The statistical analysis performed by Assocomaplast (Italian trade association, part of CONFINDUSTRIA, representing over 160 companies) on foreign trade data provided by ISTAT regarding the first six months of this year , reveals – in comparison to January-June 2014 – a markedly positive performance for Italy's exports and imports of plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and moulds. The growth recorded since the first months of 2014 has continued this year and actually has increased: by the end of June 2015, the rise in purchases from abroad approached 17%. This provides further reassurance

The annual members assembly of ASSOCOMAPLAST – the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups together over 160 makers of machinery, moulds and equip-ment for plastics and rubber – was held on Friday, 19 June at the Science and Technology Mu-seum in Milan. The assembly elected a new President for the two-year term 2015-2017: Alessandro Grassi, managing director of Frigosystem srl, who in turn named Andrea Franceschetti, international sales director for Gefran spa, as Vice President of the association. The members assembly was followed by the public Assocomaplast

Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups to-gether over 160 makers of machinery, moulds and equipment for plastics and rubber) has completed the year 2014 balance sheet for the sector, incorporating ISTAT foreign trade data. Progress in exports maintained a constant pace to the end of the year, sustaining Italian machinery manufacturers in a period where the domestic market showed only timid signs of recovery in the very recent months. In effect, although there was a noticeable increase in purchases from abroad – on the order of eight percentage (8%

December 18th, 20914 (Milan, Italy): Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association, belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups to-gether some 170 machinery manufacturers) has compared ISTAT foreign trade data for January-September of the current year with data for the same period in 2013 and confirms further growth in both imports and exports. Exports rose by over 4% while purchases from abroad grew by over 7%. This has also led to a consolidation (+3%) of an already strong balance of trade. However, we must underscore that the positive trend in exports, traditional driver for Italian

For the second quarter of 2014, the textile machinery orders index elaborated by the research department at ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers), recorded a 6% increase compared to the previous quarter, for an absolute value of 86 points (basis: 2010=100). (See Graph) This growth in orders came entirely from the foreign markets, for which an increase of 8% was recorded for the period from April to June, with the industry index of 92.1 points. For its part, the domestic market showed a decline in order intake for the second quarter (-9% over the previous quarter)

Recovery in exports, which gained momentum particularly in the last quarter of 2013, with a last minute surge in December, allowed the Italian manufacturers to compensate for the lasting weakness in the domestic market which can be seen in Exhibit 1. The very slight decline in demand from abroad, which represents over 65% of total production, kept revenue losses within 2.5% with respect to 2012 and further improved an already very positive balance of trade. In terms of revenues and exports in 2013, Assocomaplast member companies performed better than the average for the sector, with a positive

In Italy’s leading segments for instrumental mechanics industry, the graphic and paper machinery industry looks optimistic in correlation to the increasingly aggressive international competition and stagnant domestic market. Revenues from exports and export-generated is growing despite balancing the delayed difficulties in the domestic market which in turn is keeping the employment levels stable. This in sum comes from the market survey conducted by the research department of Acimga – the Italian Manufacturers Association of Machinery for the Graphic, Converting and Paper Industry – with

ASSOCOMAPLAST, tthe Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which groups together some 165 makers of machinery, moulds and equipment for plastics and rubber, has produced its 2013 full-year forecast for the industry on the basis of foreign trade data for the first nine months of the year provided by ISTAT, Italy's National Institute of Statistics. The slight dip in exports (-2.8% with respect to January-September 2012) could be recovered in the fourth quarter thanks to the expected economic recovery, early signals of which have been noted recently by the CONFINDUSTRIA Research

During a recent exclusive interview with Dr. Giorgio Colombo, President of Italy's ASSOCOMAPLAST, the national association for plastics and rubber processing machinery and mold manufacturers' association, he shared his thoughts and insights on the industry's transitional period experienced in 2013, current and future challenges faced by manufacturers and a clear outlook for 2014. President, do you feel that 2013 may be considered a year with more light or more shadow for the Italian plastics and rubber machinery industry? I think that 2013 is a year of transition after strong growth in 2011

The performance of the Italian industry of printing and converting machinery shows overall stability. This was revealed by the quarterly qualitative survey carried out by ACIMGA, the Confindustria association of companies operating in the industry. The analysis registered members’ sentiment in the third quarter of 2013 and outlines forecasts for the year’s end. On the domestic revenues front 50% of companies sampled for the survey stated that the quarter under analysis closed off with a generally stable performance, in line with the expectations produced by the previous quarterly study. The