an incentive programme to support the replacement of obsolete machinery. The provision, which was favourably considered by Vice Minister Calenda, could actually give a shake to machinery consumption, but most of all it would encourage the necessary modernisation of production plants, in response to the companies’ requirements of higher productivity and of compliance with stricter and stricter regulations in terms of energy saving and improvement of safety standards at the workplace”.

Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU: “The Stability Law, presented a few days ago, contains some interesting points, from automatic tax credits for investments in research and development, to the elimination of IRAP on labour costs. It is, however, with great worry that we note the failure to include re-financing in line with the New Sabatini Law, promised several times by the Prime Minister’s Office, and which during these seven months of activity has brought the restart of investments in capital goods in Italy.”

For the third quarter of 2014, the machine tool order index, published by Centro Studi & Cultura di Impresa (Centre for Enterprise Studies & Culture) of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE shows a 7.8% increase against the same period of the previous year. The absolute index value reached 86.7, still significantly lower than the average set at 2010 = 100. The overall result was due to the positive trends recorded by manufacturers, both in Italy and abroad.

In particular the index for foreign orders increased by 5.3% when compared with the July-September period of 2013, for an absolute value equal to 102.8.

And the index for domestic orders showed an increaseof 19.1% when compared with the same period of the previous year, clearly sustained by the implementation of the New Sabatini Law. The absolute index value is nevertheless still very low, only reaching 33.7.

Luigi Galdabini, president of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, stated: “The increase recorded by this last assessment is certainly a positive indication for Italian machine tool manufacturers, also because it is the fourth consecutive month of growth as far as orders are concerned. If 2014 confirms itself as the year of the inversion in trend, one must still remember that the recovery remains weak and uncertain.”

“Against a positive trend in activity abroad,” continued Luigi Galdabini, “the activity on the domestic market, although better than in the past, remains rather unexciting. On the other hand, the New Sabatini Law, which in the period between April and September has financed purchases of capital goods in excess of 2 billion Euros, proves to be a useful tool, necessary for bringing an increase in demand from Italian end users.”

“And it is indeed for this reason,” stated “Galdabini”, “that although the Stability Law contains many interesting points, from automatic tax credits for investments in research and development, to the elimination of IRAP on labour costs, we ask, during this stage of definition and discussion of contents, that the 2.5 billion re-financing of the New Sabatini Law is reintroduced for any operations presented during the 2015-2017 two-year period, as previously indicated by Minister Guidi. The absence of the provision that facilitates financing for those purchasing capital goods in Italy, could in fact cause a new cooling down of the market, which is already uncertain as it is.”

“After saying that, one must still reiterate the need for specific measures, capable of supporting in a structured way the recovery of the domestic market and of the Italian manufacturing sector, currently often operating using obsolete production systems. Complementary to the provisions just described, should be the liberalisation of depreciation for capital goods acquired, and the revision of the calculation coefficients for the same, which are still at the levels of 1988. In this sense, the UK Tax Allowance, in force since last Spring in the United Kingdom, is a great model that our Government authorities should take as a reference. This provision gives in fact the possibility of deducting, during the year of purchase, 100% of the investments in machinery made, up to a maximum amount of 600,000 Euros.”

“Moreover,” concluded Galdabini, “the recovery in the consumption of machine tools in Italy is not a topic that is only of interest for manufacturers but, on the contrary, it is and must always be more and more among the priorities of the country. This is particularly true when one takes into account the fact that the sector operates using technologies that are becoming more and more obsolete and less performing. In order to avoid the loss of competitiveness of our country, it is necessary to think about a system of incentives for the replacement of obsolete machinery. The provision may clearly spur the consumption of machinery, but most of all promote the now necessary modernisation of production systems, in response to the need for better productivity of the companies, and in order to meet the more and more stringent regulations on energy savings and improvement of safety standards in the workplace.”

Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU: “The increase in visitors confirms the positive trend expected for Italian consumption during the next three years.”

Came to an end on Saturday 4th October 29.BI-MU/SFORTEC, the machine tool, robots and automation systems two-yearly exhibition that showcased the offer of 1,060 companies on an overall surface of 90,000 square metres, and that, thanks to the attention to eco-compatibility, has been able to obtain, among the first in Italy, the certification of sustainable event.

