Journalists from 27 countries came to Italy to get to know what Milan has in store for them from next 27th to 31st May. It was a chance to have a look at 2007 preliminary balance figures and forecasts for 2008.
Last 14th February, during the traditional Xylexpo NEW International meeting, the 2008 edition (27-31 May in Milan) was presented to some 80 journalists from 27 countries.
Acimall president Ambrogio Delachi was the first to take the floor. After conventional greetings, he immediately announced the next edition big news: semifinished products and furniture industries supplies will be included in the fair event. This is an important change in our strategy which can be summed up in one word: Xylexpo NEW.
As Delachi explained: “After twenty editions and forty years together, we had to accept the new direction taken by Sasmil, which decided to move to a different date in February, together with Made Expo. I have to say we were informed when all decisions had been made, although we had offered alternative solutions to Cosmit managers which, in our opinion, could be effective to relaunch an event like Sasmil that – while Xylexpo kept growing and regularly – was recording a relentless decrease in visitors year after year.
There is no need and no use, and it is not my task, to discuss the reasons why the Sasmil organizers took a decisions we clearly do not approve.However, our natural openness to close collaboration with Cosmit and Federlegno-Arredo is unchanged, as we think that there are many elements of convergence and the possibility to develop interesting far-reaching projects together.
We are aware, and we feel the responsibility for it, that we organize an exhibition that represents everything that makes innovation in an industry – woodworking and furniture production – where many things have changed and many more are changing at sustained speed.We all must be ready to work with stronger and stronger intensity, dedication and sacrifice, to seize ever new opportunities so as to meet the requirements and expectations of our counterparts as quickly as possible.With Xylexpo NEW 2008, we believe we are writing another important page in our history and we have celebrated our first 40 years in the best possible way.
Once again Delachi put the accent on the importance of concepts such as experimentation and research, as instruments to create production systems that can ensure productivity, flexibility, lower costs and higher speed. These are real concepts which stand out in the next Xylexpo NEW.
Cepra’s President closed his speech with an optimistic note: ”…the world is full of capable and attentive entrepreneurs, who are realizing that it is vital to evolve. They will collect the fruits of a world that is constantly expanding on the whole. More and less favorable economic periods take turns like sea tides, but the world’s population keeps growing by 200 to 300 million people every year. Each company, each organization, each individual must fit their actions into this situation, striving for success while also contributing to improve the living standards of everyone, with no exception. And ultimately, this is what we are all trying to do the best we can.
Acimall vicepresident Paolo Griggio took then the floor, offering the first information of what Xylexpo NEW 2008 is going to be, “…the biggest event in our history,” as he defined it. Until February 5, we had already assigned over 73 thousand square meters of exhibition area to 725 exhibitors. This means we have already exceeded the 2006 total area, also as a result of increased space demand from the leading international groups (Scm Group will take 6,400 square meters; 2,800 for Biesse Group and Homag Group, and over 1,100 for Weinig).
Griggio stressed the changes to the exhibition and the decision to host as many segments related to the wood industry as possible, turning the show into the Biennial international exhibition of woodworking technology and supplies for the wood and furniture industry. This year’s event will be “number zero” in this respect, as the available space is not enough to cover our real requirements. FieraMilano actually decided to leverage the strong appeal of Xylexpo NEW to schedule other technology exhibitions during the same dates. As a result, we will only have one hall more than in 2006, Hall 14, traditionally assigned to Sasmil. But I can tell you that, the day after the end of Xylexpo NEW 2008, we will start working for 2010 immediately, so Xylexpo will have everything it takes to be really “new”!
The next edition – 27-31 May – will “sow the seeds” of what the 2010 edition is going to be “…thanks to a layout where machinery and equipment will be exhibited in the same halls with materials, components and supplies.We want to provide visitors with an overall view of all they need: abrasives will be placed close to sanding machines, paints will be found in the halls dedicated to finishing operations, accessories in the areas where assembly solutions are exhibited, panels and semifinished materials will be combined with secondary processes.”
