Bridging Innovation to New Strategies

Machines ItaliaM • A • G • A • Z • I • N • E1-888-ITALTRADE WWW.MACHINESITALIA.ORG FALL 2008

BRIDGING

TO NEW STRATEGIESINNOVATIONWITH ITALIAN SOLUTION PROVIDERS

As the Italian Trade Commissionerin Chicago, every day I see howthe coming decade will challenge

North American manufacturers as no recentdecade has.

Globalization has deeply changed themanufacturing landscape, especially inthe most industrialized of nations. Risingcosts, rapid growth of emerging economiesand dramatic improvements in logisticshave revolutionized marketplaces. Simulta-neously, extreme environmental pressures,large-scale economic disruptions andtechnologically amplified human expressionare combining to create what may seem likean unfamiliar landscape.

Resulting advances in informationtechnology, robotics, biotechnology andother sciences have expanded the horizon ofnew product development and opportunitiesfor both Italian machinery producers andthe customers they serve.

Due to cost pressures, North Americancompanies have been outsourcing andbuilding plants abroad, where labor andenergy tend to be cheaper. In fact, theextensive trend has led some to see the U.S.economy as one based almost completely onservices. The truth is, in order to keep anindustrialized economyhealthy, it is absolutelynecessary to pursue innovation, improve laborskills and education, adopt new management

techniques and invest in technology andproduction processes.

In this edition of Machines Italia, weillustrate and explore solutions to some of theproblems that manufacturing faces today andwill continue to face tomorrow. We presentthese articles with the perspective ofpartnership between North American andItalian companies.

I trust the articles will leave you with themessage that through partnerships, it ispossible to achieve a competitive advantageand secure long-term growth and success.While technology and equipment areavailable from countless suppliers worldwide,advances in flexible and customizedmanufacturing solutions—developed byItalian companies experienced in a widevariety of markets and sectors—are helpingNorth American manufacturers whilecontributing to and investing in localeconomies throughout North America.

We hope you will be able to take awaysome useful and concrete examples in casestudies citing strategies that Italiancompanies implement on a daily basis tocompete and support their North Americancustomers in an ever-changing worldeconomy.

Sincerely,Pasquale BovaTrade Commissioner—Chicago

Italian Trade Commission

Dr. Pasquale BovaTrade Commissioner—Chicago

Address:401 N. Michigan AvenueSuite 3030Chicago, Illinois 60611-4257

Toll-Free:1.888.ITALTRADE / 482.5872(U.S. and Canadian Callers)

Telephone:312.670.4360(outside the U.S. and Canada)

Fax:312.264.6209

E-mail:[email protected]

Web Site:www.machinesitalia.org

The Italian Trade Commission’s NorthAmerican offices in Chicago, Atlanta,Los Angeles, Toronto and Mexico City areprincipally responsible for the machineryand technology sectors covered in thispublication.

Enabling Innovation and Growth in An Ever-ChangingWorld

Italian machinery manufacturers are quickly responding

to new product and process developments by providing the

right solutions to North American manufacturers.

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f rom the I ta l ian Trade Commiss ioner—Chicago

Machines Italia News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4News briefs from a selection of our 10,000 partner companies.

Supplier Collaboration EnablesGlobal Competitiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Italian machinery manufacturers are boosting service offerings forNorth American customers, says Patricia Panchak.

Ready for the Robot Rally. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9As manufacturers around the world invest in increased factory automation,Italian machinery and robotics manufacturers are ready to respond.

Taking Lean to the Next Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Italian manufacturers will continue to improve customer service andquality through lean accounting, says Tonya Vinas.

Advanced and Adaptable Italian BottlingMeets Niche Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14As innovation drives growth in the U.S. beverage market, bottles andpackaging must also adapt.

Weaving a NewTapestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Italian machinery manufacturers are helping the U.S. textile industry grownewmarkets with technical textiles.

Power Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22With energy costs soaring to record levels, Italian manufacturers arehelping to reduce bills through innovation, says Ruari McCallion.

Awards Promote Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26The Italian packaging and machine-tool industries host students.

Italian Innovation in the Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Machines Italia is taking innovation on the road at majorNorth American events.

Trade Shows in Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Upcoming exhibitions sponsored by our partner associations.

Innovation atWork in Global Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30A brief look atMachines Italia’s 14 partner associations and industries.

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What could be more patriotic than U.S. flagsbeing manufactured by American citizens in

South Boston—at the world’s oldest and largestflag manufacturer nonetheless. Here, at one ofAnnin & Co.’s (www.annin.com) three U.S. plants,two digital printing machines from Italy’s ReggianiMacchine S.p.A. (www.reggianimacchine.it) helpto manufacture 10,000 different types of flags,including the U.S. flag.

“They are great machines,” Bill Kelehar, directorof operations, said of the Dream Digital inkjetprinters. “We bought the first one four years ago,and we were so happy, we put in a second one.”

Kelehar said the company purchased themachines because they are more efficient thanolder, screen-printing machines. He said oneoperator runs bothmachines simultaneously. To getan equal amount of output on the older machines,25 people had to run them.

“They are expensive, but you make up for itbecause they are less labor-intensive,”Kelehar said.

Family-owned Annin, which also has plants inOhio and Virginia, has been part of several majorevents in history since its founding in New York in1847. It made the flags used during Robert E. Peary’sexpedition to theNorth Pole, Richard E. Byrd’s flightsover the North and South Poles, the NationalGeographic Society’s expedition to the top ofMount Everest, and the Apollo moon missions.

Reggiani, located in Bergamo, has been a leadingdeveloper, manufacturer and service provider offlat/rotary screen-printing machines and stenters fortextile printing and finishing for over 50 years.

machinery. The Italian firm has patented a processto create a multilayer (up to 12) film that will reducethe cost of plastic solar panels, creating analternative to the classic glass-silicon approach.

Bandera is working on the improvement ofpolymer mechanical properties by the selection,modification and dispersion of nanofillers, natural

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MACHINESITALIA NEWS

Italian extrusion lines maker Bandera S.p.A.(www.luigibandera.com) is creating a nanotech

division and has received a patent for its plasticphotovoltaic solar panel all-in-one.

Bandera has created the nanotechnologydivision in order to begin introducingnanotechnology capability in plastic extrusion

ITALIAN TOUCH FOR AMERICAN FLAGS

BANDERA CREATES NANOTECH DIVISION

Earth-MovingEquipment SectorBooming

Exports of Italian-made earth-movingmachinery arefueling what isexpected to bethree years of solidgrowth for thesector. According toCOMAMOTER, theItalian consortiumof earth-movingmachinerymanu-facturers (www.comamoter.com)production in 2007rose by 20.3%, withfurther growth of10.3% expected in2008 and 8.5% in2009. Exports grew21.5% in 2007 andwill grow 10.9%and 9% respectivelyin 2008 and 2009,according toCOMAMOTER.Growing productlines for 2007included: bulldozers,excavators, loadersand graders—6.6%;miniexcavators—6.8%; and skid-steerloaders—10.7%.

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For more information, contact:Torninova USAP.O. Box 13542073 Feuereisen Ave.Ronkonkoma, N. Y., 11779Phone: 631.676.7060Fax: 631.676.7063

Torninova S.r.l. Plastic Machinery(www.torninova.com), based in Perugia, Italy,

will expand its North American presence this yearwith a new sales and service office in Ronkonkoma,N.Y. The company will be selling extrusion andbubble-wrap machinery.

“This entry to the market was strategicallyplanned to coincide with the major expansion of abrand-newmanufacturing and assembly facility thatallows for the increased production requirements ofNorth America as well as the expansion Torninovahas been experiencing throughout the world,” saidMaurizio Mencarelli, general manager.

Products to be offered to the North Americanmarket include:

� Coex Bubble 10 In-Line Processing®� Power Bubble In-Line Processing®� Pollyboll In-Line Processing®� Twin Bubble In-Line Processing®� MAC Bubble®� Air Basic Off-Line Processing®� RP® Coreless Rewinder� Lam Lamination Machine®

Torninova, which makes bubble-wrap packaging equipmentsuch as is shown here, will be expanding its sales andservice capabilities in the United States with a new officein New York state.

TORNINOVA EXPANDS N. AMERICAN SALES, OFFERINGS

nanoclays and/or synthetic nanopowders. Banderawill continue to seek agreements with academia andjoint ventures with industry in order to develop newintelligent plastic products and also to improve theproduction process, reducing the cost of plastic sub-strate for electronic and photovoltaic applications.

Bandera specializes in designing andmanufacturing complete plastic extrusion lines.Established in 1947, Bandera has produced morethan 20,000 machineries. Recently, it has boosted itspresence in themarket, concentrating its productionrange on three different applications: blown film,foils and sheets, and pipes (thermoplastic and steelpipe coating technology).

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Cefla ChoosesN. Carolina forU.S. Base

Italian wood-pro-cessing machinerymanufacturerCefla Group s.c.(www.ceflagroup.com/en) is locatingits North Americanheadquarters inHuntersville, N.C.Cefla America plansto build an office,manufacturingplant, distributionfacility and researchlab. The companyis considering twosites. Cefla willultimately investabout US$16millionin the new head-quarters. Accordingto the CharlotteBusiness Journal,the company alsowill hire about90 people. CeflaAmerica alreadyhas locations inHigh Point, N.C.,and Canada.

NEWS BRIEFSFrigel President a ‘Plastics Pioneer’

Steve Petrakis, president of the North Americanunit of Italian industrial cooling equipmentmanufacturer Frigel Firenze S.p.A.(www.frigel.it),was recently inducted into thePlastics Pioneers Association. Membership islimited to 250 active members whomust haveat least 25 years or more in the industry to beconsidered. Petrakis has been in the plasticsindustry for more than 30 years. As president ofFrigel NA, Petrakis is introducing Ecodry to theNorth American market. Ecodry is a closed-loopprocess-cooling system that uses less waterand energy than traditional systems.

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news

Italian machinery manufacturer Jobs S.p.A.(www.jobs.it.) continues to support the Boeing

787 project underway at U.S. aerospace giantBoeing. Jobs has supplied various dedicatedsystems to leading Boeing partners and suppliers.Recently, the company sold a milling machinedirectly to Boeing.

According to Jobs, the purchase of the JomaX265 for its Seattle plant is representative of a trendfor companies such as Boeing to invest in large,multifunctional machines. The JomaX 265 iscomposedof a large five-axismilling centre, which isable to machine various types of material, fromaluminium to titanium.

“It allows the user to rough out and finishcomplex parts in a wide variety of materials such astitanium, inconel, steel, aluminium and aluminiumalloys,” according to Jobs.

Looking up at the nose of the Boeing 787 Dreamlinerprovides a unique vantage point on the all-new jetliner.More than 890 of the jetliners have already been orderedby 58 customers.

JOBS’MULTIFUNCTIONALMACHINE LEADSAEROSPACE TREND

Italy Remains Leader in Textile Machinery

Italy continues to be a leader in the textilemachinery business, with 11% of the world marketand a 3% increase in sales in 2007. Exportsincreased 2% in the same year. ACIMIT, the Italianassociation of textile machinerymanufacturers(www.acimit.it), reported this news in its state-of-the-industry report released this summer.According to ACIMIT, demand for textile mainte-nance machinery is rising, although output for theglobal industry as a whole was flat in 2007.