Hosted by Fieramilano and promoted by UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE and CIS-Comitato Interassociativo Subfornitura, the event recorded 61,926 visitors, 5.2% more than the past edition (2012). 4% of these were foreign operators, who represented 75 countries.

Interested visitors and satisfied exhibitors: this is the first outcome for the twenty-ninth edition of BI-MU/SFORTEC, which together with the traditional offer also presented many novelties. Among these, particularly successful was the FOCUS MECHA-TRONIKA area, a spin-off of the exhibition with the same name, and the CIS-RP&3D area, which put the spotlight on interesting manufacturers of 3D Printing and Additive manufacturing systems.

The interest in the Additive technology sector, currently experiencing a strong development, was also confirmed by the participation to the conference “3D Printing: opportunities and applications in the mechanical manufacturing sector”, attended by 160 people. On the overall, 400 operators joined the conferences of Quality Bridge, organised in the frame of 29.BI-MU/SFORTEC.

More than 1,000 planned meetings were organised between Italian exhibitors and approximately 60 foreign machine tool end-users from China, India, Mexico, Russia, United States, and Turkey, invited as part of the initiative organised by UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE and ICE for the promotion of the Made in Italy.

The initiative ONDA ROSSA (“Red Wave”), showcasing some of the most prestigious models of the Ferrari brand, and PIANETA GIOVANI (“Planet Youth”) attracted the attention of the young and less young alike. The UCIMU Blue Philosophy area on the other hand highlighted the excellence in Italian production present at the exhibition, identified with the UCIMU Blue Philosophy brand, awarded to UCIMU member companies that follow eco-sustainability criteria, reducing the impact on the environment.

With particular reference to PIANETA GIOVANI, the area traditionally dedicated to students (about 5,000 young people visited the event) was turned into a continuous training area. The space, located inside Hall 13, also hosted the UCIMU PRIZE ceremony, awarding prizes to 7 students for the best (six) degree dissertations on the machine tool manufacturing sector, and the Lathe Turning Operator Championship, organised by Randstad and Siemens, sponsored by PROBEST and supported by UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE.

“The increase in the number of visitors to the two-yearly machine tool exhibition”, stated Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, “perfectly reflects the growing trend in Italian consumption anticipated by the data of Oxford of Economics for the next three years. After a particularly difficult 2013, the year 2014, characterised by an inversion in trend, is the start of a new era of development in the consumption of capital goods in Italy, with more and more decisive increases: +4.6% in 2015, +5.9% in 2016, +8.1% in 2017, all to the advantage of EMO MILANO 2015”.

“On the other hand, the appreciation shown by the operators taking part in the exhibition,” concluded Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, “confirms the validity of the BI-MU formula, which in line with its nature of market trend setting exhibition, has introduced some interesting novelties, both for the machine sector, and for the sector of auxiliary accessories and technologies, also focusing on those areas that up to now have been explored the least, but that are nevertheless of extreme interest, like mechatronics and additive metal technologies. And it is indeed to Additive manufacturing that a special area will be dedicated during EMO MILANO 2015, completing in this way, with one of the technologies that will experience the highest level of development in the near future, the repertoire of the world sector exhibition planned for October 2015.”

The recently concluded 29.BI-MU/SFORTEC from September 30th to October 4th presented the most qualified offer in terms of machine tools for metal cutting & metal forming, robots, automation system. Sponsored by UCIF, the union of manufacturers and finishing Systems, the event is organised by EFIM-ENTE FIERE ITALIANE MACCHINE.

The opening ceremony took place in Sala Martini, Centro Congressi Stella Polare, Centro Servizi Fiera with the opening conference introduce by: Luigi Galdabini, President, UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE; Roberto Moroni, President, Regione Lombardia; Michele Perini, President, Fiera Milano; Benito Benedini, President, Fondazione Fiera Milano.

The event witnessed over 1060 exhibitors latest showcasing technologies in 90,000 sq mt area. 47% of the exhibiting companies are from outside Itlay, confirming the international nature of the event. They represented the total of 30 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, India, Israel, Japan, Manoco, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, S Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, USA. The value of around 3,000 machines on exhibition is estimated to be 450 million Euros. These numbers confirm the position of BI-MU at the top of the list in terms of national sector event.