The Xylexpo NEW catalog will not be extended only to semifinished materials,” added Paolo Griggio. “Great attention will be dedicated to forest technology. Xylexpo NEW is starting a collaboration with Dimaf (International demonstration of forest machinery and equipment) that is moving from October to May.Cepra, in collaboration with the Italian association of forest research, is organizing a demonstration of equipment in operation in the woods around San Fedele Intelvi (Como) from May 30 to June 1. The event will be combined with a great three-day international meeting – the first day in FieraMilano, the other two in San Fedele Intelvi – about the topic “The sustainable management of the forest, wood and environment industry:man, education, machines, raw materials”. At next Xylexpo there will be a stronger presence of wood structures and constructions.
Griggio strongly highlighted that “….there are many new things we are working at, however this should not deviate attention from a clear fact, i.e. Xylexpo NEW is the international exhibition “par excellence” in even-numbered years, an important event because it offers the best possible offer of technology and supplies.
Griggio also mentioned the brand new fair center – FieraMilano in Rho – where the edition will be taking place for the second time and the decision of the organizers to opt also this year to offer free entrance: operators can pre-register on the xylexpo.com web site to access the exhibition with no trouble, avoiding annoying queues.
Grazia Finocchiaro – Acimall vicepresident – took on the task to give a general idea of the economic situation of the industry, a look at “made in Italy” within the international scenario. She started from the preliminary balance of 2007, calling it “...a year of consolidation for Italian offer”. According to the preliminary figures processed by the Studies Office of our association, production reached 1,926 million Euros, up by 5.8 percent as compared to 2006. Let me tell you that we finally turned back to 2001 standards when Italian production reached its all-time record, with 1,910 million Euros.If the preliminary data are confirmed, we will set a new record, although inflation is not taken into account.
Such record would also extend to export, which are estimated at 1,582 million Euros in 2007, i.e. 82 percent of total production and 6 percent more than in 2006. In 2001 it was 1,520 million Euros.
According to our estimates, in 2007, Italian machinery export accounted for 21 percent of global offer, putting our industry on top of the world.
Grazia Finocchiaro gave journalists an idea of what will be happening in 2008: “According to the initial information we have collected – and based on the association’s daily contacts with associated companies – we can expect less sustained growth this year as compared to the previous two-year period; this is generally due – in macroeconomic terms – to the slowdown of expansion in the United States and North America as a whole, which might extend to the rest of the world in the short term. However, we suppose that such slowdown will not translate into negative results; on the contrary, we will see further growth for the next twelve months, though at lower rates in the range of 2 percent.We also have to consider that the real trend of many markets where Italian manufacturers are involved might cause significant variations of this value.”
Referring to 2007 – and more precisely referring to export – between January and October Italian exports grew by 18 percent in Latin America, with Brazil in excellent health (25 million Euros, +15 percent).
Countries in the Far East purchased 11 percent more compared to the same period in 2006, for a value of 70 million Euros. The China-Hong Kong “system” (32 millions, +28 percent) scored positive results, as well as other countries of the area, particularly India.
In extra-Ue Europe, the most significant result was achieved in Russia, which in the period under scrutiny purchased “made in Italy” equipment for a total value of 91 million Euros, i.e. 21 percent more than in the same period of the previous year.
The European Union once again represented the main market for Italian production of wood technology (48 percent on total export). Spain was still the most responsive market withihn the European Union and worldwide (93 million euros); whereas Germany confirmed a decisive interest towards “made in Italy” (87 million euros, +14 percent).
A drop was registered in North America where 11 percent of Italian exports are shipped, and the Italian export towards the three countries of the Nafta area within the first 10 months of 2007 was 130 million Euros (-8 percent).
The European Union once again represented the main market for Italian production of wood technology (48 percent on total export). Spain was still the most responsive market withihn the European Union and worldwide (93 million euros); whereas Germany confirmed a decisive interest towards “made in Italy” (87 million euros, +14 percent).
A drop was registered in North America where 11 percent of Italian exports are shipped, and the Italian export towards the three countries of the Nafta area within the first 10 months of 2007 was 130 million Euros (-8 percent).
Then, Grazia Finocchiaro made an observation on which we should reflect: “In these mature markets, for primary as well as secondary operations, there is a strong development of factory automation. We can say that the automation of processes – from conveyors to material loading/unloading, up to machining on more and more complex working centers – has taken giant steps in the past few years.
This means that labor is getting less and less relevant, to the extent that, quite often, it is no longer worth moving production to countries with low labor costs. So, the improvement of technology is supporting a new rise of manufacturing activities in Germany or Italy itself, which in the recent past had transferred a huge portion of their production operations to other countries.
