Promoted and supported by Italy's plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds manufacturers' Association, ASSOCOMAPLAST, a new Technical Committee, called 270 Plastics and Rubber Machines, has been activated recently by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO. At the kick-off meeting which took place in Milan on December 13, 2012, the Committee's…

The value of Italian textile machinery production for 2011 registered a 9% increase compared to 2010, from 2.4 to 2.6 billion euros. A similar increase was recorded for exports (+10%), which reached a value of just over 2.1 billion euros. Exports remain the driving force behind the sector growth in Italy. The dynamism of major textile markets combined with the ability of Italian machinery…

Antonio Marcegaglia, the chief executive of Italian Marcegaglia predicted that hot rolled coil (HRC) price should climb up by €20-€30/ton. He analyzed that this was mainly because Japan has been recovering from the disaster and China has been developing its housing plan. Also, the prices of tubes and other final steel products would hopefully outpace an expected increase in raw material prices,…

Bologna might be best known abroad for its meat sauce and for being home to the oldest university in the western world, the University of Bologna. But this city, situated between Italy's Po River and the Apennine Mountains, has earned the nickname the "Packaging Valley." Packaging machinery has become one of the dominant industries throughout Italy. Though the United States, China and Japan all…