During the 2014 edition, the exhibition introduced many new features. In addition to traditional offer on show, the two-yearly machine tool event presents: CIS-RP&3D area, dedicated to the new manufacturing of 3D printing and Additive Manufacturing Systems, and Focus MECHA-TRONIKA, the “Spin-off” of the event with the same name, showcasing “intelligent solutions capable of optimising the management of machines and industrial processes”.

Following the tradition the recent edition of the event again promoted made by Italian sector. Driven by the ministry of Economic Development, ICE and UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, the action was to entail a number of meeting between Italian exhibitors and approximately 50 important end users of some of the most dynamic market like China, India, Mexico, Russia, United States, Turkey. The end users invited had chance to see the live demo of Italian machines. UCIMU had also organised some b2b meetings with Italian companies during the show with the delegation from. various countries.

The biennial machine tool, robot and automation exhibition 29 bi-mu/SFORTEC taking place in Milan from September 30^th to October 4^th, was awarded the sustainable event status.

The event, sponsored by UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE is thus among the very few Italian organizations that successfully underwent an evolution according to ISO 20121:2012 standards defining the requirements for sustainable event management and reduced impact on the environment and local communities.

“This achievement makes us really proud” – says Luigi Galdabini, President, UCIMU “Even more so since the evaluation of the 29.BI-MU/ SFORTEC applied the same standard that assessed the environmental performance of the 2012 London Olympics” he added

The evolution was carried out following request by EFIM-ENTE FIERE ITALIANE MACCHINE, the body responsible for the organization of the biennial exhibition, with an expected 1060 companies displaying their products on a 90,000 squar meter surface. The sustainability certification was issued by ICIM and was achieved primarily thanks to long-time painstaking commitment of companies in the machine tool industry.

Being conscious of the environmental impact of machine tool use, the Italian machine tool, robot and automation manufacturers’ association UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE has long been leading an awareness campaign on the issue of sustainable manufacturing among its members, striving to spread the ideas behind the blue philosophy trademark are all UCIMU members and make machine tools that enable their users to exploit resources sensibly, minimizing their energy and raw material consumption.

As to the exhibition, EFIM and UCIMU presented the certification body with their work on 29.BI-MU/ SFORTEC, which was granted the status of environmentally, economically and socially sustainable event.

The reduction of exhibition’s environmental footprint was mainly achieved by investing in new technologies and new applications that partially replaced the use of paper for certain services. For the first time, exhibitors and visitors were able to file their participation application online. The catalogue app and the new smart catalogue will cover most of the participants needs.

Great attention was devoted to promoting sustainable low-Corban transportation; a train station was made operational in order to provide for easier long distance trips (on Rome and Venice line).

Regarding the issue of economic sustainability, the organisers adopt the highly efficient cost management system that allowed for costs to be under control since the very first steps of the event and of all related initiatives.

Finally, 29.BI-MU/ SFORTEC fulfils sustainability criteria due to initiatives aiming at upholding and promoting growth and economic and social development for all stakeholders, i.e. companies, market players and students. Companies will take advantage of extensive opportunities to meet qualified foreign businesses representing some of the biggest markets in the world that UCIMU and ICE will invite to the exhibition. Young professionals approaching the job market and their individuals wishing to keep up to date with new trends will be offered the PIANETA GIOVANI initiative, a scheme devoted to life-long learning.

During the course of event, dedicated workshops and seminars will explore the issue surrounding sustainability. In particular, UCIMU’s stand is hosting the presentation of the blue philosophy trademark, thus offering a privileged showcase to all companies awarded with the trademark. These theme will be further developed on occasion of the quality bridge initiatives (Friday October 3^rd at 14.00) at a conference named “Quality Safety, and Environment: Standards Supporting Innovation and Sustainability in the machine tool industry” and organized by STANIMUC and UCIMU.