OR.P. Stampi said it exports 70% of its finishedgoods and credited its growth to the dedication ofits highly qualified technicians and to innovativeideas developed in its Application Laboratory.

OR.P. Stampi S.r.l. (www.orpstampi.it),Viadanica, is expanding its headquarters

facility in response to increased demand fromcustomers. OR.P. Stampi makes moulds for theproduction of O-rings, gaskets, bellows, rubber-to-metal applications and other products.

According to a report by Plastics and Rubber

Weekly (www.prw.com), OR.P. Stampi has increasedthe floor space at its facility by about 10,700 squarefeet in response to increased demand. Productionexceeds 1,000 moulds per year and is expected tocontinue increasing. In addition to square footage,the expansion included new machinery, staffincreases and logistics improvements.

OR.P. STAMPI EXPANDS IN RESPONSE TO DEMAND

HT Italy ResurrectsMIR Brand

HT Italy S.p.A.(www.htitalyspa.com)has purchased MIR,a longtime Italianproducer ofconstruction andinjection-moldingmachines thathas been underspecial commissionmanagement dueto financial troubles,according toPolimerica.eu, theonline Europeanreport of Plastics andRubber News. Thepublication reportedin July that produc-tion has restartedat the Brescia-basedplant with aboutUS$8million worthof orders.

With this purchase,HT Italy becomesa producer ofindustrial machinery;previously, it hadbeen only a distribu-tor and servicecompany. CEO PietroNicolazzi said at thebeginning of 2009,HT Italy will changeits name and logoto HT IMM, and themachines will bebrandedMIR andHT IMM.

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By Patricia Panchak

Every association, IT company, research firm andconsulting group is full of advice these days onhow to run a successful global manufacturing

company. The advice tends to mirror the group’spolitical or sales objectives. All of these groups, how-ever, have something to say about suppliers, and

usually it is the same thing: Oneof the keys to remaining competi-tive in today’s global manufactur-ing economy is to work withsuppliers that are dedicatedto high-quality products andongoing improvement of service.

“Our research shows that sup-ply chains are being driven totransform and evolve due to mar-ket realities such as globalizationof supply, increasing competitivepressures, and dwindling productlife cycles,” said Bob Shecterle, avice president and group directorfor supply chain research atAberdeen Research.

At the 2008 Supply Chain Management Summitthat Aberdeen hosted in April, the researchersidentified “driving deeper interactions with tradingpartners of all kinds” as one of four key drivers ofsupply chain transformations. Overseas suppliersare deepening interaction with their NorthAmerican customers is to increase their sales andservice presence here—Italian machinerymanufacturers included.

One of these is Frigel Firenze S.p.A.(www.frigel.it), which makes industrial process-cooling equipment used by makers of plastic,rubber, metal and food products. Its Ecodry systemhas been installed at more than 5,000 locationsworldwide and uses less energy and saves waterwhile working more effectively than traditionalcooling systems.

Frigel established a North American unit in 2006(www.frigel.com/na) to sell a newly advancedversion of the Ecodry system and better serve itscustomers. Frigel NA includes experts in design,installation, testing, training and service.

“We started out to increase our abilities to serveour customers here on all fronts,”said Steve Petrakis,president of Frigel NA. “We’ve grown over the pasttwo and a half years. Right now we haveapproximately 80 different companies, and withinthose 80 companies there may be several differentlocations that use our product.”

Prior to founding Frigel NA, the Italian companyused distributors to serve North American clients,

SUPPLIER COLLABORATION

ENABLES GLOBALCOMPETITIVENESSITALIAN MACHINERY COMPANIES ARE BOOSTING

SERVICE OFFERINGS FOR NORTH AMERICAN

CUSTOMERS.

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Petrakis said, and these companies primarilyfocused on sales and had minimal mechanicalcapability. Frigel NA started out with one service

expert, and now has three plus thecapability of phone diagnostics andservice, meaning customers getinstant attention.

“Wait time is non-existent,”Petrakis said. “We service ourcustomers on demand, and we arelooking at technology that in thenear future will allow us to monitorcustomers’systems remotely at their

request and even do system upgrades remotely.We’ve talked to multiple companies that areinterested because they have several facilitiesaround the world, and they want a technician to beable to get a report daily on all of their systems.”

Frigel is planning for more growth in NorthAmerica.

“We started out with five people and 5,000square feet of space. Currently we have 14individuals, and we are building a 40,000 square-foot building to start manufacturing in the UnitedStates,” Petrakis said. “Currently all of the units soldhere are manufactured in Italy.”

Frigel NA is building the plant outside ofChicago and expects to start production inNovember of 2008.

Petrakis, who has a long career inmanufacturing and recently was inducted into thePlastics Pioneers Association, said Frigel—andItalian companies in general—are highly respectedtechnological leaders in process-systemmachinery.

“As cutting edge as this technology is, every yearthey [Frigel Italy] comeoutwith something newandset a new standard,”he said.

Another Italianmachinery manufacturer, BiesseS.p.A. (www.intermac.it), is partnering with a U.S.-based company to increase products offered tocustomers in the glass and stone fabricationindustries. Through its North American subsidiary,Intermac America, Biesse signed an agreement inJune of 2008 with Salem Distributing Company.Under the new agreement, Intermac’s servicedepartment will install all Intermac machinery andprovide technical support, parts and service to

Salem customers with Intermac products.According to the companies, both Intermac andSalem noticed that their glass machinery portfolioscomplemented each other, and in fact the Intermacsales force will sell Salem machinery lines toIntermac accounts.

Intermac is investing significantly in NorthAmerica overall, hiring and strengthening its dealernetwork in support of aggressive expansion plans.This agreement is part of that effort.

“This collaboration between the two strongestglass machinery sales and service organizations inNorth America provides our joint customers withthe largest portfolio of high quality machinery,”saidCarey Brayer, Intermec glass product manager.“Both Salem and Intermac customers are alreadyrealizing the benefits of this joint effort.”

Another example is Milan-basedNO.EL IndustrialAutomationS.r.l. (www.nuovesales.com/about.html),which makes packaging machinery. The company isresponding to the “green” trend of creating less wastein industrial processes. In July, it introduced theNO.EL Coreless Rewinder II in North America, amachine that had previously been sold only in Europeand Brazil. The Coreless Rewinder II produces rollsof post-extrusion film wrap without disposablecardboard cores at the center. This makes for lesswaste and eliminates the need to purchase the cores.

“Our European customers are convinced thatgetting rid of their cardboard cores is a mandatefor responsible business practices going forward,and they successfully sell this as a value-add to theirfilm customers,” said Roberto Colombo, NO.ELvice president and company partner. “We believeNorth American producers are ready to follow thistrend, because it’s cost effective and positive forthe environment.”

Italian companies such as Frigel, Biesse andNO.EL understand the new global dynamic:Suppliers that make serving customers a prioritywill share in the success and growth of thosecustomers.

Patricia Panchak is Editor-at-Large for

Target, the journal of the Association forManufacturing Excellence. She is the former

Editor-in-Chief of IndustryWeekmagazine.

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“As cutting edge as thistechnology is, every yearthey [Frigel Italy] come outwith something new andset a new standard.”–Steve Petrakis, president of Frigel NA


Sales of industrial robots worldwide grew 5% in2007 and will continue to increase by 8% to12% this year, according to estimates. Driving

this trend are improved technology, growingdemand in new market segments and a need forincreased automation among end-users.

According to the International Federation forRobotics (IFR), the stock of industrial robots in theAmericas (mainly the United States, Mexico, Canadaand Brazil) increased by 8% in 2007 to 167,000 units,about 17% of total world stock.

Manufacturers in many segments are investingin robots for a variety of reasons including qualitycontrol, improved efficiency, reduced energyconsumption and/or scrap, increased safety andexpanded capabilities.

The automotive industry is the biggest consumerof industrial robots, but that is changing. According toIFR, robot suppliers are offering “increasingly tailoredsolutions” to nonautomotive industries such asmetals, food and beverage, glass and ceramics,pharmaceutical and medical devices, and thephotovoltaic industries. Specifically in the UnitedStates, robot sales in the automotive sector arestagnant while they are growing in theelectrical/electronics industry, food and beverage,pharmaceuticals, metals, engineering, and rubberand plastics.

IMPROVED TECHNOLOGYAccording to IFR, “Improvements in sensor technolo-gy [such as] robot vision, force-sensing or environ-ment recognition will enhance quality control andinspection. Improvements in communication such asremote operation or better human-machine inter-face will open new customer groups such as small-and medium-sized companies. Improvements in sys-tem technology, [such as] offline programming, safe-ty and multirobot cooperation will guarantee solu-tions for sophisticated automation processes.”

Innovation in robotics often comes fromcollaboration among producers and/or researchinstitutions and customers. For example, Italianindustrial automation manufacturerMasmec S. r. l.(www.masmec.com) has ongoing research

ROBOT RALLYREADY FOR THE

AS MANUFACTURERS AROUNDTHEWORLD

INVEST IN INCREASED FACTORY AUTOMATION,

ITALIAN MACHINERY AND ROBOTICS

MANUFACTURERS ARE READY TO RESPOND.

robotics

Traditionally, theautomotive industry is thebiggest user of industrialrobots, such as this Comauautomated system. Otherindustries, however, arestarting to buy more robots,particularly for material-handling applications.

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projects, including the application of robots in newsettings. One project has the company partneringwith two Italian research groups, the IstitutoOncologico di Bari and the Politecnico di Bari, todetermine innovative application of robots in thebiomedical field, a growing market.

Another Italian robotics company MotomanRobotics Italia (www.motoman.it), worked closelywith auto manufacturers to develop the MotomanEA1800N, which is designed to move higher-capacity loads and can be used, for instance, in anapplication that requires a piece of processequipment be mounted into the robot.

GROWING DEMAND FOR AUTOMATIONOne reason manufacturers are investing in the auto-mation of processes is in response to a skilledworker shortage thatwill become evenmore drastic asa largeportionofU.S.workers retire in thenext decade.

“This technology is really needed for the globalcommunity,” said Russell Bodoff, executive directorat the Center for Aging Services Technologies(www.agingtech.org), Washington, D.C. “If you look30 years out, we havewhat I would call a global crisis

in front of us: that we will have many more agingpeople than we could ever deal with.”1

Robotics are needed to assist the agingpopulation not only focus on job-specific tasks, suchas painting, but on making current tasks easier onolder bodies. This, too, is fueling growth ascompanies that make sector-specific machinery willinclude more robotic applications. For instance,

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The European Union has doubled the amount it willcontribute to robotics research through the next two years.

