Founded in 1977 and today directed by Gianfranco Carbonato, president and managing director, Prima Industrie is – beyond the FCA planet – what remains of Turin's industrial primacy: a jewel of technology applied to manufacturing, "one of the few companies if not the only one - says the Turin entrepreneur in the interview with FIRSTonline – which produces both laser machines and the laser sources that power them”. A group that in 40 years of history has installed 13.000 machines for industry all over the world and that last fall launched a new cutting-edge division: Prima Additive, which deals with the additive manufacturing of metal parts, a business that in 2017 globally was estimated at about 7,3 billion dollars and which is growing at dizzying rates, more than 20% every year. A company that suffered the difficult years of the crisis, which relaunched itself also thanks to the previous government's Industry 4.0 plan and which has its eyes fixed on China: just in recent days a shareholder from Hong Kong has risen by more than 10% and Prima Power Suzhou, the Chinese subsidiary, acquired 2018% of the Chinese Cangzhou Lead Laser Technology, a leader in laser machines, in 19. And it may not stop there.
Doctor Carbonato, on January 8, Joseph Sou Leung Lee increased the stake held in Prima Industrie, taking it from 7 to over 10%, and said it could rise further. Is the shareholding changing?
“The shareholder has already clarified that he has no intention of aiming for control of the company. Lee has been our partner for many years, has a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is our distributor in South China. He also owns 30% of Prima Power Suzhou, through which we control 19% of Cangzhou Lead Laser Technology. Nor is he the only Chinese partner we have: there is also Yunfeng Gao, who is just under 10%, with whom we have no commercial relationship. And then as the reference shareholder, at 29%, there is the Mansour family, not to be confused however with the sheiks who own Manchester City: they are British financiers, of Palestinian origin and of Christian religion, who have supported us since 2001. They are part of the board of directors but they have always left us maximum operational autonomy".
Let's stay on China: are you betting a lot on the Asian giant's market, despite what is happening in the global economic scenarios?
“Our first market is the United States, but China is fighting for second place with Italy. Beijing is slowing down, it's true, but our outlook remains positive. The last year was double-sided: the automotive sector recorded a decline and this prevented us from growing, but overall the Chinese market held up. After all, China is a dirigiste country, capable of intervening rapidly on political and economic strategies. And in any case it is not our only market: we sell in 80 countries and we are physically present in 30 of these, and we produce capital goods for various sectors, from automotive to aerospace and energy. So we are able to differentiate both geographically and industrially. For example, in 2018 the automotive sector suffered but aerospace did very well".
What do you expect instead from 2019?
“The economy could slow down, also because capital goods are cyclical unlike consumer goods. We therefore expect a year of consolidation, of moderate growth. We can't predict much growth. At an international level, we expect a negative outlook from Turkey after last year's currency events, while Brazil should grow again”.
And Italy, whose forecasts are not so exciting?
“In Italy we recorded a boom between the end of 2017 and the first part of 2018, thanks to the incentives provided by the Industry 4.0 plan. The country had returned to growth and this had meant that from the usual 15% share of turnover on the total of Prima Industrie (with 85% destined for export) we managed to rise to 20%. Industry 4.0 has not only been convenient for us: it was essential, for the productivity and competitiveness of the country, to renew the stock of capital goods of companies. Technologies related to industry evolve very quickly, in some cases the machinery of our factories was 15 years old. This is why the confirmation of Industry 4.0, albeit with a revised formula, was important: however, it would have been even better to make the intentions understood right away, it would have allowed us to avoid the slowdown in orders at the end of 2018. But on the other hand in January the orders are restarting very well. The plan should be confirmed for at least another year, up to and including 2020: our industry needs it too much".
Has the uncertainty linked to the moves of the new government also influenced the fall of your stock on the Stock Exchange in the last six months (-40%)?
“All technology and capital goods stocks suffered in 2018, across the globe. Things went worse in Italy due to the added distrust of investors, especially foreign ones, towards our country's companies. If an algorithm says that Italy is a country at risk, it is obvious that the markets adjust accordingly. In 2019, however, the stock is recovering, we also carried out a buyback operation".
Your new jewel is Prima Additive. What is it about?
“It is the third division of the group, after Prima Power, which develops, manufactures and markets laser and sheet metal working machines, and Prima Electro, which develops, manufactures and markets electronics and laser sources. Prima Additive is instead linked to Additive Manufacturing, i.e. the additive production of metal parts. It is a continuous innovation in laser for materials processing, offering companies turnkey solutions, as well as related application support and services. It is a market with very high potential, in which we boast a very high know-how as we are both laser and laser machine manufacturers. Not to mention that it is an activity that affects the same sectors and the same customers with whom we already have business relationships”.
Besides China, do you have other acquisitions in mind?
“We always keep our eyes open but at the moment our focus remains mainly on China. The 2018 acquisition, which led us to acquire 19% of Cangzhou Lead Laser Technology, is, in our plans, only the first of two phases. In fact, within 18 months we plan to increase our stake in that company, until we take control of it".
On the research and innovation front, you have a historical relationship with the Polytechnic of Turin. What will be the next initiatives in this sense?
“The relationship with the Polytechnic is consolidated and also concerns industrial collaboration. We are trying to raise the level of expertise in the field of photonics, which would be that of lasers, and which we believe has a great future. From this year, again thanks to the Industry 4.0 plan, the Competence Centers are starting up: these are centers set up in public-private partnerships, with the aim of guiding businesses and training entrepreneurs towards innovation and research projects. We will be present both in Turin and in Milan, also collaborating with the Politecnico di Milano".
