2019: Market Trends and Developments in Gearing and Power Transmission

Further negatives on the horizon for Italian growth. According to Standard&Poor’s, the government outlook of over 1% growth “is optimistic”, “we see lower growth ahead for 2019, around 0.6%, with stable consumption but prospects and investment shrinking, especially when compared to that of its European neighbours”.
Most companies have now fully understood the importance of 4.0 and have established programs analyzing their needs and taking advantage of incentives on offer, while investment plans are coming into focus which will bring 4.0 skills into the heart of Italian manufacturing.
Indeed, the industrial digital market value has almost doubled over the last two years, boosted by a modern industrial policy and propped up by state funded incentives. Full knowledge of Industry 4.0 is now present across the national manufacturing landscape. Italian industry 4.0 is very much alive. Whether in IT solutions, enabling technology on traditional production plant or the services relating to this, the market is now worth over €2.5bn, growing by 30% on the previous year and doubling over the three period. Exports represent 16% while knowledge of the digital scenario is at a peak: only 2.5% of companies claim not to know anything of the question (two years ago the level was almost 40%).
This trend concerning investment growth has touched on all sectors, allowing all companies to invest in R&D of innovative technology like gearing and its future in the electric vehicle, energy sources and alternative power transmission.
Today, gearing and automotive transmission applications have clearly not reached the peak of their potential development.
While the product is unquestionably a mature one, there are still significant gains to be made looking to the gearing of the future. Increasingly stringent requirements in terms of weight, power density, NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) and efficiency, are leading designers to explore new solutions and materials as well as applying specialist gearing specification to everyday gearing; aerospace being an example in point.
The future of gearing is still being built.
Designers’ plans must be realistic and integration between project and technology is ever more evident.
The economic efficiency of the entire production process will play a determining role: traditional processes can be carried out on machines that are highly intelligent and inter-connected, while molding techniques will be increasingly used for their attractiveness where high volume production is involved.
I’m pleased to give the floor to Francesco Romei, owner of O.T.I., a gear producer based in Tuscany.