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Home > SAUDI ARABIA > Focus On
CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY: A RECORD 2005 FOR EXPORTS
Rome - (Ign) - Flattering figures both in terms of turnover and exports, technological and patent innovation at the international forefront, and investments up three years in a row: these are the "secrets" that have made the Italian construction machinery industry the pride of the Italian manufacturing sector. According to data from Anima (the federation of Italian engineering associations), the sector of machinery for construction, road works, quarrying and similar experienced an extraordinary 2005: total production reached €2.3bn, up by 19.4% on the previous year. But it is the statistics on the rise in exports which are amazing, recording +35% and representing one of the most significant percentage increases in the engineering macro-sector. The number of jobs has reached 7100, also up by 4.4%, while the percentage of system use stands at 90% of the overall production force. Investments in the sector are also rising (+4.5%).
These excellent figures are due to the recovery of investments in the construction sector occurring in recent years in Italy, particularly those in renovation and maintenance, but above all - as seen in the Prometeia 2006 report - to the significant increase in patenting activity, with particular attention to product innovation. Domestic demand is increasingly positive, also thanks to the commencement of major public works, not to mention sales abroad, which as said continue to sustain overall performance in the sector. It is in fact estimated that exports account for 53% of production, a result that underlines the innate propensity of Italian firms to operate beyond national borders, despite the excessive strengthening of the euro and the abnormal growth of the raw material costs, in particular steel. Particularly brilliant was performance of exports in the sectors of "inert material processing" (+65%) and "drilling" (+56%), followed by "cranes" (+43%) and "concrete mixing" (+35%). Europe remained the prevalent destination for Italian products in the sector (with a market share of 40%, a quarter of which to France), but we should also stress the high share of exports absorbed by the Asian (16.1%) and African areas (13.5%), rising in 2005 by an impressive 91.8% (the best customer remains Algeria). Further growth is cautiously forecast in 2006 (+5.4%), and it is maintained that there will be demand linked to the realisation of major infrastructures, sustaining the domestic market. This further increase in production will be determined by growth of around 5% in domestic turnover and 6% in exports. A further boost is expected from construction law, encouraging modernisation both of the systems and of the operating machines, which in many cases are obsolete. Their replacement would be translated into both greater site safety and the limitation of environmental damage and, in any case, would ensure compliance with new legislation.
The trade association in the sector is Ucomesa (www.ucomesa.it), which was established in 1951 as part of Anima. It has always brought together the most qualified and prestigious Italian producers of construction systems and machinery. It covers 6 groups of products: machines and systems for digging, boring, drilling and piling, preparation of inert materials, production, transport and laying of concrete, site cranes, and equipment for road works. In coming years the associates aim at expansion eastwards, and have thus organised the Samoter Tour, which will help show the best products in the sector in the entire area of the Balkans: from Bulgaria, Poland and Romania to Turkey and the Russian Federation. According to professionals in the sector, the last of these represents one of the most attractive targets, where Italian businesses will succeed in making headway against foreign competitors: "The Germans are still the strongest," affirms Luca Turri, chairman of Ucomesa, "but our entrepreneurs are ready for an exciting challenge".
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