Indexes on the rise for capital goods

The Italian capital goods sector is enjoying rude health, this was the big positive coming out of the assembly of Federmacchine (the group of capital goods and accessory manufacturers) held on 17th July. 2017 revenues came in at €46.6bn, + 9.7% on the previous year, thanks, above all, to strong domestic market demand. 2017 also saw exports grow (+7.6%), while exports as a percentage of overall turnover fell slightly (68%) on 2017. This is proof of the recovery in domestic demand, thanks, in part, to the national Industry 4.0 plan. Main export markets are, in order of size, Germany, USA, China, France and Spain, all showing growth year on year.
According to the Federmacchine statistics committee, 2018 will see further revenue growth (+5.8%) with values touching €50bn. All areas of the sector have registered equally positive trends. “Recovery in domestic market is the proof that the machinery trade in deals set up by the government have worked and continue to do so, said Sandro Salmoiraghi, Federmacchine president – if Italy wants to continue being a global player, this is no time to sit on our laurels. For this reason we need the measures adopted to be extended, with possible changes to the co-efficient calculations, but leaving businesses with enough time to make studied purchasing decisions”.
The Federmacchine president spoke about steps being taken to support training programs: “In our opinion, the 40% tax credit, currently being applied to the cost of hours for workers involved in training, should be extended to the cost of the training itself and the trainers used, these are the greatest outgoings for SMEs”. Salmoiraghi’s presentation also focused on the need for a strong, coherent EU as well as an open, liberalized market. A viewpoint shared with the guest of honor, ex-national president, Enrico Letta, attending in his role as the Italian-ASEAN (countries located in South East Asia) association president: “The EU is going through a tough time, but I believe that the idea of better business opportunities existing outside the European union could not be more wrong” he said, before focusing attention on the potential of the ASEAN area. “In ten years, through simple demographics, the ASEAN region will be the fourth biggest economic market, Italy cannot afford to be left out. Our association – which includes UCIMU – is there just for this reason, improving the knowledge of and the access to this market, breaking down barriers to business. Now is the time to be long sighted, optimistic and look confidently to the future”.