Motor vehicles

Automotive parts

Electrical/electronics

Chemical/rubber/plastics

Metal products

Machinery(industrial/consumer)

Food

Communication

Glass/ceramics

Medical/precision/optical instruments

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

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+4%

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+9%

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+19%

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+64%

+38%

MANUFACTURERS USE 1 MILLIONINDUSTRIAL ROBOTSEstimated worldwide operational stockof industrial robots

NONAUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES BUYING MORE ROBOTSWorldwide yearly supply of industrial robots 2006–2007 bymain industries� 2007* | � 2006

GlobalIndustrialForecast2008

This global forecastfor industrial robotsis provided by theInternational Feder-ation for Robotics:

Robot sales will varyin the three bigregions. Nonauto-motive sectors willincrease remarkablyin the Americas, butsuch increases willnot be sufficient tooffset the expectedcyclical decline insales to the automo-tive sector.

Robot supplies inEurope will continueto grow. In thebiggest market,Germany, the orderintakes of the firstquarter 2008 are stillat double-digit rates.In Italy, an increaseof robot installationsis expected to bebetween 5% and10%. In the EasternEuropean countries,further strong robotinvestment will berealized.

The robot suppliesto Asia will increasein 2008 after thestagnation in 2007.Moderate growthin Japan and theRepublic of Korea andsurging sales to thegrowingmarkets inAsia will be realized.

0

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SOURCE: IFR STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT *PRELIMINARY DATA SOURCE: IFR STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT

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farmers also will be aging, so farming equipmentneeds to becomemore automated, as do industriesthat involve food-handling. According to IFR,demand for robots used for handling of materials isbooming in the United States and Europe.

“Robots offer similar benefits to the foodindustry as they do in other industries,” said RonaldPotter, senior director, distribution and emergingrobot markets, Motoman Inc., in a Robotics IndustryReport on robotics in the food industry. “Roboticsimprove productivity and quality, lower direct laborcosts, and improve safety by reducing lifting andrepetitive-motion injuries for workers.”2

Additionally, as companies become more global,they are looking for ways to standardize productionmethods to improve quality and consistency ofproduct. Many are turning to robotics, which reducesvariation.

“The stability is a clear advantage in that itconfers higher precision,” explained Johnny Jarhall,Motoman European marketing director, referring tothe EA1800N when it was introduced in May. “Quitesimply, it reduces the small unwanted movements[that] can affect the processes.”

Finally, environmental standards are forcing allmanufacturing industries to modernize their plantsin order to be competitive on the global market,according to IFR. This includes not only replacingoutdated production equipment, but alsoupgrading environmental-control equipment suchas vacuum lines.

These trends are affecting not just largecompanies, but also small and medium companies.They, too, are turning to robotics.

“Small andmedium enterprises will become first-time robot users, due to attractive prices andintelligent, easy-to-use systems,” reported the IRF inits outlook for 2008.

DOUBLED INVESTMENT IN R&DItalian robot producers will benefit from increasedinvestment in robotics research. The EuropeanUnion (EU) announced that it will double invest-ment in the field through 2010. The US$630 millionprogram aims to forge stronger links between aca-demia and industry. The EU Commission said it willset up a technology transfer program that will allowclose collaboration among researchers and manu-facturers, and bring concepts to market faster.

“There is a clear window of opportunity forautomation industries in Europe, in particularrobotics, not just to maintain leadership, but togrow further and to move higher up the valuechain,” said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner forInformation Society and Media.

1 “Automation Seen as Solution to Aging Population,”www.futurepundit.com, April 13, 2004.2 Bennett Brumson, “Food for Thought: Robotics in the FoodIndustry,” Robotics Industry Association, 6/12/2008.

Robotics in Italy

3B6 Sistemi Electtronici Industrial,www.3b6.it

ABB S.p.A.,www.abb.itAlcatel Alenia Space,

www1.alcatel-lucent.com/spaceAltair Engineering,

www.altairtorino.itAmatech S.r.l.,www.amatech.itAutomation Group S.r.l.,

www.automationgroup.itBalluff Automation S.r.l.,

www.balluff.itBDC Electronic S.r.l.,

www.bdcelectronic.comBisiach & Carrú S.p.A.,

www.bisiachcarru.itC-Labs S.r.l.,www.c-labs.itComau S.p.A.,www.comau.itCTS Electronics,www.ctsgroup.itCoord 3,www.metris.comCREA Centro Ricerche EuropeoAmada,www.crea-amada.it

Deltavisione,www.deltavisione.comDemitalia S.r.l.,www.demitalia.comElcis S.r.l.,www.elcis.comEmcoMecof S.r.l.,www.mecof.itERXA S.r.l.,www.erxa.itFaiveley Italia S.A.,

www.faiveley.comFidia S.p.A.,www.fidia.itGefit,www.gefit.comHexagonMetrology,

www.hexagonmetrology.netIcon S.r.l.,www.icon.itIncas S.p.A.,www.incasgroup.it

KUKA Roboter Italia S.p.A.,www.kuka.com

Masmec S.r.l.,www.masmec.comMicrotecnica, S.r.l.,

www.microtecnica.itMotoman Robotics Italia,

www.motoman.itNewlast Group,www.newlast.comNke S.p.A.,www.nke.itOsai S.p.A.,www.osai.itPrima Electronics S.p.A.,

www.primaelectronics.comPrima Industrie S.p.A.,

www.primaindustrie.comRibes Tecnologie S.r.l.,

www.ribestecnologie.itRockwell Automation,

www.rockwellautomation.itRobox S.p.A.,www.robox.itRtm S.p.A.,www.rtm.itSandretto Industrie S.r.l.,

www.sandretto.itSarmas,www.sarmas.itSeac02 S.r.l.,www.seac02.itSeica S.p.A.,www.seica.comSelca S.p.A.,www.selca.itSelet Sensor S.r.l.,www.selet.itSiecab S.r.l.,www.siecab.comSkf S.p.A.,www.skf.itSpea S.p.A.,www.spea.comTelerobot Advanced Robotics S.r.l.,

www.telerobot.itTeoresi S.r.l.,www.teoresi.itVigel S.p.A.,www.vigel.com

These are some of the Italian companies involved in robotics.

Sources: Italian Trade Commission and “Robotics in Turin and Piedmont,” compiledby Invest in Turin and Piedmont

By Tonya Vinas

Manufacturers have been studying, imple-menting and exploring efficient manufac-turing tactics for decades. Known most

widely as “lean manufacturing,” this managementsystem has contributed to significant productivitygrowth in the United States and Europe during thepast 20 years. Customers have benefited fromincreased attention to service and quality, more-stable suppliers and faster delivery.

So what can customers of Italian industrialmachinery manufacturers continue to expect in thefuture from these suppliers’ lean efforts? Even moreefficiency and customer focus as Italian companiescontinue to embrace a more holistic and unifiedapproach to lean. Some people describe it as havingtaken lean to the next level—beyond the tools stageto the enterprise-wide stage where everyone in theorganization (even those who have never set footon a plant floor!) works according to these beliefs.

I have been in several U.S. plants that are movingto this stage.What I see is organizations that aremorefocused on customers than ever. For instance, someplants that have reorganized into value streams have

placed customer service representatives, payablesand receivables specialists, design engineers,operations managers and administrative supportemployees together in a space next to theproduction lines for that value stream’s product(s).The group works together as a“mini-company”whilestill working within the “parent company’s”framework of standards and strategy.

It’s still the same company, butwhen a customercalls in with a billing question, the billing reps knowthem by name because they handle only thecustomers that buy that value stream’s products.When a customer calls in with a specificationquestion, an engineer answers the phone and cangive an immediate answer. If a customer wants torush an order and needs to know RIGHT NOW! if it ispossible, the value stream manager can respondRIGHT NOW! because he or she is responsible for allaspects of producing and delivering that productanddoesn’t need to checkwith anyone else.The aimis to build more direct inroads for customers byremoving red tape and other inefficiencies that canbe frustrating and counterproductive.

One company that hasmoved to this next level isItalian manufacturer Biesse S.p.A. (www.biesse.it),which makes wood, glass and stone fabricationequipment. In April, Biesse announced that it isreorganizing into value streams.

“Lean manufacturing enables us to reducewaste and inefficiency, perfecting a flexiblemanufacturing system that is able to ‘bend’ to themarket, [resulting in] complete customersatisfaction and better profitability,” said StefanoBartolini, Biesse industrial manager. “Biesse had felt

TAKING LEANTO THE

NEXTLEVELITALIAN MANUFACTURERS CONTINUE TO

IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND QUALITY

WITH CONCEPTS SUCH AS VALUE-STREAM

MANAGEMENT AND LEAN ACCOUNTING.


lean manufacturing

According to theLean EnterpriseInstitute, a valuestream is “all ofthe actions, bothvalue-creating andnonvalue-creating,required to bringa product fromconcept to launchand from order todelivery.”

What is avalue stream?


the need for a radical rethinking of its existingmanufacturing flow, as the traditional methodswere no longer sufficient to support change andguarantee success.”

Some companies reorganize into value streamsas the first step to adopting lean accounting, amovement that started accelerating in the UnitedStates about four years ago and now is spreadingto Europe, including among Italy’s industrialequipment manufacturers.

Traditional accounting can limit the potential oflean by frequently discouraging lean behavior andrewarding antilean behavior, such as consideringexcess inventory an asset rather than waste. Also,the forecasting, tracking and control activities oftraditional accounting are maddeningly complex,redundant, imprecise, time-consuming, focused onthe past rather than the present, and generally donot provide useful information to managers of leanprocesses. Lean companies have realized they needa new way to measure performance and controlprocesses, particularly as they reorganize into valuestreams and turn profit-and-loss responsibility forindividual products over to these “mini-companies.”

As the trend to go lean increases in Europe, eventhe U.S.-based lean accounting training companyBMA Inc. last July held its first Lean AccountingMaster Class in Stresa, Italy. Numerous people fromItalian industry attended to learn from Brian Maskell,author of the book Practical Lean Accounting: ProvenSystems forMeasuring&Managing the Lean Enterprise,

and Ross Maynard, author of Successful Business

Growth and a member of Maskell’s recently createdEuropean unit. Additionally, BMA’s already-established Italian clients include ContinentalAutomotive Trading S.r.l. (www.conti-online.com),Parker Hannifin S.p.A. (www.parker.com), andFres-Co Systems USA Inc., a division of Italianpackaging company Goglio S.p.A. (www.goglio.it).

According to Maynard, companies that attendlean accounting training usually are well-advancedin lean and want to advance even further.

“Themost common barrier they face is that theybegin to discover that their accounting/financesystem is not fully reflecting the benefits they arederiving from lean,” Maynard said. “Using the tools

and methods that we outline, participants canbegin to see how they can adapt their managementsystems to reflect the benefits of lean.”

Customers benefit from supplier adoption oflean accounting as suppliers become more efficientand have real-time data on costs, quality and otherproduction information. This results in quickerresponse time and improved flexibility. Also—andperhaps most significantly—those who work mostdirectly with customers arefreed from the burden ofcomplicated cost tracking andreporting. Lean accountingreveals what actually ishappening—not what hashappened—and so yieldsfinancial reports that are muchquicker, simpler and moremeaningful than traditionalaccounting. So customersaren’t paying for unnecessary overhead costs thatdo nothing for them and distract those whom theyrely upon for service.

I continue to expect that more Italianmanufacturers will be reexamining and exploringvalue-stream management and lean accounting, asBiesse and others have already done. BMA saidinterest has been high in Italy, where companies areknown to be motivated to become even bettersuppliers. The last thing Maynard covered in theStresa class was creating key action steps for eachcompany to take back and implement.

