After an improvement of 15.5% in exports, it was difficult to be repeated, even more so in an economic context which globally, is not so favourable. Yet, the demand from the extraction industry and major distributors of drinking water - both public and private – maintains optimistic prospects for the Italian pump manufacturers, both volumetric and centrifugal. Hence, the sector expects exportation to develop further in 2008, with cross-border sales increasing by 14.9% to 1.35 billion Euros compared to the 1.17 billion exported in 2007. The estimate was announced on occasion of the presentation, held in mid-July 2008, of the Anima economic report (www.anima-it.com), the Federation of the Italian Associations of Mechanical and Engineering Industries, which also includes this production section: the document, which declares the 2007 final results, also contains the 2008 estimates for the sector.

The current year should mark the decisive approach to the turnover threshold of two billion Euros, with an expected value of 1.9 billion Euros as at 31 December 2008, +8.6% compared to a record year like 2007, in which the total revenues of the sector increased by 12% to 1.75 billion. An observation made by the Anima research department is that the latter result is linked to investments made by the section that is economically stronger in the industry: the first place is held by the oil and petrochemical sector, one of the greater users of industrial pumps, standard and nonstandard. But the water sector also holds an important role, which has planned essential, modernisation interventions to the distribution networks, to be carried out globally over the coming years. Ultimately, climate instability in recent years has maintained the steady demand for irrigation and drainage pumps, deriving from the agricultural sector.

And so, despite being penalised by currency dynamics, the difficult financial situation and changes in economic policies, Italian companies continue to export worldwide, even though the main target areas are located in Europe and Asia: the export revenue share has grown steadily in recent years, rising from 65% in 2006 to an expected 71% at the end of 2008. In absolute values, Europe remains the top destination for Italian exportation, with an equivalent value of 1.05 billion Euros in 2007 (+7% per annum). However, Asia is the most dynamic region, with exportation having increased by 32% per year to 598.7 million Euros. The classification of target areas with the most dynamic rates goes on to list Latin America (+22% to 92.1 million Euros) and Africa (+16% to 166.1 million Euros).

With regards to individual countries, in 2007, Germany has once again confirmed its first place in the world market rank for ‘Made in Italy’ pumps: exports stood at 261.6 million Euros (+10%). Followed by France (+8% to 180.8 million) and the United States (-8% to 157.2 million). In percentage terms, however, the next «frontier» is the Persian Gulf area. An example? In the past year, exportation of pumps to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar has doubled (+109% and +100% respectively). Improvement noted in China is also important, which in 2007 increased the share of importation from Italy by 45% to 62.9 million Euros.