Italian machine tool exports to China will increase by 20%

“The growth of the Italian machine tool industry in 2011 and its exports to China will reach a new historical level”, this is the Italian Machine Tool, Robotics and Automation Manufacturers Association (CIIM 2011) at the 12th China International Machine Tool Show (CIMT 2011). The agreement between Mr. Gian鄄carlo Losma, chairman of SIS鄄TEMIPERPRODURRE, and Mr. Lai Shiping, chief representative of the Italian Foreign Trade Commission (ICE) Beijing Office.

Italian machine tool production recovers quickly

Losma told reporters that due to the global financial crisis, Italy shut down many machine tool factories in 2009, and that year's total sales fell by 30% from the previous year. However, after entering 2010, production resumed quickly. Since October 2010, various economic data have become optimistic. In 2010, total sales increased by 2.5% from the previous year.

In the first quarter of 2011, the recovery momentum is still promising. It is expected that the annual sales growth of the Italian machine tool industry will reach 18% this year.

In order to confirm his point of view, Losma also specifically uses its own company, LOSMA, as an example. LOSMA company mainly produces environmentally friendly energy-saving equipment, such as oil mist collection equipment, coolant filtration equipment, air purification systems. Due to the needs of the market, the company has grown rapidly in the past two years. In the first quarter of this year, the company's sales increased 52.5% year-on-year. Although the absolute value of the Italian machine tool industry has not yet reached the level of 2007 and 2008 as a whole, the total annual sales of the Italian machine tool industry have recovered to 2008 levels in terms of individuals such as LOSMA.

Powerful Italian Pavilion

Lai Shiping told reporters that in order to participate in CIMT2011, ICE specially organized an Italian pavilion with an exhibition area of ​​2,500 square meters and 62 exhibiting companies, involving more than 100 corporate brands. Not only was the highest growth rate in terms of growth rate, but its scale of participation also reached the highest record in history.

Losma also told reporters that he observed the booths of various Italian exhibitors and saw many Chinese visitors stop and ask at booths and are interested in Italian companies and products. Many Italian companies are highly motivated to participate in the exhibition in China, and most of the exhibitors are operating in China.

Some exhibitors from this year have also come to China for the first time. Originally, they thought that their equipment was expensive, while China did not need high-end equipment. However, in recent years, the experiences of some domestic counterparts have made them see that China now accepts and needs high-end equipment. As a result, they also brought high-end equipment to China this time. It is understood that the top machine tool companies in Italy have basically come to China.

The Italian side also noticed that nowadays Chinese customers have begun to pay attention to the humanization of machine tool design and have increased their environmental protection requirements. Italy's machine tool design has a high technical content and its products are highly personalized. Manufacturers have the industry tradition of communicating with customers at any time. These should be more suitable for the requirements of Chinese customers.

In order to help Italian companies expand the Chinese market, ICE has also strengthened the number and frequency of their exhibitions in China. In 2011, ICE organized Italian companies to participate in dozens of exhibitions in China. This year, only the exhibitions in the industrial area organized by the Beijing region include machine tool exhibitions, air shows, environmental protection exhibitions, and motorcycle exhibitions; Shanghai also has textile machinery exhibitions, woodworking exhibitions WOODMAC, mold exhibitions, and engineering machinery exhibitions BAUMA. At the same time, due to the attractiveness of the Chinese market, the number of ICE members is still increasing.

China has become Italy's largest exporter

"Since 2010, China has become Italy's largest export destination country, surpassing previous Germany," Losma told reporters.

The top three countries in the previous Italian machine tool export countries were: Germany, the United States, and France. China can only be ranked fourth. Since 2010, 15% of the Italian machine tool's output value has been sold to China, exceeding the total amount exported to Germany, and has jumped to the top of Italy's export destination country. In 2010, China purchased machine tools and equipment from Italy at 350 million euros, a year-on-year increase of 14.2%. In analyzing its causes, Losma said that "the financial crisis has given China an opportunity." Losma further explained that in the financial crisis, the purchasing power of other countries, especially European countries, has declined, but China has not been affected.

Losma said that he personally agrees with the analysis made by the Italian Machine Tool Association (UCIMU) for this year's export forecast. Italy's machine tools exported to China this year will surely have a 20% increase, which is related to China's current economic development situation. Some countries including China, such as India, Brazil, and Russia, are becoming major Italian exporters. He is not personally optimistic about European countries, although these countries have strong purchasing power for Italian machine tools.

On the other hand, China’s demand for Italian machine tools has increased. Italy's machine tools are highly personalized. These distinctive Italian machine tools are always able to meet the needs of Chinese customers. At the same time, Italian machine tool prices also have certain advantages in the international market. In fact, Italian companies do not want to compete with international counterparts. Italy's machine tools mainly rely on technological content, humanity, personalization, and innovation to attract customers. In addition, many Italian companies entered the domestic market early in China’s reform and opening up, leaving a good impression on Chinese customers.

According to Losma, China's economy is currently in a transitional period. China's products are increasingly moving toward high-end, and demand for equipment is also growing at a high level. This is a good opportunity for Italy. Lai Shiping also stated that China’s machine tool exports before the five or six years ago are still very small and only began to increase in recent years. This has imposed higher requirements on the technical content and professionalism of processing equipment. At the same time, because China’s export products often have to meet certain targets to enter the international market, some Chinese customers have also abandoned the previously used domestically-made alternative equipment and instead directly purchased foreign advanced equipment, thus providing foreign equipment companies including Italy. A great opportunity for development.

It is estimated that the output value of Italy's machine tool industry will increase by 20% in 2011, and the output value of machine tools exported to China will maintain an increase of 20%. This is the common view of Losma and Lai Shiping.