“It was probably the most intense leanaccounting training I have experienced, with a veryhigh level of involvement,”Maynard concluded.

Like everything else in business, lean practicesare evolving and changing as customers demandand expect more from suppliers. Fortunately,Italian manufacturers continue to respond withexceptional enthusiasm, bringing their customerscontinued value within competitive markets suchas North America.

Tonya Vinas is a writer and editor specializing inmanu-

facturing and continuous improvement. She is founding

editor of themonthly newsletter Lean Accounting News.

“Biesse has felt the need for aradical rethinking of its existingmanufacturing flow, as thetraditional methods are no longersufficient to support change andguarantee success.”–Stefano Bartolini, Biesse industrial manager

Beverages is the fastest-growing category ofgrocery-store items in the United States.Once dominated by a few major manu-

facturers specializing in carbonated soft drinks, itnow includes multiple niches fed by smallercompanies exploring newmarkets.

Growing demand for healthy, tasty andconvenient products—drinks with nutritionalsupplements, clean labels, organic ingredients, andunique and different flavors—is coming fromconsumers looking for an alternative to traditionalsoda. Enter a wide assortment of beverages,including energy drinks, vitaminwater and iced teas.

A similar trend is happening in alcoholicbeverages, as lime makes its way into beer,microbreweries grow in popularity, and the

ITALIAN BOTTLING MEETS NICHE DEMAND

ADVANCEDAND ADAPTABLE

AS INNOVATION DRIVES

GROWTH IN THE U.S. BEVERAGE

MARKET, BOTTLES AND

PACKAGING MUST ALSO ADAPT

TOMAKE NEW PRODUCTS

STAND OUT AND GRAB

CONSUMERS’ATTENTION.


packagingSI

PAS.

P.A.


snobbery for wine bottles sealed with a cork diesdown due to ecological concerns about corkharvesting.

“Consumers are relatively fickle, and there is nota lot of loyalty in beverages,” said ChristopherShanahan, an analyst for U.S.-based researchcompany Frost and Sullivan (www.frost.com).“People buy different drinks every day, soinnovation is increasingly important. The fluidity ofthe market spurs change.”

Packaging plays a large part in the success ofnew beverages, with innovation focusing mainly onthe size and shape of the bottle tomake the productstand out on store shelves. Popular new featuresinclude easy-grip shapes, lightweight bottles, wide-mouth bottles, colored glass, and tall, thinaluminum cans.

“While packaging for new niche drinks is notsubstantially different from the bottles and cansconsumers are accustomed to seeing, subtledifferences mean the new products stand out fromthe more traditional beverages,” said StephenRannekleiv, vice president for Rabobank’s beverage,food and agribusiness research and advisorydivision (www.rabobank.com). “A slightly differentcan and a successful marketing campaign helpedshoot Red Bull energy drink to a popularity it hasenjoyed for 10 years so far, for example.”

Investing in Italian machinery for bottles andbeverage packaging can help support a company’sbid to guarantee its products a place in U.S.shopping baskets. The Italian machinery industry ishighly regarded for its technological innovation inareas ranging from everyday household brands tohigh-end goods such as cars. And bottling is noexception. Italian companies are keen to provideoriginal, high-quality and safety-assured machines,while working closely with different companies toprovide custom-made solutions.

ITALIAN MACHINERY RISES TOTHE CHALLENGEDespite strong competition in the market, Italianmachinery manufacturers continue to make a profitby increasing sales both at home and abroad. In fact,

72% of Italian machinery for manufacturing glass issold abroad, according to figures provided by theItalian Institute of Statistics (www.istat.it).

Exports of machinery for glass increased 5%overall between 2005 and 2006, amounting toUS$1.4 billion. Exports to the Americas madeup more than 12% of exports in 2005, with thevolume rising 15% in2006, due largely toincreased sales in theUnited States, Braziland Argentina.

Meanwhile, Italianexports of blow-molding machines tothe United Statesincreased in value from US$2.5 million in 2005 toUS$7.3million in 2006, and reached US$18.3millionin 2007. The United States is second behind Russiafor importing Italian blow-molding machines.

One of the strengths of the Italian machineryindustry is adapting to the shifting needs andindividuality of beverage companies, according toGIMAV (the association of Italian manufacturersand suppliers of machinery, equipment and specialproducts for glass processing—www.gimav.it).

The group said: “One of the main peculiarities ofworking in this field is the ability to be open-minded, to understand exactly what the final userwants to be offered as an individual solution. Theflexibility needed to cover the several realities andobtain the best result became in time an advantagefor our country.”

Mario Maggiani, deputy general manager forASSOCOMAPLAST (the Italian plastics and rubberprocessing machinery and moulds manufacturers’association—www.assocomaplast.org), said Italy’smanufacturers of packaging machinery haveachieved such global success for three reasons:“updated technology thanks to 50 years ofexperience all over the world, modularity toadapt machines to the specific needs of small,medium and large-sized converters, and flexibilityof the Italian approach to manufacture tailor-made machines.”

“People buy different drinks everyday, so innovation is increasinglyimportant.The fluidity of the marketspurs change.”–Christopher Shanahan, analyst for U.S.-based researchcompany Frost and Sullivan


packaging

DEMAND GROWS FOR LIGHTERPLASTIC PACKAGINGPolyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are evolv-ing—becoming taller, thinner, fatter or with widermouths for energy drinks, vitamin water or iced teasand coffees.

Analyst Rannekleiv said: “There is a variety ofpackaging choices at a number of different levels,and PET bottles can be adapted depending onwhatthe manufacturer wants and who it is targeting.”

Bottles have been tailored to suit demandsranging from added convenience for beverages onthemove and during exercise, to ones that aremoreenvironmentally friendly.

“The number of consumers here in the U.S.concerned about environmental sustainability israpidly increasing,” Rannekleiv said. “What peoplesay is important drives all food retailers andbeverage companies, so they are taking initiatives toreduce carbon footprint.”

Eco-savvy consumers are moving away frombottled water, for example, as awareness of theproblem of waste management grows. Bottles havebecome lighter, thereby using less plastic and beingcheaper and easier to transport. Warehouse retailchain Sam’s Club has gone one step further, sellingits milk in a square bottle so packing and shippingare made easier and cheaper.

Italian plastics company Sipa S.p.A.(www.sipa.it), which has offices in 14 countriesincluding the United States, has developed severalpackaging solutions suitable for the global market,including machines for the production oflightweight bottles.

Sipa said one popular machine in the beveragesmarket is the SFL linear blower, which wasintroduced to the market in 2006 and has since

been installed in 47 different countries. The appealcomes from its ability to produce up to 1,800 bottlesper hour, while using up minimal energy and,above all, being versatile and flexible.

Sipa’s SFR 12 EVO rotary blower has been on themarket since 1999 and produces up to 24,000bottles an hour with lower levels of air and energyconsumption, according to the company. It said themodel has maximum capacity and increasedflexibility because of the change in the blowingpitch, which also enables the production of necksthat are up to 43mm long.

Italian packaging firm Ave Industries S.p.A.(www.aveindustries.com) has been supplying tothe American market since 2003, and focuses onensuring safety and hygiene through its machinery.As consumer trends move evermore toward naturaland clean-label products, food and beveragecompanies have to find alternatives to artificialpreservatives.

An Ave Industries spokesperson explained:“Manufacturers are having to respond to the growingconsumer demand and are turning to aseptic,ultra-clean plants for treating various products tohelp them achieve maximum hygiene and longconservation without impairing organolepticproperties.”

The company has therefore developed asepticbottling systems, such as Life Programme and EliteTechnology, which enable an extended shelf lifewithout the use of added artificial ingredients.

“Ave sees each plant as a challenge toimplement novel, creative solutions that meet thespecific needs of the customer,” said the company.

GLASS BOTTLES CHANGE SHAPEAND COLORLiquor producers are using the most variation inglass bottles, with consumers “associating thequality of the drink with the bottle,” according toShanahan from Frost and Sullivan.

Noteworthy products are Starr African Rum,which comes in a pyramid-shaped bottle, and SkyyVodka, which is sold in an easily recognizable cobaltblue bottle.

However, wine bottles have also seen muchvariation, with single-portion bottles coming tomarket in packs of six, and less emphasis placed onhigh-quality wine requiring a cork.

Bottling systems such asthis from Ave IndustriesS.p.A. of Italy are helpingbeverage producers toincrease sales throughinnovative packaging andflavorings.

AVE

INDU

STRI

ES


Meanwhile, emerging microbreweries haveturned away from the once-popular twist bottletopsto return to traditional ones for their beers.

Nino Boglione, who works for Bottero S.p.A.(www.bottero.com), a producer of glass machineryexporting to more than 50 countries, reiteratedItaly’s ability to recognize companies’needs to havetheir products stand out through unique packaging.

“We consider it important to keep in touchdirectly and constantly with customers, and we doour best to be clear in answering every inquirywithout taking anything for granted,” Boglione said.“Nowadays, locations and time are not boundaries,and the care we offer to customers by keeping intouch with them directly is a rewarding choice.”

COFFEE AND TEA INNOVATIONGAINS SPEEDCoffee and tea are also areas that have been seeingsubstantial growth as a result of innovation.Although not achieving such strong levels ofgrowth as are energy drinks and vitamin water, theready-to-drink coffee segment grew in volume by7% in 2007, for example, according to data providedby ACNielsen (www.acnielsen.com).

New launches include Coca-Cola’s JV withIllycaffè S.p.A. (www.illy.com) coffee, which willcome out in 2008 and 2009, with impressivepackaging. Rannekliev said: “When you see thepackaging, you’ll see how it really stands out, withclean lines and crisp imaging to help position theproduct.”

There has also been a huge increase in thenumber of powdered coffee options between 2007and 2008, particularly in products available inindividual sachets for ease and convenience.

And this is yet another area where Italianmachine manufacturers can contribute to successfulproduct launches. Established in 1961, IMA S.p.A.(www.ima.it) is a leading player in the design andmanufacture of automatic machines for theprocessing and packaging of products such as teaand coffee.

The Italian-based company is present in over 70countries and has 17 production plants worldwide.It said it maintains a customer-oriented policy withafter-sales assistance being a top priority.

Its machinery has successfully been integratedinto the production lines at some notable U.S.-

based food giants, such as Sara Lee, which uses themachines for greater efficiency in its tea production.

The company has recently established IMAFlavor, which offers awide range ofmachines for thepackaging of coffee in filter paper pods, and of teaand herbs, which are becoming increasinglypopular and varied thanks to the health andwellness trend, in filter bags.

And U.S. companies have been able toseamlessly include Italian machines into theiroperations. Coffee and hot chocolate manufacturer,Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (www.green

mountaincoffee.com), uses a Bergami S.r.l.(www.bergamisrl.com) case packer for its bags ofwhole-bean and ground coffees.

“It has been reliable and has the ability to run awide range of cases,” said Don Allen, projectmanager in engineering at Green Mountain CoffeeRoasters. “It is easy to operate and is fairly simple tochange sizes. It also has good safety features.”

