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| Alessandro Grassi, President of Amaplast |
The U.S. market has historically been one of the top export destinations for Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery. The value of Italian sales to the United States for this industry exceeded 276 million euros in 2017, racking up growth of over 20 percent over the previous year and yet another year of double - digit increase since the bottom of the trough in 2009 of less than 90 million euros.
Similarly to other major historical outlet markets for the Italian manufacturers, sales of technologically sophisticated high added - value core machinery to the United States have increased significantly, meeting the American converters' needs for flexibility and improved production capacity and efficiency.
Within this bright trend, some seventy Italian companies are taking part - either directly or through their U.S. agents or local branches - in the twenty - ninth edition of NPE taking place in Orlando from the 7th to the 11th of May 2018. This is the first time that Amaplast (Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds manufacturers' association) is organizing the Italian pavilion at NPE, coordinating some fifteen exhibitors that either had not previously been able to be present at the U.S. specialized fair or wish to take advantage of the favourable position - at the centre of the main hall dedicated to machinery manufacturers - that Amaplast has succeeded in obtaining from the NPE organizer, although overall exhibition space for Italian exhibitors is less than that requested.
The following Amaplast member companies are part of the collective: BAUSANO & FIGLI, BFM, COLINES, FRIGOSYSTEM, HELIOS ITALQUARTZ, ICMA SAN GIORGIO, INDUSTRIAL FRIGO, IPM, ITIB MA CHINERY INTERNATIONAL, MARIS, PLASTIC SYSTEMS, PRESMA, TECNOMATIC.
"NPE is the flagship fair for the plastics and rubber industry for the entire North American continent," comments Alessandro Grassi, President of Amaplast, " and in the current positive economic climate for our industry, it represents an important opportunity to promote Italian technology."
"Additionally, " continues Grassi , "threats of new tariffs exchanged between Washington and Beijing may represent an opportunity for Italian companies. Should the threatened duties actually be applied to United States imports from China, they would have an impact on various types of Chinese - made machinery, including that for primary processing (injection - extrusion - blow moulding - thermoforming). U.S. production is not sufficient to meet domestic demand; the void created by reduced importation from China could be exploited by Italian companies to increase their own sales."
