Reliable, high-quality machine tools, manufactured in Italy, are about to go on show in the Chinese capital Beijing. The occasion is the thirteenth edition of the CIMT fair, due to take place from April 22^nd to 27^th. This biennial event is regarded as very important: in 2011 China proved to be the world’s leading nation in terms of machine tool consumption (with a 28.3% increase on 2010), as well the top global importer.

In the face of this situation, Italian producers will not be coming unprepared. Sixty Italian companies have been chosen to participate, in a delegation coordinated by ICE (the Italian Trade Promotion Agency), in collaboration with the trade association for the industry, UCIMU-Production Systems. It will be a very varied but comprehensive representation, with a huge range of products on display. These will include lathes, presses, machine tools for moulding metal, and machinery for creating automation systems such as robotic islands. Nothing will be left to chance, for the Italian companies are well aware that China’s increasing importation of machine tools is related not only to well-consolidated sectors, such as the railway and automotive industry, but also to those showing consistent growth, such as the naval and aeronautical industries and infrastructure programmes. They are therefore conscious that fairs such as CIMT provide an excellent opportunity to attract the attention and admiration of both visitors and representatives of local businesses.

This sector of Italian industry has proved very adept at reacting to the requirements of a market which is extremely varied both in character and in geographical distribution. In fact, Italian manufacturing now occupies third place in the world export table for the sector, behind Japan and Germany but ahead of Taiwan, Switzerland and China. The data processed by the Business Study and Culture Centre of UCIMU-Production Systems seem to confirm that 2012 was an important year: Italian production in the sector reached a value of 4,930 million Euros, an increase of 3.5% on the previous year. This result was due to an excellent export performance: these grew by 12%, achieving a quota of 3,650 million Euros. According to the ISTAT data examined by the UCIMU Study Centre, China was one of the top destinations for Italian machine tool exports in the first nine months of 2012, together with China, the United States, Germany, Russia, France, Brazil, Turkey, India, Poland and Mexico.

Forecasts for 2013 indicate on the one hand a slow-down in the Italian manufacture of machine tools for robotic and automated equipment, accompanying a shrinking domestic market, but conversely a positive performance in foreign trade, with export figures growing by 2.1%. It is partly due to these predictions that events such as CIMT are seen as important opportunities for presenting top quality and cutting-edge technology to those looking for new business opportunities.