K speaks Italian

Almost 400 Italian companies in the plastics and rubber sector are registered for the up-coming edition of K, taking place in Düsseldorf on October 19-26, 2022. Per tradition, the Italian presence will be second only to that of the host country at the world’s most important fair for the sector and will mainly consist of manufacturers of machinery, equipment, auxiliaries, and moulds with over 250 exhibitors in this segment, more than half of them members of the Amaplast trade association.

The Italian companies will offer their numerous professional visitors from all over the world a complete overview of the most advanced Italian-made technology - from primary processing machinery to auxiliary equipment, from recovery and recycling plants to moulds and downstream systems - reflecting Industry 4.0 principles, with solutions for interconnection, energy efficiency, and predictive maintenance.

Amaplast itself with have an institutional stand at K (A56, hall 16) to support the exhibiting Italian companies, provide a point of reference for the industry, distribute the magazine MacPlas, and promote the nineteenth edition of Plast (Milan 5-8 September 2023), whose organizational machinery will shift into high gear immediately after the German exhibition. In the meantime, over 30,000 square metres of exhibition space have already been reserved by the more than 600 exhibitors who have already registered.

More than 70% of Italian production of plastics and rubber processing machinery is exported and Germany has been the number one destination market for decades (as well as main partner for imports), both regarding supplies to final customers and supplies of components, auxiliaries, moulds to be integrated into complex systems built by major German brands, demonstrating the respect they have for Italian technology. In 2021, exports to Germany in this sector approached a value of 380 million euros, representing a 13% share on the total and a 10% rise over 2020. Last year, the entire EU absorbed 45% of Italian exports, followed by North America with 17% and the Far East with 12%.

Overall, on the basis of results from the second National Survey by the Mecs-Amaplast Statistical Studies Centre, the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery industry is composed of over 400 companies (with 13,000 employees) that produced revenues of over 4 billion euros in 2021, representing a 12% increase over 2020.

Amaplast’s full-year overview of 2021 is now completed by indicators relating to the first six months of 2022. With respect to the same period in 2021, orders are up by 10% and revenues by 14%, in light of the good performance of the domestic market. Expectations for the third quarter are still positive - thanks especially to foreign sales and orders - but naturally various political and economic issues, both in Italy and abroad, generate concern among operators.