Continuing developments for U.S. beverageshave paved the way for increased innovation inpackaging. And the fast pace of change and highturnover of new, niche products meanmanufacturers of packagingmachines need to keepup with emerging trends, while keeping high levelsof safety and reliability.

The Italianmachinery industry has becomewell-adept at handling the evolving beverage markets.With so much of its product going to internationalmarkets, there is a wide range of machines availableadaptable for foreign markets.

The niche demand is set to continue, althoughthe rate of growth may lose speed because of thenegative effect of the changing economy and risingcommodity prices, say analysts. However, thisonly highlights further the need for flexibilityfrom beverage manufacturers and packagingmanufacturers alike.

Italian plastics companySipa S.p.A., which makesthis rotary blower, hasoffices in 14 countries,including the UnitedStates.

SIPA

S.P.

A.


The U.S. textile industry, which has beendevastated by the rise of lower-cost overseasproducers, is staging a comeback with

research, investment and production related totechnical textiles. Supporting them are Italiantextile-equipment manufacturers, who are activelypartnering on research and designing machinery tosupport this growing industry.

Technical textile fibers have characteristics thatenable them to endure heavier stress and higherwear and tear than fibers in traditional textiles,according to ACIMIT, the association of Italiantextile-machinery manufacturers (www.acimit.it).Machinery creates these distinct characteristics,although the machinery processes are similar:spinning, weaving, knitting and finishing.Companies use technical textiles for a variety ofpurposes, including for speciality clothing, medicalmaterials and procedures, industrial applications,building and construction, and transportationequipment. Technical textiles can have manysubcategories such as smart fabrics, which combineelectronics and textiles, and nonwovens, which aretextiles that are not woven or knit but are created bymechanically binding materials.

The major categories of technical textiletechnologies as described by the Textile Centre ofExcellence at the University of Leeds, U.K., are:

Nonwoven materials: Single-use or durablefabrics that find applications in a host of differenttechnical textile applications including medicaldevices, civil engineering and construction,automotive and transport components, hygiene andabsorbent products, liquid and gas filtration,packaging and protective clothing.

Fibrous materials: High-strength/high-modulus fibers, including carbon, glass, bast fibersand aramids; thermally resistant; antistatic;bicomponent; microporous; micro- and nanofibers;and fibers from biopolymers. Examples includecomposite materials, automotive products, medicaltextiles, protective clothing, geotextiles and textilestructures in civil engineering architecture.

Sport and performance clothing: Designedfor durability and performance related to specificenvironments. Used for clothing (water resistance/breatheability, and survival and protection),filtration, defense and transportation applications.

new front iers

Above right: One ofDuPont’s oldest and mostwell-known nonwoventechnical textiles, Tyvek®,is used by the constructionindustry on houses andbuildings as well as formedical, packaging andother applications.

WEAVING A NEW

TAPESTRYITALIAN MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS ARE

HELPING THE U.S. TEXTILE INDUSTRY GROW

NEWMARKETSWITH TECHNICAL TEXTILES.

DUPO

NT

Smart materials: Piezoelectric materials,negative materials, conductive polymers, advancedcomposites, shape-memory materials andmagneto-rheological fluids.

In the United States, one of the largestproducers of technical textiles is DuPont(www.dupont.com), maker of Tyvek®, Sorona® andother technical materials. DuPont’s Richmond, Va.,Tyvek® plant uses a customized slitter-rewindermachine from Italian producer A. Celli NonwovensS.p.A. (www.acellinonwovens.com).

According to ACIMIT, world consumption oftechnical textiles is 19.6 million tons and will rise to33.8 million tons in 2010, with an average growthrate of 3.8%. The United States is a growing marketfor technical textile production and, in 2007, wasItaly’s fifth-largest export market for companies thatmake technical textile machinery.

In addition to contributing to innovation inclothing, medicine and other fields, Italianmachinery technology is supporting reuse of textilematerial, a practice that is in demand asmanufacturers look for ways to reduce waste andmaterial costs. (See “Italian Firm Honored for Carpet

Recycler,” right.)

MARKET GROWTHTechnical textile producers account for about 10%of Italian textile machinery sales, which in 2007amounted to over US$1.9 billion.

In a recent survey of its members, ACIMIT foundthat:

� 100 member companies produce machinesthat make technical textiles.


� Of those manufacturers, technical textilemachines account for 5% to 10% of sales.

� Half of the members will be investing intechnical textile research and/or machineproduction capability in the next five years.

Dell’Orco &Villani (www.dellorco-vil-lani.it) has received extensive praisein the United States for creating ajoint venture (Post Consumer CarpetProcessing Technologies LLC)that manufactures machinery torecycle carpet fibers. The machinemakes it possible to reuse a substantialamount of commercial-grade recyclednylons and polypropylene for newcarpeting. Processing 30millionpounds of carpet provides 9 millionpounds each of carpet fiber andpolypropylene. The rest can be reusedas plastic filler for other products.

The machine has the potential to keepa huge amount of used carpetingout of landfills. According to the non-

profit group Carpet America RecoveryEffort (CARE), five million pounds ofused carpet is dumped into landfillsin the United States each year.

The joint venture’s customer in theUnited States is InterfaceFLOR ofLa Grange, Ga., which acquiredworldwide rights to the technologyand expects to recycle about25 million pounds of carpet a year.The company has a goal of eliminatingall negative environmental impactfrom its operations by 2020.

Post Consumer Carpet Processeswon the top Energy Globe(www.energyglobe.com) award inthe United States for its technology,which has a patent pending.

The development of technicaltextiles combines traditional

textile practices such as knittingwith recently developed chemical,

molecular and machiningapplications.

Italian Firm Honored for Carpet RecyclerDU

PONT

In the United States, the technical textile marketis very diverse and does not report sales as a whole.However, according Electronics.ca Publications(www.electronics.ca), which conducts globalresearch on the electronics industry, the UnitedStates dominates in the number of companiesproducing and organizations conducting researchin the field of smart fabrics.

“[The] United States is the single largest marketfor smart fabrics and interactive textiles worldwide,”Electronics.ca reported in April of 2008. “The marketis forecast to be about US$193 million in 2008.Consumer products is the largest end-marketwith anestimated 50% share in 2007. Biomedical andmilitarysegments are projected to witness tremendousgrowth through 2012. Non-U.S. markets areprojected to record growth with a compoundedannual rate exceeding 12% through 2012.”

Companies manufacturing and/or conductingresearch on such products includeDuPont, PeratechLimited, Foster-Miller, Gorix, Intelligent Clothing,Interactive Wear AG, International FashionMachines, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, Marktek Inc.,Milliken & Company, Noble Biomaterials, OutlastTechnologies Inc., Royal Philips Electronics,Schoeller Textiles, Sensatex, Smartex, Softswitch,Textronics, Toray Industries, VivoMetrics and others.

U.S. DELEGATION SEESITALIAN INNOVATIONIn early 2008, the Italian Trade Commission hosted adelegation of researchers and other leaders intechnical textiles. The program included severalpresentations on the state of the industry andindividual research projects at the North Carolina


new front iers

State University’s (NCSU) College of Textiles, andvisits to several machinery producers. Accordingto industry publication Textile World, whichparticipated in and covered the events, visits tomachinery producers included:

� Bonino Carding Machines S.r.l.(www.bonino1913.com), Biella region, producer ofrotary cutters and rag-tearing machines, machinesto prepare fibers, cotton cards, nonwoven cards andcarding sets.

� Aletti Giovanni & Figli S.r.l.(www.sueding.com), Varese, producer of buffingand dedusting lines.

� A. Celli Nonwovens S.p.A.(www.acellinonwovens.com), Lucca, producer ofcustomized winders and slitter-rewinders forprocessing nonwoven fabrics with a special focus onhygiene and medical products (spunbond, SMS andspunlace). Its areas of business include airlaid formingtechnology, called Wingformer, and proprietarytechnology to integrate winding, slitting and roll-packaging into a synergetic, operational concept,known as Slittopack.

� Tecnorama S.r.l. (www.tecnorama.it), Prato,makes machinery for the polychromatic printing ofyarns and fabrics, and for the automatic dispensingof chemical products and liquid and solid dyes.

� Dell’Orco & Villani S.r.l.(www.dellorco-villani.it), Prato, produces cutters,tearing machines, conveying systems, baling presses,boxes and bin emptiers, waste diversion systems andother machinery.

� Biancalani S.p.A. (www.biancalani.com),Prato, finishing machinery for woven and nonwoventextiles.

� OMMI S.p.A. (www.ommi.it), Prato, producesbale openers, cleaners, bin emptiers, card silos andother machinery.

The purpose of the program was to exchangeinformation and collaborate on ways to developnew technical textiles and machinery to producethem. Research at NCSU is focusing on nonwovens(raw materials, production and end-uses),bimolecular engineering (surface modification oftextiles), and polymer nanofibers andnanocomposites (used in filtration and medicalprocedures).

Innovation and improved quality are behind thegrowth of technical textiles as is a desire tomanufacture raw materials and finished goods that

Front row, from left:Paolo Banfi, CEO ofComez S.p.A. and ACIMITpresident; Federico Pellegata,ACIMIT director; andJames M. Boreman, editor-in-chief of Textile World.

Middle row, from left:Dr. A. Blanton Godreyand Dr. Russell Gorga,both of North CarolinaState University Collegeof Textiles.Back row, from left:Francesco D’Oria, ItalianTrade Commission, Rome,Italy; Alessandro Mussa,assistant trade commissionerfor the Italian TradeCommission’s Atlanta office;Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimiand Dr. Gregory Parsons,both of North CarolinaState University Collegeof Textiles.

TEXT

ILE

WOR

LD


are less harmful to the environmentwhen discardedor are not petroleum-based. For instance, DuPont’sSorona® material, which can be used in clothing, ismade from vegetable-based plastic.

Innovation and improved quality requireongoing investment in and improvement ofprocesses, and the field is open to all sizes ofmanufacturers. For instance, Rhode Island-basedConcordia Manufacturing Inc., which holds severalpatents on processes used to produce advancethermoplastic composites, built a new 24,000-square-foot medical manufacturing facility this yearwith a $500,000 loan from the Rhode Island EconomicDevelopment Corp. Small Business loan fund. Theoverall expansion will cost US$1.6 million and willinclude newmachinery, expanded production space,a 5,000-square-foot clean roomsuite and thehiringof10 to 15 additional staff members to join an existingstaff of 57. The facility will house Concordia Medical,the company’s newest division.

One of the company’s most promising areas forgrowth—and for the technical textile industry ingeneral—is the medical field. In 2005, Concordialaunched its Concordia Medical division to focus onthis area. Its textile product BIOFELT® is used bydoctors in applications that require the growth ofcells and tissues.

Concordia manufactures technical textiles for avariety of customers at its original 100,000-square-foot facility, which includes three double-deckertwisting machines from Italian company RattiGroup S.p.A. (www.ratti.it). Concordia’s clientscome frombio-engineering, aerospace, automotive,home furnishings, environmental sciences andconsumer products. Since its founding in 1920, thecompany has manufactured materials that havebeen used to make consumer products rangingfrom airbags to tennis racquets.

