An important appointment is scheduled for Tuesday 14 June for Ucimu, the Union of manufacturers of machine tools, robots and automation systems. At the headquarters in viale Fulvio Testi, in Cinisello Balsamo just outside Milan, the association, which represents one of the most technologically advanced sectors of the entire Italian production chain, brings together its GMS (strategic marketing group).
On the agenda is the in-depth examination of two markets (Iran and Morocco) which, for different reasons, present a profile of particular interest for our exports in this field.
In the case of the North African country, it was the consistent signs of development, which have been manifested there for some time, that suggested the opportunity to open - with the help of targeted analyzes - an information "window" for Italian robotics companies.
But perhaps the most interesting prospects are linked to the exchanges that, after the long season of the embargo, companies in the sector could start in Iran. Provided, of course, that they find an adequate space in the context of an international competition that promises to very close: the next few months will therefore be decisive for Italian companies that intend to face this demanding challenge.
It is no coincidence that Ucimu is looking closely at the project, which the experts of Promos, the special company of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, are working on for the establishment of an "on site" operating platform. Even in the new situation, in fact, Iran remains a reality which is not easy to approach.
A first examination of this scenario was carried out by Ucimu in mid-March, during a meeting which was attended by a few dozen operators, many of whom already possessed direct experience in the field. In Iran, the consumption of machine tools is almost totally satisfied by imports and Italy, for some time now, has occupied the third position in terms of export volume on that market, with a clearly growing trend.
Other significant elements were then collected in recent days. The first edition of “Amb Iran – Exhibition & Conference” ended on 1 June in Tehran: an event in which Ucimu took part with an institutional stand.
The time has therefore come to sum up, without wasting precious time.
It is a question, they say in viale Fulvio Testi, of helping Italian companies to move effectively in a promising but complicated context. In fact, the provisions recently issued by the Ministry for Economic Development relating to the export to Iran of goods which are often "dual use" (with a use, that is, which can be both civilian and military) must be scrupulously followed.
And the recently published European Regulation 2420/2015 does not solve all the interpretative difficulties of import/export operations, also in light of the easing of restrictions on trade with Iran following the international agreement signed last January.
At the same time, there are Sace tools intended – albeit with some limitations noted by some analysts – to provide support to those companies wishing to operate in that market; but you need to be able to use them properly.
The meeting of 14 June will also deal with this, which will also be an opportunity to present - in a meeting reserved for member companies - a monograph which is a real updated guide on how to operate in Iran and on the characteristics of the local market for machine tools.
Will this appointment produce concrete effects? Will it constitute an effective premise for a more consistent Italian presence in those countries?
It's too early to tell. Certainly, however, it confirms Ucimu's willingness to work in favor of two objectives – innovation and internationalization – which often recur in the debate on the Italian economy but which, in many cases, do not translate into concrete and consequential choices. Yet, as Governor Ignazio Visco's "Final considerations" of 31 May underline and as documented by the Bank of Italy Report that accompanied them, it is precisely in this direction that it is urgent to move if we want to accelerate on the path of growth.
Recent surveys (North East Foundation - Prometeia) indicate that the production of machinery and components with a high technological content, even in the harshest years of crisis, have achieved better results for production and exports than those of the more traditional "Made in Italy".
The confirmation comes from the Ucimu survey on the robotics sector, released last May and relating to 2015, the year in which the indicators - both in terms of volumes and internal consumption and, lastly, the incidence of exports on production - are all significantly expanding.
And also during the first quarter of this year, the index of machine tool orders recorded an increase of more than 14% compared to the same period of the previous year.
It is a result which shows the propensity to invest that is present in the machine tool sector with greater intensity compared to other sectors, but it is also the consequence of the adoption, decided by the Government and Parliament starting from March 2014, of measures aimed at to support a new course of the real economy. Initiatives which, within the "Ucimu world", have found particularly positive feedback.
