According to UCIMU machine tool orders experienced a decline of 18.6% in 2020 with the fourth quarter of 2020 still showing a decrease of 14% for export orders 18% for domestic orders with a cumulative decline of 18.1%.
“The year that has just closed was undoubtedly complicated, but we are confident that, already in the first months of 2021, the situation will improve. The Government incentive measures for the replacement of obsolete machinery and for Industry 4.0 initiative, the availability of COVID vaccines, along with the presence of two very important exhibitions in Italy, including EMO MILANO 2021, will raise hopes for the trend of this year”.
“The availability of vaccines will contribute to the recovery of activities in export markets, facilitating people mobility, which is decisive for the business of companies engaged in foreign markets. For this reason – went on the president of UCIMU, Barbara Colombo – it is important that the vaccination campaign goes on quickly, involving the whole population as soon as possible: only in this way, we will be able to return to normality”.
“The movement impossibility of goods and people, as well as the almost total absence of trade fairs, have severely tested our work in 2020. Exhibitions are a crucial tool for our marketing activity and not only for this. In our sector, meeting people and having a direct exchange of views at the exhibition with our customers and even a comparison with our competitors are essential aspects.
Actually, trade fairs are not only activators of trade activities, but also important opportunities for the development and dissemination of innovation and the progress of the sector technologies. We have been compelled to almost do without for a whole year, trying to supplement with web meetings, remote connections and demonstration videos. Nevertheless, now our enterprises need to participate again in trade shows and organise business meetings in person”.
“While waiting for the Government authorities to give green light in March to resume exhibition activity in Italy, the Association is working non-stop on the organisation of LAMIERA, centred on the segment of sheet metal working and forming machines, scheduled to take place from 26 to 29 May, and of EMO MILANO 2021, the world exhibition of machine tools and robots, hosted again in Italy from 4 to 9 October 2021.
“LAMIERA and EMO MILANO 2021 will actually be the first international trade shows, for the metal sheet segment and for the whole sector respectively, after about one year and a half of unavoidable stop. Therefore – concluded President Barbara Colombo – the expectations of operators are very high and the collection of the applications to exhibit goes on swiftly, as a testimony to the firm intention of the manufacturing world to return to normality”.
