Extrusion International 2-2018

11 Extrusion International 2/2018 NewRecords for ItalianManufacturers of Plastics and Rubber ProcessingMachinery Amaplast (Italian trade association, member of CONFIN- DUSTRIA, bringing together about 170 manufacturers of plas- tics and rubber processing machinery, equipment and moulds), through its Statistical Studies Center, has completed its year-end balance sheet for 2017, incorporating foreign trade data from ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistics). Double digit increase over 2016 in all macroeconomic indicators means new all-time records for the sector. Lacking objective sta- tistical surveys, Amaplast analyses show production sustained by excellent performance in exports, the destination for 70% of the Italian-made products in the sector, as well as by the domestic market, which is showing clear signs of recovery, probably ex- plained by the measures implemented by the National Industry 4.0 Plan to support investment in capital equipment. The expan- sion of the domestic market is also signalled by quite positive per- formance in imports. Regarding macro-areas, the geography of exportation has wit- nessed overall growth in European destinations, mainly within the EU, where the top two export markets, Germany and France, have grown by more than 20 percentage points since 2016. However, impressive numbers are also seen much further down in the rankings, specifically in tenth place, where Romania records a whopping +69% with a surge in purchases during the last quarter that once again dislodged Russia from the top ten (by just one spot) after it had clawed its way back last September. Nevertheless, the Russian recovery still continues apace (+67%) with the value of Ital- ianmachinery exports nearly reaching 100 million euros. The trend in sales to Asia has not been particularly brilliant due to a slowdown in exports to theMiddle East (especially Saudi Arabia and Iran), and only modest growth (less than +5%) in sales to the Far East, where the two major markets have slipped somewhat: China (-2.5%) and India (-6%). As regards the two major North American markets: • Sales to the United States record final growth of 20%, following peaks as high as +30% during the year; • Supplies to Mexico, on the other hand, have fallen by approxi- mately 17%, which at least took some of the edge off the more than 20 point losses in previous months. No one expected the 2016 boom to last forever. The Trump administration’s threat to impose import duties on various product categories is not expected to affect plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment and moulds. U.S. pro- duction in this sector cannot meet demand from local manufac- turers and the duties would only be counterproductive. In South America, the recovery in the flow of supplies to Brazil continues unabated, approaching +40%with respect to 2016 for overall value once again over 50 million euros. As regards goods categories, worth noting is the particularly posi- tive trend in sales abroad of all the main types of machinery for primary processing and for moulds, which traditionally represent just under one third of Italian exports for the sector. The entire range of plastics and rubber processing lines, machin- ery, and auxiliary equipment will be exhibited by hundreds of Ital- ian and foreign companies—naturally along with raw materials, semi-finished products, finished products, and other articles – at PLAST 2018, taking place in Milan from 29 May to 1 June. And it is precisely the figures regarding foreign participation – at the moment registering a growth exceeding 20% over the previ- ous PLAST – that confirm the renewed interest in the Italian plas- tics and rubber processing industry, and also operators’ interest in the Italian three yearly show, which thus reaffirms its interna- tional stature. “Participants at PLAST 2018,” says Alessandro Grassi, Amaplast president, “are particularly confident that they will be able to do significant amounts of business and expand their order books di- rectly at the fair,” adding that “several thousand operators have already pre-registered for their visit and our office is working to organize delegations of buyers from some thirty countries.” Amaplast president, Alessandro Grassi: “The order portfolio horizon for Italianmanufacturers, has been considerably extended: many companies are able to plan production at least to the end of the year, and there are quite a few that are actually having difficulty keeping up with customer requests.” AMAPLAST www.amaplast.org www.plastonline.org Italian market of machinery, equipment and moulds for plastics and rubber (million euros) 2016 2017 ∆ 2017/2016 production 4,230 4,670 10% exports 2,960 3,310 12% imports 850 970 14% domestic market 2,120 2,330 10% trade balance +2,110 +2,340 11%