“It is extremely important for us to keep ourcompetitive edge, and this expansion will allow usto increase our capacity for research anddevelopment along with medical manufacturing tomeet the needs of our current and future clients,”said Concordia President and CEO Randal Spencer.

Indeed, as the technical textile industrycontinues to innovate and grow in the UnitedStates, Italian machinery manufacturers will bethere to support it.

Information provided by ACIMIT, the association of Italian textile machinerymanufacturers. ACIMIT maintains a list of all of its member companiesthat participate in technical textile machinery manufacturing. Go towww.acimit.it and look under “club directory” in the technical textiles area.


ASIA 43%

EUROPE 38%

SOUTH AMERICA 9%

NORTH AMERICA 5%

AFRICA 5%

SPINNINGMACHINERY

17%

KNITTINGMACHINERY

15%

WEAVINGMACHINERY

14%

FINISHINGMACHINERY18%

ACCESSORIES18%

LAUNDRYAND OTHERMACHINERY18%

ITALIAN TEXTILE MACHINERY EXPORT BY AREA | 2007

About Italian Textile Machinery

ITALIAN TEXTILE MACHINERY EXPORT BY CATEGORY | 2007

Italy has about 300 textilemachinery manufacturersemploying 22,000 workers.

The manufacturers tend to belocated in areas and towns ofancient textile tradition, wherea profitable exchange ofexperiences with the end-usersis a stimulating contribution tothe improvement of the machines.These towns are located innorthern and central Italy—Biella, Como, Milano, Bergamo,Brescia, Prato, Vicenza.

The main characteristics ofItalian machinery are:

> advanced technological level.

> flexibility and versatility.

> excellent quality/price ratio.

> reliability and problem-freeoperation.

> close and continuousrelationship with the textileand clothing industry.

The companies continue tocarry out research on safety andenvironment sustainability inorder to propose solutionskeeping the pace with Europeanand international regulations.

By Ruari McCallion

With oil prices above $100 a barrel, energyinitiatives that were too pricey to pursuea few years ago are now coming to the

top of the agenda. Exploitation of the oil sands ofthe Rocky Mountain region has become an eco-nomic proposition, and billions of dollars are beingpoured into exploration and production. Windfarms and solar thermal heating panels are becom-ing a common sight, but the new technologies ontheir own are not yet able to replace oil and gasenergy generation. The only way to cut costs in theshort term is to reduce consumption. The trick is toachieve that without cutting production or surren-dering living standards. That’s a game in whichItalian manufacturers are already ahead. In part, it’s

because of legislation in their homemarkets. Also, itis the Italians’ constant striving for improvement—most familiar in the shape of ever-faster Ferraris andingenious packaging of space in Fiat sedans—thathas been applied to products across a range ofindustries.

IMPROVING PROCESSES TOBOOST PRODUCTIVITYLonati Group S.p.A. (www.lonatigroup.com), ofBrescia, Italy, makes the classic G5JA men’s sockknitting machine, which has been used and trustedby manufacturers in all its international markets.It currently has 100 of its new units ready for instal-lation across North America, and their owners willfind somemarked improvements.

“Over the past three years, we have redesignedmost of the parts of our machines to optimize (andreduce) waste movement and reduce friction,” saidLonati’s Sergio Del Re. “We have introduced new,gearless and brushless motors, directly fitted oncylinders, and new electrovalves.” This is very muchin line with the Italian Energy Efficiency Action Planpublished in 2007 by the Ministry of EconomicDevelopment, in the light of the European Union’s(EU’s) Directive on energy end-use efficiency. Itreported that motors account for 84 percent ofelectricity consumption in industrial activities notcovered by emissions trading (aluminum, chem-

WITH OIL AND GAS AT RECORD LEVELS AND

UTILITY BILLS SKYROCKETING, ITALIAN

MANUFACTURERS ARE HELPING TO CONTROL

AND REDUCE BILLS THROUGH INNOVATION,

NEWMATERIALS AND IMPROVED EQUIPMENT

AND PROCESSES.


energy

POWERPLAY


icals, hides/leather/footwear, food, and mechanicalengineering). High-efficiency motors are forecast todeliver annual savings of 110 GWh by the end of2010 and 3400 GWh/yr five years later. “We’re alsoemploying newmaterials, such as tecnopolymers inplace of metals, to reduce size and weight. We havebeen studying flat-part braking to minimize frictionand have been working continuously with lubricantproducers to improve performance.”

Lonati also supplies equipment for use inelectronics, iron and steel, and agriculture. It hasa long history of research, innovation anddevelopment, and it has extended those efforts toits own practices and methods. Its factories are allISO9001 accredited; it has standardized its workingprocesses and uses molds, instead of machine-worked pieces, to cut the number of processes perpart—which saves energy. It has also invested inautomation, including robotics, to reduce costs andboost effective energy usage. The result has beenincreased productivity per head through raisingpiece runs per worker.

“Most of the parts of our machines arestandardized, which leads to easier utilization andhandling, as well as lower costs of operation,including maintenance,” Del Re said. The drive toincrease efficiency began a few years ago and isongoing, with the aim of reducing lifecycle costs,energy usage and capital investment.“ Our objectiveis to reduce waste, energy usage and streamlineprocesses wherever possible.”

WASH AND GOIn commercial or domestic settings, familiarappliances, such as washing machines andrefrigeration equipment have a major part to play.Renzacci S.p.A. (www.renzacci.it) specializes inindustrial and commercial laundry, dry cleaning andwashing machines, as well as machines for sole andmetal degreasing. It sells equipment in 108 coun-tries across the world, including the U.S., where ithas been able to meet differing power standardsand regulations, such as solvent retrieval require-ments imposed by five New York boroughs.Commitment to innovation and improvement—itinvests an average of five percent of revenues inR&D annually—helps it to achieve industry-leadingstandards in low-maintenancemechanical solutionswith high energy and water efficiency, and low useof solvents and other polluting substances.

With its SpeedMaster™ Drycleaning Machine,Renzacci has reduced cycle time by 45 percent,leading to a 37 percent cut in electricityconsumption: It even cut the installed powerrequirement by a tenth.

Renzacci’s Perchloroethylene machines featurecomponents that combine speed withperformance, resulting in energy savings. Forexample, a computerized inverter driver enablesusers to control the spin cycle: the extraction phaseprior to drying is more efficient, leading to fasterdrying times and energy savings. In addition,double “waster” saving valves are used in both therefrigeration and distillation system and reduce

Indesit’s Aqualtis washingmachine is the first toreceive a five-star awardfrom Australia’s StandardTests Board for waterconsumption.

“Over the past three years,wehave redesigned most of the partsof our machines to optimize(and reduce) waste movement andreduce friction.We have introducednew, gearless and brushless motors,directly fitted on cylinders, andnew electrovalves.”–Sergio Del Re, Lonati Group

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energy

water consumption by 30 percent. Renzacci’swashing, drying and dry cleaning equipment isfound in hotels and hospitals, schools, colleges andmilitary facilities across the world.

Every improvement helps, as Fabio Ginesi,international technical manager for IndesitCompany S.p.A. (www.indesitcompany.com), ofAncona, Italy, points out.

“Refrigerators and washing machines have avery heavy impact on energy and waterconsumption,” he said. In the home, suchequipment accounts for 80 percent of total energydemands. That figure may not be as high incommercial settings, such as restaurants, cafés,hotels and retail stores, which have other energydemands, but there’s no doubt they’re still highusers, and economical initiatives are welcome withopen arms. The new generation of machinescarrying the Indesit, Ariston and Hoover badgeshave “intelligent strategies” built in, monitoringwater and energy requirements closely so that awashingmachine doesn’t simply go through a cyclewith a fixed amount of water, heated to a pre-determined temperature. It reacts to the load andallocates water and power as required.

“Compared with the equipment of the 1990s,energy use in refrigerators is down 50 percent; inwashing machines, 45 percent,” said AdrianoMencarini, innovation and EDT director. ItsHotpoint-Ariston Quadrio refrigerator, which isfound in both domestic and light foodserviceapplications such as cafés and restaurants, featuresfour doors.

“In real usage, tests have demonstrated that thefour-door arrangement cuts energy consumptionby 50 percent,” Ginesi said. In a conventional,two-door design, cooling is lost every time the dooris opened, exposing the interior to the outside air.If you only have to expose a smaller part of thevolume, you save the energy needed to recoolthe rest.

The initial impetus for the drive to improvementwas probably the EU’s Energy Labeling Directive,which was implemented in 1992. It required whitegoods to have their energy consumption clearlydisplayed on the outside of the equipment, on acolor-coded label ranging from A (very good) to G(expensive to run). A measure of how Italians aremeeting high standards came in 2006, whenIndesit’s Aqualtis washingmachine became the first

to receive a five-star award fromAustralia’s StandardTests Board for water consumption.

What’s more, the company is pursuing world-class standards in all its factories. It cut electricityconsumption by four percent in 2007 and hasimplemented energy audits to help it improvefurther.

NEW POWERThere is a lot of talk about alternative or novelsources of energy, but you don’t have to switch overto corn-derived methanol fuels. According to TheItalian Ministry of Economic Development’s report,the adoption of high-efficiency cogeneration couldsave the country 540,000 tons of oil equivalent by2016. Offices and factories are looking more closelyat micro-generation, such as combined heat andpower (CHP). One of the world’s leaders in the fieldis Turboden S.r.l. (www.turboden.it), Brescia, Italy.It was established in 1980 with the aim to designand manufacture turbines and turnkey turbo-generator units based on the Organic Rankine Cycle(ORC) Concept.

“Our typical clients are sawmills; pelletproducers; district heating generators; waste-to-energy operators; industrial plants such as glass,cement, lime, steel, non-ferrous metals, foodproduction and processing; and others,” Turbodensaid. “Our technology is used in wood and pelletdrying, waste heat recovery and other applications.”It is currently working on a number of biomass CHPand heat recovery projects with capacities up to 800kW. The Federal Arsenal facility in Biere, Switzerland,has had a 300 kWel Turboden biomass districtheating CHP plant in operation since 1999.

ORC’s main difference from conventional steamturbines is the use of a highmolecular mass organicfluid to drive the turbine, which allows efficientexploitation of low temperature heat sources toproduce electricity from just a few kW up to 3 MWelectric power per units. The fluid is vaporized by theapplication of a heat source, expands in the turbineand is condensed using either a flow of water in ashell-and-tube heat exchanger or ambient air. Thecondensate is pumped back to the evaporator,completing the thermodynamic cycle. Heating andcooling sources are not directly in contact witheither the working fluid nor with the turbine.Systems can work with a variety of heat sources andachieve up to 85 percent turbine efficiency, with low

The Hotpoint-AristonQuadrio’s four-doorrefrigerator design hascut energy consumptionby up to 50 percent.

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mechanical stress, because of its low peripheralspeed—which also permits direct drive to anelectric generator. U.S. companies interested in thetechnology may have to exercise some patience, asthe company is in the process of assessing theAmerican market on a case-by-case basis.

