AMAPLAST Member Assembly, held in June, in addition to the elections of the new governance, was the occasion for a broad overview of the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery industry, who generated revenues of 4.35 billion euros in 2022, for an impressive 8.1% gain over 2021. This is the second best performance of all time. The confidence of the industry’s manufacturers remains high.
AMAPLAST (the Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers’ Association) annual Member Assembly, which took place in June, was the occasion for a broad overview of the sector represented by the Association and for the election of the new governance, which will be guides by the newly elected President, Massimo Margaglione.
In his talk, the departing president Dario Previero illustrated the performance of the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery industry, commenting on the results of the third edition of the National Statistical Survey carried out by the MECS-Amaplast Statistical Studies Centre of 397 manufacturers (representing 14,447 employees) who generated revenues of 4.35 billion euros in 2022, for an impressive 8.1% gain over 2021 with 72.7% going to exports.
This is the second best performance of all time, achieved in spite of the fact that the sector had to cope with numerous difficulties during the course of the year, such as limitations on exports to Russia, shortages of raw materials and components, and increases in energy costs, just to name a few.
Some of these difficulties have yet to be fully resolved, but probably a constantly changing world situation is the new paradigm to which companies will have to adapt, carefully balancing due caution with a healthy willingness to take risks. And indeed, this is a mindset well represented in recent years by businesses in the sector, which have ably parried many of the economic repercussions of world events occurring during the pandemic and afterwards, always ready to continue moving forward with their eyes on the future.
The guidelines of the new presidency
New president Massimo Margaglione laid out the guidelines of his presidency: “As newly elected president of Amaplast, I feel it is my duty first and foremost to choose continuity with the major initiatives undertaken by my predecessor. To this end I shall undertake to promote, support, and implement the spirit of collaboration that has taken form between Acimac, Ucima, and our association so that we can set up a federated body that strengthens our position within Confindustria.
The safeguarding of the interests of the plastics industry and its operating assets is now an unquestionable necessity and priority. We will have to work with governments, institutions, and national organizations in order to guide policies that are favourable to our goals and to counteract the negative perception of our industry, often and unfairly seen as responsible for the adverse environmental impacts that are all around us…”.
The Italian plastic and rubber machinery industry figures
According to the results of the third edition of the National Statistical Survey conducted by the MECS-Amaplast Statistical Studies Centre, the plastics and rubber processing technology industry closed the year 2022 with revenues of 4.35 billion euros, the second highest ever, for an 8.1% increase over 2021.
The main factor in this achievement was exports, which recorded a further upturn toward the end of the year and a total value exceeding the threshold of 3 billion euros (3.16 to be precise, +8.5% over 2021).
In detail, exports by Italian manufacturers – which represent 72.7% of total production – show sustained growth toward the main geographical zones: EU (+8%), North America (+6.6%), non-EU Europe (+8%), and the Far East (+9%).
As regards exported product categories, extrusion systems hold the lead, bringing in 20.8% of the entire Italian business volume (up 13.7% over 2021), followed by auxiliaries (13.7%), and injection machines (9.5%), with the remaining categories collectively amounting to 24.2%. The domestic market grew by 6.8% with respect to 2021, with a business volume exceeding 1.18 billion euros. The top 3 client sectors are packaging (40.6% of total revenues), automotive (15.9%) and construction (11%). The year 2023 opened for the entire Western industrial complex in a relatively uncertain climate, both due to the fact that the post-Covid rebound was less pronounced than hoped and because of the continuing conflict in Ukraine. This situation is further compounded by rising interest rates and inflation, which have depressed global demand. However, there is a strong sense of optimism among manufacturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment, and moulds, well above the level suggested by economic indicators: 39% of interviewees expect further improvements in results for 2023, 43% expect stability, while only 18% expressed a pessimistic outlook.
Source: InMotion by Publitec