For the second quarter of 2014 the machine tool index of orders, issued by the Studies Dept. of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, shows a 14.4% increase against the same period of the previous year. The absolute index value reached 96, still under the average set at 2010 = 100. The overall result is due to the positive performance of manufacturers both in the domestic and the export markets. In spite of this, the level of investments planned for the Italian market remains low.
In particular, the index of domestic orders went up by 38.2%, for an absolute value of 91.2, supported by the introduction of the New Sabatini Law.

As far as exports, the index of orders grew by 11.5%, for an absolute value of 96.6, confirming the recovery in the consumption of Italian machine tools in the main foreign markets, already highlighted, after the slow down of 2013, by the export results for the first quarter of 2014 (+2.1%).

Following the UCIMU analysis of the ISTAT data, the most active countries appear to be those of the EU; on the increase are in fact sales to Germany (+17.6%), France (+30.2%), Poland (+0.8%), Great Britain (+42%), Spain (+12.9%). Down are sales to China (-16.3%), United States (-11%), Russia (-5.8%), India (-35.3%), Brazil (-37.8%), Turkey (-7.5%).

On a six-monthly basis, the index shows a 14.9% increase due to the growth in the index for domestic (+59.5%) and export (+7.8%) orders.

“The results processed by the Studies Dept. of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE”, said Luigi Galdabini, President of UCIMU, “is certainly positive, because it confirms the change in trend already detected during the previous quarter.  However, it has to be considered that the increase appears consistent because it compares with 2013, one of the worst years of the Italian industry of the sector”.

“The positive trend of domestic orders is the direct result of the introduction of the New Sabatini Law which, in force since last March, has up to now resulted in financing at favourable conditions for 1.5 thousand million euros of investments of capital goods. On the other hand, we estimate that the next edition of BI-MU, the two-yearly event planned for next October at Fiera Milano, will give a further push to purchases by Italian end users”.

“The response to the introduction of the New Sabatini Law,” continued Galdabini, “makes one think that structural measures aimed at supporting the recovery of the Italian consumption of manufacturing systems, necessary for the preservation of the competitiveness of the country, would find a fertile ground thanks to the latent demands, which must be stimulated to present themselves. On this respect, we happily acknowledge decree 91/2014, which allows for tax credits equal to 15% of the total value of machine investments of companies, starting from June 25th 2014, and for delivery by June 30th 2015. However, we believe that this is not enough, also and most of all due to the too short duration of the provision, which, due to its structure, offers great advantages to importers of foreign machinery with warehouse facilities, to the detriment of Italian manufacturers, whose activity is mostly based on existing orders. The ideal would be to produce an amendment indicating that the expiry date of June 30 2015 applies to orders received, and the term for the delivery of the machine is postponed to December 31st 2015”.

“We also insist on the system of free amortisation, which in some nearby countries has already been introduced.  As a reference, it may be useful to take into account the provision introduced in Great Britain in April 2014, which allows, for the year of purchase of the machine, and until December 31st 2015, the total amortisation of capital goods investments up to a maximum amount of 600,000 euros”.

“In addition,” continued the President of UCIMU, “once again Italian manufacturers highlight the need for a provision promoting the replacement of obsolete machinery not only at national, but also at European level. This provision could obviously push the consumption of machinery, but most of all support the by now necessary modernisation of the manufacturing systems of the old continent. The need for modern and productive machinery is in fact a common denominator for many countries of the Euro Zone. To the Government Authorities we therefore ask, also in view of the Italian six-month presidency of the European Union, to include among the industrial policies proposals also some suggestions to this extent, which if implemented would meet the needs for better productivity of companies, and for adaptation to the more and more stringent regulations on energy saving and safety standards in the workplace”.

“Aware of the difficulties that the country is experiencing, and of the low availability of resources,” concluded Mr. Galdabini, “Italian machine tool entrepreneurs cannot fail to recognise the value of some provisions implemented by the Government Authorities. What has been done in terms of reduction of the tax burden must certainly be commended, but a more decisive intervention is needed to ensure that Italian companies continue to work in Italy, and that the country becomes more and more attractive to foreign players, whose presence can only create welfare. In particular, we insist in suggesting once again the introduction of the IRAP abatement through the reduction of the taxable base, only for the part relating to labour costs, for an amount equal to the export/production ratio generated by the company, thus stimulating companies to become more and more committed towards internationalisation”.