CRITICAL MASSBut energy saving goes hand-in-hand with increasedcapacity. The U.S. already has 104 atomic powerstations, and energy needs are such that they are inincreasing demand. One small problem: the U.S. hasno producers of equipment to expand or renovatethem—or to build any of the six newplants that havereceived permits for construction through 2010. Themanufacturers are all in Europe or Asia. One of theleaders is Ansaldo Camozzi Nuclear & Energy SpecialComponents, which is part of Camozzi Group S.p.A.(www.camozzi.com), a leading Italian machine tool,textile machinery, pneumatics and energy group.

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, located50 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona, is the largestnuclear electric generating site in the United States.When the time came to replace the steamgenerators, it went to Ansaldo, located in Milan, Italy.The contract was signed in 1999 and, over the nexteight years, six generators were produced at theMilan factory and transported thousands of milesover land, sea and ocean to Arizona. That may seema leisurely timetable, but each of the generators is15 meters long (about 50 feet), six meters (20 feet) indiameter and weighs 550 tons. The generators arecapable of producing 2,000 MW of thermal power,making them the largest pressurized water reactorsin the world at the time the order was placed—asignificant increase in output to Palo Verde.

There can be no compromise with safety whenit comes to nuclear materials. The equipment hasto be able to withstand huge pressures, very high

temperatures and retain structural integrity inradioactive environments. Ansaldo’s ability todeliver in America had already been demonstratedat the Kewaunee nuclear power plant,Wisconsin, forwhich it had supplied the evaporator sections fortwo steam generators. Between 1999 and the fallof 2007, six generators were produced at the Milanfactory and transported to Arizona.

The original 1999 contract was for two genera-tors; the other four followed at two-to-three yearintervals. Getting the generators from Italy to Arizonawas also entrusted to an Italian-owned company,Fagioli Group S.p.A. (www.fagioli.it), which has itsAmerican headquarters in Houston, Texas.

“We specialize in extremely heavy loads and areleaders in our field in the nuclear power industry,”saidEdoardo Ascione, president andmanaging director ofFagioli, Inc.“Wemoved them from the factory inMilanto the sea, shipped themacross the Atlantic on specialbarges, offloaded them on a beach in Mexico andthen moved them at four km/h 200 miles to Arizona.”Fagioli used self-propelled transport modules(SPTMs) manufactured by yet another Italiancompany, Cometto S.p.A. (www.comettoind.com),headquartered in Cuneo, Italy, for the land transport.That project won the company the SpecializedCarriers & Riggers Association’s 2008 award for the Jobof the Year, for the third time running.

Whatever the task, wherever the application,wherever the need, Italian companies areaddressing and helping to solve the world’s energyneeds through cutting consumption, improvingefficiency and increasing generating capacity.

Ruari McCallion is a freelance business journalist whose

work has been published in the U.S., UK, Europe, Russia,

China and Australia. He is contributing editor of ExecUKmagazine and a regular contributor to Business Excel-lence, Sustainable Solutions and other publications.

Left: Heavy tubing on aFagioli barge.Right: Cometto SMPTscarrying a fabricatedsection of an energy rig.

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awards

To foster continuing education in machine tooland packaging industries, the Italian TradeCommission (www.italtrade.com/usa), in con-

junction with several partners, made it possible fortwogroupsofNorthAmerican students andprofessorsto gain first-hand knowledge of the Italian machinetool and packagingmachinery industries this year.

These Italian industries are noted for holdingsignificant global market shares. Italian machinetools manufacturers are ranked as the world’s thirdlargest supplier, while Italian packaging machinerymanufacturers provide one out of every fourmachines worldwide.

Winners of the Second Italian Machine ToolTechnology Awards (IMTTA) were awarded a one-week trip to Italy (June 22–28) to visit top Italiancompanies in the machine tool industry. In additionto the ITC, sponsors included UCIMU-SISTEMI PERPRODURRE (Association of ItalianManufacturersof Machine Tools, Robots, Automation Systemsand Ancillary Products, www.ucimu.it) and theSociety of Manufacturing Engineers’ EducationFoundation (SME,www.sme.org/foundation).

The Seventh Italian Packaging TechnologyAwards (IPTA), sponsored by the ITC in collaborationwith UCIMA – Italian Packaging MachineryManufacturers Association (www.ucima.it) andthe Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP,www.IoPP.org), awarded the winners a two-weektrip (June 7–21) to visit leading Italian companies inthe packaging industry.

Both these programs begin with writingcompetitions open to North American universitieswith strong metallurgical and packagingengineering curriculums. Students are asked towritea paper on technical innovationswithin themachinetool and packaging industries. Winners are thenawarded trips to Italy to visit leading manufacturers.

Accompanied by professors, students are ableto see in person how Italian manufacturers excel atmaking these lines of machinery and equipment.The company visits also foster discussions on thecurrent challenges and opportunities theseindustries offer. The trip also provides the professorswith a valuable opportunity to discover newtechnologies and enhance their programs bysharing their experiences with other students whenclasses resume.

Ceremonies presenting the awards to thewinners will be conducted at special events duringthe International Manufacturing and TechnologyShow and Pack Expo International Show both inChicago this fall.

The IMTTA tour offered this year’s participantsopportunities to see the latest in Italian machinetool machinery. Company tours included thefollowing manufacturers: BLM S.p.A. – BLM Group(www.blmgroup.com); Jobs S.p.A. (www.jobs.it);Losma S.p.A. (www.losma.it); Marposs S.p.A.(www.marposs.com); Prima Industrie S.p.A.(www.primaindustrie.com); Rosa Ermando S.p.A.(www.rosa.it); and Silmax S.p.A. (www.silmax.it).

The IPTA tour included the following ninemanufacturers: ACMA S.p.A. Liquid Division(www.acmagd.it),Cavanna S.p.A. (www.cavanna.com),Goglio S.p.A. (www.goglio.it), ILAPAK Italia S.p.A.(www.ilapack.com), IMA S.p.A. (www.ima.it),MG2 S.r.l. (www.mg2.it), PRB Packaging SystemsS.r.l. (www.prbpack.com), SACMI IMOLA S.C.(www.sacmi.com) and Tissue Machinery CompanyS.p.A. (www.tissue.it).

For more information on these programs and for the

latest machine tool and packaging technologies from

Italy, contact the Italian Trade Commission at

888-ITALTRADE or via email [email protected].

ITALIAN TECHNOLOGY AWARD PROGRAMS

SHOWCASE INNOVATIONThe 2008 IMTTAStudentWinners are:

Eric Stoner, KetteringUniversity (www.ketter-ing.edu); Adrian Teo,Arizona State Universi-ty (www.asu.edu); andJonathan Bailey ofCalifornia PolytechnicState University(www.calpoly.edu).

The 2008 IPTAStudentWinners are:

Danielle Fisher,Rochester Instituteof Technology(www.rit.edu); JessicaFox, University ofFlorida (www.ufl.edu);Greg Curtzwiler andGianni Donati,California PolytechnicState University(www.calpoly.edu);Denise Gardner,Virginia Tech(www.vt.edu); JackGordon, MichiganState University(www.msu.edu);Anna Shealy,Clemson University(www.clemson.edu);and Sayaka Uchida,San Jose State Univer-sity (www.sjsu.edu).


If youmake the purchasing decisions for your com-pany, you have an enormous responsibility. Youmust know the ins and outs of production in away

no one else does—finding machines and systemssolutions that are functional, reliable and durable,with readily available service and spare parts. Youdecide whether the return on investment ultimatelycan be realized. In short, much of your company’ssuccess depends on your purchasing choices. Italianmachinery can make your decision easier.

That’s why Machines Italia, together with itspartner associations, is proud to be among thefeatured participants and/or sponsors of majorindustry events: the International ManufacturingTechnology Show in Chicago, September 8–13,2008 (with UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE);the World Business Forum in New York City,September 23–24, 2008; the OESA—OriginalEquipment Suppliers Association’s 2008OutlookConference and 10th Annual Meeting ofMembers in Detroit, November 5–6, 2008; FarmEquipment Wholesalers Association (FEWA)2008 Fall Convention & Industry Showcase inReno, Nevada, November 5–8, 2008; Pack ExpoInternational/ Process Expo in Chicago, November9–13, 2008 (with UCIMA); the World Ag Expo inTulare, California, February 12–14, 2009; theNational Plastics Exposition (NPE) in ChicagoJune 22–26, 2009 (with ASSOCOMAPLAST); andAssociation of Wood-working FurnishingsSuppliers (AWFS) 2009 Fair in Las Vegas, July15–18, 2009 (with ACIMALL).

Of these events, the World Business Forum willfeature a Machines Italia network luncheon—“Manufacturing Strategies for Global Competition:Turning Innovation into Productivity”—for invitedtop North American C-Level executives, with notedstrategist Michael Porter and FEDERMACCHINE’sDr. Alberto Sacchi participating.

These events share the common goal of strivingto improve global competitivenesswithin themanu-facturing industry by presenting technologicaladvances, workshops and education on bestpractices. In keeping with this aim, Machines Italiawill present the latest information on its partnerassociations and companies at these events.

At all our event booths, Machines Italia affiliatesfrom our associations and/or divisional representa-tives of the Italian Trade Commission will help youfind the right partners and manufacturers who canadminister to your most challenging and specificproduction needs.

You will obtain information on the world’s mosthighly skilled engineers, designers andmanufacturers who always turn innovation intoproductivity either by retooling existing concepts orby creating entirely new systems not yet imagined.

While the conferences will address a variety ofissues affecting global enterprise excellence andcorporate leadership, Machines Italia will providevisitors with case histories, industry white papersand current information on what Italian machinerymanufacturers are doing here in North America tokeep local manufacturers productive.