Besides the promotion activities carried out by Acimall, Finocchiaro has recently launched a “program to approach the universities that offer courses about woodworking technology. The program, called “Woodworking technology awards”, includes educational trips to Italy for the students that prepare the best graduation papers about Italian technology application in different woodworking segments. The program will be officially launched in the United States and Canada in 2008, and then gradually extended to all global regions relevant for Italian export. (l.r.)
XYLEXPO NEW 2008: EXHIBITORS AND EXHIBITING AREA
ITALY: WOODWORKING MACHINERY
|
Year
|
Italian exhibitors
|
Foreign exhibitors
|
Total exhibitors
|
Italy net
exhibiting
surface (m2)
|
International net exhibiting surface (m2)
|
Total net exhibiting surface
(m2)
|
|
2008*
|
484
|
241
|
725
|
53,000
|
20,000
|
73,000
|
|
2006
|
551
|
256
|
807
|
–
|
–
|
73,066
|
* 5 February 2008 update; final figures for the 2006 edition.
|
|
2007*
|
∆%’06*
|
|
|
|
|
|
Production
|
1,926
|
+5.8
|
|
Export
|
1,582
|
+6.0
|
|
Import
|
186
|
+7.0
|
|
Domestic market
|
344
|
+5.0
|
|
Apparent consumption
|
530
|
+5.5
|
|
Trade balance
|
1.396
|
+5.9
|
|
Export/production
|
82.1%
|
–
|
|
Import/apparent consumption
|
35.0%
|
–
|
*30 January 2008 preliminary balance.
Source: Acimall Studies office, January 2008.
XYLEXPO NEW WITHIN THE MILAN FAIR SYSTEM
The figures of the past event (2006) – published a few weeks ago by Servizio studi Fondazione Fiera Milano – show that Xylexpo NEW takes a leading position not only among wood industry exhibitions.
Among dozens of exhibitions held in the FieraMilano expo center, Xylexpo ranks at number eight as relates to the number of international exhibitors, with 256 companies. The top-ten best performers by international exhibitors include Mostra Convegno (591 foreign companies), followed by Micam (519), Macef Primavera (486), Mido (463) Artigiano in Fiera (458), Macef Autunno (424) and Plast (338). Behind Xylexpo, at number nine, the International furniture show (219) and Sicurezza (157).
Xylexpo NEW is also included in the top-ten ranking in terms of international exhibitors growth rate, specifically at number nine with an 8 percent increase as compared to 2004.
The international scope of the exhibition is even wider on the visitors’ side. Among the top-ten exhibitions held in Milan boasting the highest percentage of international visitors, Xylexpo NEW is at number four, with a 51 percent share on total visitors, behind Scoperte (75 percent), Mido (66 percent) and Mipel (62 percent).
Notice that Xylexpo NEW comes second out of the top-ten performers by international visitors, which increased from 43,840 to 48,008 in 2006.
POSITIVE SIGNALS FROM FOURTH QUARTER 2007
Figures related to the last three months of the year 2007 show that Italian woodworking machines and tools orders grew by 2.4 percent compared to the same period in 2006. Another positive signal confirming the trend of the past two years, although a significant slowdown was recorded against the increases of previous quarters: orders from abroad (where 82 percent of Italian production is sold) grew by 1 percent, whereas the Italian market was much more “generous” (+7 percent).
In 2007, prices increased by 2.2 percent, whereas the months of ensured production, at the end of the year, were 3.5.
According to the quality survey, 63 percent of the interviewed companies – taken from a representative sample of the whole industry – indicated stationary production volumes in the last three months of 2007, whereas 37 percent said their business had expanded. Available stocks are stationary according to 67 percent, decreasing according to 15 percent and growing according to the remaining 18 percent. Employment is considered as stationary by 74 percent of the sample and increasing by 26 percent.
According to the forecast survey, 74 percent of interviewed companies said orders from abroad will remain at current levels, while 15 percent expect an increase and 11 percent a reduction (positive balance +4 percent). Domestic market will be stable according to 74 percent of the sample, expanding for 11 percent and shrinking for the remaining 15 percent of the sample (negative balance –4 percent).
Xylexpo NEW 2008
presented to international press
ultima modifica: 2008-02-21T00:00:00+00:00
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