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Home > Focus On
MACHINERY FOR THE LEATHER INDUSTRY: ITALIAN EXCELLENCE
Rome - (Ign) - Italy is considered one of the leading countries in the world market of leather, footwear and leather goods, and has a major trade role. This has also been made possible by the excellence achieved in the construction of machinery for the leather industry, a sector in which Italy boasts such a tradition of pre-eminence that at the beginning of 2000 over two-thirds of the world's tanning machinery was manufactured in Italy. Today, despite global competition, according to the trade association Assomac (www.assomac.it), 50% of the world demand for machinery for footwear and leather goods and 80% of tanning machinery continues to be produced in Italy by the approximately 350 companies in the sector. 126 foreign countries have purchased Italian machinery in recent years, and the overall turnover in 2005 was €488m, 58% of which was sold abroad. The sector provides a total of 6200 jobs.
Machinery for the leather working industry is divided into three sub-sectors: footwear, leather goods and tanning. In terms of exports, the figures for the various sectors vary, in line with the development of the global economy. Italian machinery for footwear manufacture today represents 33.7% of the world market, up from 23% in 1995. In 2004 Europe still accounted for 59.61% of overall exports. In leatherworking machinery, European markets lead the way with 38.19% of the total, while the Asian market has seen growth of 2.43% and accounts for a market share of 36.69%, looking set to soon become the leading customer for Italian machinery. Markets in the Americas grew by 38.26% in 2004, to account for 16.89% of our exports. The sector of tanning machinery instead recorded export growth of +6.71%. Asia is by far the most interesting area: in 2004 it accounted for 43.82% of our exports, with growth of almost 24%. Europe today receives 24.37%, and America 23.27%.
There are two major districts in Italy for the leatherworking industry and that of the relative machinery. The district of Santa Croce sull'Arno in Tuscany represents one of the leading areas in Italy and internationally. Tanning began here in the mid-19th century, and today 35% of Italian leather production and 98% of leather soles are produced here, for an overall turnover of almost €2 billion. The district contains around 900 companies accounting for 10,000 jobs, with an average size of around 12 employees per business. The sector of machinery alone - at the forefront from the technological point of view - represents 30% of national production.
The other historical district is that of Vigevano, in Lombardy, which has been subject to severe pressure over recent decades: on one hand from the market (with a shift in consumer interest towards sports footwear), and on the other due to the price war waged by lower quality goods, produced both in areas of Italy in which the sector has recently developed, and in other countries (especially in Eastern Europe). Vigevano responded by concentrating on shoe production for the top end of the market, but above all by investing in the sector of machinery through ever greater specialisation, leading it to convert the majority of its manufacturing industries. And the results were not long coming: in the period October 2004 - September 2005 (the last data available) growth in turnover was 17.1%, well over the national average in the sector.
According to ISTAT, after a period of crisis, in the first 3 months of 2006 turnover in the leather sector increased by 17%. Moreover, turnover and orders up to May 2006 witnessed a surge of 16.2% and 11.7% respectively on the previous year. This general recovery in production will soon also have an effect on industrial machinery.
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