Skip to main content

Italy must “deal” with manufacturing competition

Italian construction equipment manufacturers are being urged to embrace “internationalisation” if they are to survive and prosper after new figures revealed declining domestic but rising export sales in 2011.
February 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Italian construction equipment manufacturers are being urged to embrace “internationalisation” if they are to survive and prosper after new figures revealed declining domestic but rising export sales in 2011.

Full year road machinery sales in Italy were down 43.6%, and earth moving machine sales by 21.2% on 2010 levels. Sales of concrete machinery (truck mixers, concrete pumps, truck-mounted and stationary pumps, plants, shotcrete) fell by 7% in the last three months of 2011 compared to the third quarter of the year.

The figures were processed by the trade association, 2539 Unacea based on data provided by Istat (The Italian Institute for Statistics).

On a more encouraging note, further Unacea processed Istat figures show exports of Italian earth moving machinery increased by 39%, road machinery by 14% and concrete machinery by 9% in the first 10 months of 2011, compared to the same period of the previous year. Exports of Italian-made tower cranes were also up by 30%, while drilling machine sales rose by 21%. Crushing and screening machinery exports fell by 13%.

Commenting on the figures Paolo Salvadori, president of Le Oru – 2318 IMER Group, said: “The reality is that we have to acknowledge a phenomenon which is no longer cyclical, but structural, that is the transfer of wealth and affluence from Europe to other countries. It is a reality that cannot be eliminated, but managed, first of all, through processes of internationalisation, which does not simply mean selling abroad, but transferring your concept of business to other countries.”

Federico Furlani, managing director of Simem Spa, said: “The domestic market situation remains invariably negative, while in exports, although there are a few signs of a recovery, we have to deal with competition from ‘emerged’ countries which, like China, are conquering positions in our sector through acquisitions, such as the recent cases of Schwing and 1259 Putzmeister.

“In Italy, recent seismic events could and should act as an effective reminder to return to discussing the quality of concrete and its production process: pre-mixing, automation and process control. From this perspective, we hope that there will soon be a response from the government, because these provisions could contribute to the growth that the country needs so urgently.”

Enrico Prandini, of 2300 Komatsu Utility Europe and vice president of Unacea, said the need to reduce the Italian public debt had limited investment in national infrastructure.

He added: “It risks negating all the sacrifices the population has made: if there is not a return to making investments, the recession will continue to increase the public debt and interest rates on it, sending the economy into a downward spiral."

%$Linker: External 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.unacea.org UNACEA http://www.unacea.org/ false false%>

%$Linker: 2 Internal 2 4824 0 oLinkInternal <span class="oLinkInternal"><span class="oLinkInternal">View more videos</span></span> Video false /event-news/intermat-2012/video/ true false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Waitzinger concrete pumps shown in Liebherr colours for the first time
    February 7, 2013
    Bauma 2013 will see the former Waitzinger concrete pump range in Liebherr livery for the first time, following the purchase of the company in October 2012. Liebherr will show four pumps, including the compact 41 M5XXT and the high capacity THP 160H/36 R4XXH. This truck-mounted pump has a four-section 36m boom yet sits on the narrow XXH outrigger supports and is capable of handling up to 160m3/h of concrete delivery.
  • Chengyu makes tracks for worldwide market
    January 6, 2017
    Chinese undercarriage component manufacturer Chengyu Machinery Equipment has set its sights on increasing exports to world markets. The company makes track rollers, carrier rollers, idlers, sprockets and track chain assemblies for machines from two to 40tonnes and exports 60% of its output. It said its products are crack- and abrasion-resistant and with high quality control procedures – only 25 parts in a million fail its quality control. Both its product delivery and after-sales service levels are said to
  • Chengyu makes tracks for worldwide market
    April 22, 2013
    Chinese undercarriage component manufacturer Chengyu Machinery Equipment has set its sights on increasing exports to world markets. The company makes track rollers, carrier rollers, idlers, sprockets and track chain assemblies for machines from two to 40tonnes and exports 60% of its output. It said its products are crack- and abrasion-resistant and with high quality control procedures – only 25 parts in a million fail its quality control. Both its product delivery and after-sales service levels are said to
  • Simex exports secrets behind company success
    January 6, 2017
    With a production of some 2,000 units in 2012 subdivided into 65 models produced in more than 210 versions, Simex today exports about 80% of its own production. Born in 1991 in San Giovanni in Persiceto, Emilia Romagna, the company soon set about achieving its goal of manufacturing high quality equipment for earth moving prime movers. Starting with asphalt planers for backhoe loaders, asphalt and concrete planers were soon manufactured by Simex for skid steer loaders too.