This is the case, in particular, of the "Sabatini ter" (a law concerning the subsidized financing of small and medium-sized enterprises for the purchase of capital goods such as machine tools) and of the "super-depreciation", i.e. the standard, included in the latest Stability Law, which provides for the possibility of depreciation of up to 140% of new industrial machinery.
“These are choices that are bearing fruit”, declares Luigi Galdabini, president of Ucimu. However, he observes: “The potential of these measures should be improved through
some improvement". Finalization, the latter, which is considered indispensable also because the trend shown by the sector in the first quarter of the year, if it is positive in terms of deliveries (+ 6,3% on the domestic market; + 3,7% on the foreign market ), also shows a rate of use of the facilities that stands at just over 78 per cent: that is, at a not entirely satisfactory level.
The operation of the "Sabatini ter", to which we owe, in large part, the current production impetus, will end with the end of this year. And it is not clear whether this deadline will concern the actual delivery of the machinery or not, as instead it seems more logical to operators, the collection of formalized and certified orders. In fact, it is known that the construction and delivery time for a machine is on average at least five months.
Another aspect to which machine tool manufacturers attach importance is that of depreciation rates: their liberalization by buyers could be established, they propose. This measure would allow for faster depreciation, thus facilitating the flow of new purchases, and would not have any burdens on the State except for the transfer of the times for acquiring cash receipts.
Alternatively, they add to the Ucimu, we could move towards an update of the depreciation coefficients, which have never changed since 1988.
These are indications that start from one consideration: adopting measures to stimulate the economy - as happened with the passing of the new Sabatini law - was undoubtedly positive.
And it is also a commitment to conquer new markets, to search for more substantial outlets for exports. But truly decisive, not so much for the sector as for the future of the country, would be structural interventions. What is urgent, they warn Ucimu, is the definition of a strategy that aims decisively to counteract the aging of the national productive apparatus.
"Our most recent surveys on the fleet of machines installed in Italy draw a truly worrying scenario of the state of the country's manufacturing industry", denounces the president of the association. "The means of production have an average age close to 13 years: this is the worst result seen in the last forty years".
Since that distant time everything has really changed in the world, starting with the information revolution. Hence the need for all Italian companies to be able to operate in a regulatory context that pushes resolutely towards the voluntary replacement of obsolete machinery.
"It is necessary to give space to technologies designed and manufactured according to the new productivity needs required today: first of all, adapted to the standards of energy saving and compliance with the occupational safety standards set by the European Union", underlines Galdabini.
Support the conquest of new markets; avoid choking a positive conjuncture; addressing the critical issues of a structural nature in the country's industrial system: these are the three crucial points on the business agenda. Overcoming them, Ucimu hopes, the action of the Ministry of Economic Development could contribute decisively, after Carlo Calenda takes office.
Also on the occasion of the Confindustria Assembly at the end of May, the new head of the department launched messages that were considered very interesting. The young minister's strong appeal to the urgency of catching up on the internationalization front – where the country has a gap of 15 points compared to Germany – and the clear affirmation according to which: “In a modern country there is no possibility of making industrial policy if not with companies and for companies”.
In this context, as noted by those who have dedicated years of work to the machine tool sector, two purposes stated clearly by Calenda appear plausible: to reorganize the incentives on the basis of rigorous verification of the results achieved by the individual measures; concentrate resources on existing initiatives, following the criterion that an incentive is effective only if it can assume an adequate scope.
Everything, warned the minister, will flow into a strategic and operational plan to be prepared by September. In time, therefore, to evaluate the proposals that Confindustria has undertaken to put forward within a few weeks. Will this work be able to really make Italian manufacturing the pivot of a new season of development? Will that innovative revolution that goes by the name of “Industry 4.0” take shape? Or is this condemned to remain a tired slogan which – Calenda acknowledged – is talked about a lot without which, so far, it has had consistent results in Italy (or even in Europe)?
These are questions that will help make next summer a very hot one. But in viale Fulvio Testi they have a really effective air conditioning system.
