Investments in recovery in Italy. To which is added a robust rise in global markets, a historic “hunting ground” for our manufacturers. Thus, for many areas of our plant engineering, 2021 looks like a golden period, capable of pushing companies to new records. This is the case, for example, of Packaging, Rubber-plastic and Machines for ceramics, sectors that overall grow by over 13%.
The new high is reached by the packaging area, the least penalized last year thanks to the stability of the food sector and the new demand from the pharmaceutical industry. Revenues, thanks to particularly brilliant demand in Italy (+ 18%), rose by 8% to 8.43 billion, going beyond the previous high of 2019. The production guaranteed by the orders acquired is worth seven months, a brilliant situation which nevertheless presents numerous unknowns, starting with the nodes of prices and the availability of raw materials and components.
The raw materials node
«These market tensions – explains the president of Ucima Matteo Gentili – must be recognized and managed in order not to jeopardize the production momentum of the sector and of the country, especially in this delicate phase of recovery. The order book makes us very confident about the trend of the next twelve months and we would not like to be forced to slow down production and delivery of our machinery due to the lack of some components that are worth a few hundred euros ».
In percentage terms, a greater increase is visible for the Italian manufacturers of machinery and equipment for ceramics, strong of a growth of 45% (with orders for one semester of output) which brings production to 2.14 billion euros, close to the historical record in 2017. Progress also in this case linked both to the Italian market (623 million, + 58%) and to exports, the main part of the business, up 40% over 1.5 billion.
Machinery for ceramics, an excellent 2021
«Exceptional results – comments Acimac president Paolo Mongardi – but difficult to replicate in 2022, given the different starting points. The 30% increase in production costs, which can no longer be absorbed by companies, is also of great concern. As an association we are working to obtain urgent system interventions to support businesses, so that the productive and economic recovery we are experiencing is complete, without further difficulties “.
Rubber-plastic is worth 4.35 billion
A year to be framed also for the machines in the rubber-plastic sector represented by Amaplast, which at the end of the year will reach 4.35 billion, close to the pre-pandemic level. With an order book that guarantees six months of production. Also in this case, what is worrying is the trend of the supply chain, albeit in a context of rising demand. «The decisive recovery of 2021 – explains the president of Amaplast Dario Previero – allows us to hypothesize the overcoming of the pre-crisis levels within the next year. This confirms the strong reaction and innovation capacity of companies in the sector, which typically derives from their flexibility ».