Skip to main content

Italy must embrace “internationalisation”

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.
January 6, 2017 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 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 2595 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 case of  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 false 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

  • New Putzmeister truck mixer Intermat
    February 21, 2012
    Putzmeister has redeveloped its Pumi truck-mounted rotor pump to improve its performance.
  • Simem brings concrete batching plant to bauma
    January 6, 2017
    Focal point of Simem’s stand at bauma was an example of its Eagle portable concrete batching plant, which is said to offer top performance at lower cost without compromising the firm’s emphasis on quality. Modular elements with pre-installed pneumatic-electric systems are the key to enabling swift transfer of the Eagle plant from one project to the other. The ‘super-mobile’ MMX range of plant from Simem – said to be the best solution available for faster moving sites such as railways and highways – was also
  • Simem brings concrete batching plant to bauma
    April 22, 2013
    Focal point of Simem’s stand at bauma was an example of its Eagle portable concrete batching plant, which is said to offer top performance at lower cost without compromising the firm’s emphasis on quality. Modular elements with pre-installed pneumatic-electric systems are the key to enabling swift transfer of the Eagle plant from one project to the other. The ‘super-mobile’ MMX range of plant from Simem – said to be the best solution available for faster moving sites such as railways and highways – was also
  • Putzmeister’s new self-propelled pump can be quicker than a truck mount
    January 6, 2017
    Putzmeister’s new BSC 1409 D self-propelled concrete pump is designed for concreting drilled piles on unfinished surfaces and can deliver up to 85m3/hr at a pressure of up to 71bar. Powered by a 6-cylinder Deutz engine producing 129kW, the BSC 1409 D can travel at a maximum speed of 3.6km and does not need supports to be set up each time it moves.