High energy prices, inflation and difficulties in metal procurement: the next edition of Metef, which will be held on March 29th-31st at BolognaFiere, at the same time as MECSPE, prepares an agenda teeming with in-depth analyses of topical issues.
The thirteenth edition of Metef, the international expo for the aluminium industry, is approaching. On March 29th-31st, 2023 at BolognaFiere, it will demonstrate the innovative developments of the Italian aluminium and metallurgical segment in the world, with great attention to transformation/processing SMEs and end users.
Organised by Senaf, Metef 2023 will take place at the same time as MECSPE, the most important exhibition in Italy dedicated to manufacturing and technological innovation, thereby offering a unique showcase of the technical and industrial innovation of Italian manufacturing.
A necessary appointment, considering the difficult international situation. The next edition will once again feature topics of great current interest for companies in the industry, such as new supply routes for raw materials, energy costs, eco-sustainability, new materials and new technologies, the use of light alloys in the cars of the near future, structural castings for the automotive industry, and the growing development of recovery and recycling within the entire industrial chain.
It will not be an easy winter for our metallurgical industry, which for months has also been severely affected by high energy prices; in August the Italian Statistics Institute reported an overall increase in production costs of +40%. The turnover of Italian smelters in the third quarter of 2022 dropped by 13% compared to the previous quarter, also due to the summer shutdown, with a year-end growth projection, compared to 2021, of +18% (Assofond data), but this does not protect companies in the aluminium industry from the difficulties in sourcing metal, as shown by the drop in production of some semi-finished products in the second quarter.
“It is not only primary metal smelters in Europe who are suffering from high energy costs,” Mario Conserva, Metef’s President, stated. “The problem concerns the entire downstream processing and manufacturing industry, which accounts for the vast majority of jobs in our sector and the overall value of turnover. President Conserva concluded: “These small and medium-sized enterprises, often voiceless and unrepresented, are the ones providing the added value to our raw material, aluminium; they have created a valuable heritage of technology and knowledge accrued over decades; they have solid prospects on the global market and interesting growth potential. They are the silent players who have always found in Metef the ideal space to propose, discuss, express and defend their positions, get together and work as a system to break down the many factors hindering competitiveness, such as the EU import duty on raw aluminium, which for too many years have burdened the sector in Europe with extra costs of billions of Euros per year”.
Source: Alluminio & Leghe by PubliTec