ITALIAN INNOVATIONIN THE SPOTLIGHTMACHINES ITALIA TAKES“TURNING INNOVATION

INTO PRODUCTIVITY”ONTHE ROAD BY PARTICIPATING

ATMAJOR NORTH AMERICAN EVENTS.

innovat ion

For more informationon all these events,please visit theirrespectiveWeb sites:

www.imts.com

www.wbfny.com

www.oesa.org

www.fewa.org

www.packexpo.com

www.worldagexpo.com

www.npe.org

www.awfs.org

For MoreInformation


trade shows

ITALIAN EXHIBITIONS

*When calling Italy, dial 011 + 39 (country code) before the local number

Sector Trade Show Title Machines Italia Show Location ShowDatesPartner Association

Agriculture EIMA International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition UNACOMA Bologna, Italy Nov. 12–16, 2008INTERNATIONAL2008

Ceramic Technology TECNARGILLA International Exhibition of Technology and Supplies for the Ceramics ACIMAC Rimini, Italy Sept. 30–2008 and Brick Industries Oct. 4, 2008

Food Technology CIBUS TEC Food Processing & Packaging Technology Exhibition Not In Attendance Parma, Italy Oct. 27–30, 2009

Food Technology— SIAB International Exhibition of Technology and Products for Bakery, Pastry, ANIMA Verona, Italy May 2010Baking Confectionery, Fresh Pasta and Pizza Fields (ASSOFOODTEC)

Food Technology— HOST International Exposition of the Hospitality Industry ANIMA Milan, Italy Oct. 23–27, 2009Catering & Restaurant (ASSOFOODTEC)

Footwear & Leather- SIMAC 2008 International Exhibition of Machines and Technologies for Footwear and ASSOMAC Bologna, Italy Oct. 28–30, 2008goods Machines Leathergoods Industries

Foundry FOUNDEQ Exhibition of Equipment and Products for the Foundry of Ferrous and AMAFOND Montichiari (BR) April 14–17, 2010EUROPE Non Ferrous Metals

Glass VITRUM 2009 International Trade Show Specialized in Machinery, Equipment and Systems GIMAV Milan, Italy Oct. 28–31, 2009for Flat, Bent and Hollow Glass and in Glass and Processed Industrial Products

Graphic, Printing GRAFITALIA Exhibition of Machinery and Materials for the Graphic Arts, Publishing, ACIMGA Milan, Italy March 24–28, 2009and Converting 2009 Paper, Converting, Package Printing and Communication Industries

Machine Tools, SFORTEC Technical Subcontracting Exhibition UCIMU-SISTEMI Milan, Italy Oct. 3–7, 2008Components & PER PRODURREAncillary Products

Machine Tools for LAMIERA Machines and equipment for the machining of sheet metal, pipes, sections, wire and UCIMU-SISTEMI Bologna, Italy May 12–15, 2010Metalforming metal structural work, dies, welding, heat treatments, surface treatment and finishing PER PRODURRE

Machine Tools, Robots 26.BI-MU Machine Tools, Robots, Automation UCIMU-SISTEMI Milan, Italy Oct. 3–7, 2008& Automation Systems/ PER PRODURRESubcontracting

Machine Tools, Robots EMOMILANO TheWorld of Metalworking UCIMU-SISTEMI Milan, Italy Oct. 5–10, 2009& Automation Systems/ 2009 PER PRODURRESubcontracting

Machine Tools, Robots BI-MU Machine Tools, Robots, Automation UCIMU-SISTEMI Bari, Italy Feb. 18–21, 2010& Automation Systems/ MEDITERRANEA PER PRODURRESubcontracting

Marble MARMOMACC International Exhibition of Stone Design and Technology ASSOMARMO- Verona, Italy Oct. 2–5, 2008MACCHINE

Marble CARRARA International Fair for Marble Technologies and Design ASSOMARMO- Carrara, Italy May 2009MARMOTEC MACCHINE (Exhibitor)

Packaging/ Ipack-Ima 2009 International Exhibition for Packing, Packaging, Material Handling and UCIMA - ANIMA Milan, Italy March 24–28, 2009Food Technology Food Processing Machinery (ASSOFOODTEC)

Packaging/ Pharmintech The Innovations Exhibition for the Pharmaceutical Industry UCIMA Bologna, Italy May 12–14, 2010Pharmaceuticals 2010

Plastics & Rubber PLAST ‘09 International Exhibition for Plastics and Rubber Industries ASSOCOMAPLAST Milan, Italy March 24–28, 2009

Tanning Machines & TANNING-TECH International Exhibition of Machines and Technologies for ASSOMAC Bologna, Italy Oct. 28–30, 2008Chemical Products 2008 Tanning Industry

Textiles IKME 2009 International Exhibition of Finishing and Knitting Machinery ACIMIT Milan, Italy Nov. 18–22, 2009

Woodworking XYLEXPO 2010 Biennial Exhibition forWoodworking Technology ACIMALL Milan, Italy May 4–8, 2010Machinery


LISTED BY SECTORWeb Site Organizer Address Zip City Telephone* Fax* Email

Code

www.eima.it UNACOMA Service Surl Via Venafro, 5 00159 Roma 06 432981 06 4076370 [email protected]

www.tecnargilla.it RiminiFiera S.p.A. Via Emilia, 155 47900 Rimini 0541 744468 0541 744243 [email protected]

www.fiereparma.it Fiere di Parma S.p.A. Via Rizzi, 67/a 43100 Baganzola (PR) 0521 9961 0521 996270 [email protected]

www.siabweb.com VERONAFIERE Viale Del Lavoro, 8 37135 Verona 045 8298111 045 8298288 [email protected]

www.host.expocts.it Expocts S.p.A. Via Generale 20155 Milano 02 349841 02 33600493 [email protected]. Govone 66

www.simac-fair.it Assomac Servizi S.r.l. Via Matteotti, 4/a - CP 73 27029 Vigevano (PV) 0381 78883 0381 88602 [email protected]

www.foundeq.com Edimet S.p.A. Via Brescia, 117 25018 Montichiari (BR) 030 9981045 030 9981055 [email protected]

www.vitrum-milano.it VITRUM Via Petitti, 16 20149 Milano 02 33006099 02 33005630 [email protected]

www.grafitalia.biz CENTREXPO S.p.A. Centro Mostre Specializzate, 20154 Milano 02 3191091 02 341677 [email protected] Sempione, 4

www.bimu-sfortec.com EFIM-ENTE FIERE ITALIANE Viale Fulvio Testi 128 20092 Cinisello 02 262551 02 26255214/ [email protected] S.p.A. in cooperation Balsamo (MI) 349with CEU-CENTRO ESPOSIZIONIUCIMU S.p.A.

www.lamiera.net CEU-CENTRO ESPOSIZIONI Viale Fulvio Testi 128 20092 Cinisello 02 262551 02 26255214/ [email protected] S.p.A. Balsamo (MI) 349

www.bimu-sfortec.com EFIM-ENTE FIERE ITALIANE Viale Fulvio Testi 128 20092 Cinisello 02 262551 02 26255214/ [email protected] S.p.A. in cooperation Balsamo (MI) 349with CEU-CENTRO ESPOSIZIONIUCIMU S.p.A.

www.emo-milan.com EFIM-ENTE FIERE ITALIANE Viale Fulvio Testi 128 20092 Cinisello 02 26255860/ 02 26255882 [email protected] S.p.A. promoted by Balsamo (MI) 861CECIMO (European Committee for theCo-operation of Machine Tool Industries)

www.bimu-mediterranea.it ENTE AUTONOMO FIERA DEL Viale Fulvio Testi 128 20092 Cinisello 02 262551 02 26255214/ [email protected] in cooperation with Balsamo (MI) 349CEU-CENTRO ESPOSIZIONIUCIMU S.p.A.

www.marmomacc.com/ VERONAFIERE Viale Del Lavoro, 8 37135 Verona (VR) 045 8298111 045 8298288 [email protected]_en.asp

www.carraramarmotec.com CarraraFiere S.r.l. V.le G. Galilei, 133 54036 Marina di 0585 787963 0585 787602 [email protected] (MS)

www.ipack-ima.com Ipack-Ima S.p.A. Corso Sempione, 4 20154 Milano 02 3191091 02 33619826 [email protected]

www.pharmintech.it Ipack-Ima S.p.A. Corso Sempione, 4 20154 Milano 02 3191091 02 33619826 [email protected]

www.plast09.org PROMOPLAST S.r.l. Centro Direzionale 20090 Assago (MI) 02 82283743 02 57512490 [email protected], Palazzo F/3

www.tanning-tech.it Assomac Servizi S.r.l. Via Matteotti, 4/a - CP 73 27029 Vigevano (PV) 0381 78883 0381 88602 [email protected]

www.ikme.mi.it Fiera Milano Intl. S.p.A Via Varesina, 76 20156 Milano 02 485501 02 48550800 [email protected]

www.xylexpo.com/eng XYLEXPO Centro commerciale Milano- 20090 Assago (MI) 02 89210200 02 8259009 [email protected], 1a Strada, Palazzo F3


I ta l ian machinery

INNOVATION AT WORK IN

GLOBALAGRICULTURE/FARMMACHINERYUNACOMA represents Italian manufacturers of tractors, agricultural machinery and gardening machinery. TheseItalian manufacturers produce everything from power mowers for the homeowner to tractors andharvesters used by theworld’s leading agribusiness enterprises. UNACOMAmembers account for 90% of Italian farmmachinery production. Italian farm equipment manufacturers rank first in the world in terms of the range ofmachines produced.www.unacoma.com

CERAMICSItalian manufacturers of machinery and equipment for ceramics have earned a world-class reputation for providingsolutions thatmeet a vast range of customer needs—from traditional ceramics to the latest design trends. Customersaround the globe choose machinery produced by members of ACIMAC, the Association of Italian Manufacturers ofMachinery and Equipment for the Ceramic Industry, because it is easy to program and simple to maintain; thismachinery is also known for its ability to increase productivity and for its design flexibility. www.acimac.it

EARTHMOVINGMACHINERYCOMAMOTER is the group of UNACOMA representing the Italian manufacturers of earthmoving machinery,attachments and components. COMAMOTER has approximately 40 members (manufacturing over 80% of the totaloutput) who build high-quality, reliable, heavy, medium and light equipment for worldwide use, valued at over$3 billion a year. Italy exportsmore than $1 billion of earthmovingmachinery, equipment and parts annually tomorethan 140 countries worldwide. www.comamoter.com

FOOD TECHNOLOGYASSOFOODTEC (Incorporating UCMA)—the Italian Association of Machinery and Plant Manufacturers for FoodProduction, Processing and Preservation—has leveraged the Italian spirit of innovation into a global leadershipposition. ASSOFOODTEC operates within the Federation of Italian Mechanical and Engineering Associations(ANIMA), and its members turn out machines for global exports that are well-known for technological superiority,durability and ingenuity. www.assofoodtec.it

FOOTWEAR, LEATHERGOODS AND TANNINGASSOMAC is the association representing the Italian manufacturers of footwear, leathergoods and tanningmachinery. The 180 member manufacturers are world leaders in this sector supplying the most advanced footwear,leathergoods and tanning technologies all over the world. The industrial sectors represented by ASSOMAC exportalmost 70% of their production. www.assomac.it

FOUNDRY AND METALLURGICAL MACHINERYAMAFOND is the Italian association of companies producing machinery, plants, furnaces and products for thefoundry industry. Its 80 member companies provide machinery used in the manufacturing of everything fromautomobile engines and components to domestic appliances. AMAFOND credits the“Italian approach”to business—characterized by extra customer care and stronger personal relationships—as one of the reasons its membercompanies attract worldwide customers. www.amafond.com

GLASSAs an evolution of the Italian glass-making tradition, GIMAV—the Italian Association of Glass-Processing Machineryand Accessory Suppliers—represents Italian excellence in glass-making machinery today. This industry sector hasexpanded internationally by employing innovative technology that meets today’s marketplace needs. GIMAV’s80 member companies are known for customizing machines to meet exacting end-user specifications—fromhigh-rise building construction to fine arts applications. www.gimav.it


MARKETSMARBLE AND STONEThree hundred and seventeen companies form the foundation of Associazione Italiana MARMOMACCHINE, theassociation representing the Italian marble and stone machinery industries. These companies supply the advancedtechnology that makes Italy a global leader in the stone and manufactured stone industries. Italian machinery isengineered to be versatile and provide customers with unique solutions to process marble and stone atcompetitive prices.www.assomarmomacchine.com

METALWORKINGUCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE is the Italian Machine Tools, Robots and Automation Manufacturers Association.As an official representative of the industry, UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE acts as a worldwide ambassador forsome of the latest technology developed in Italy. The 214 member companies, who produce around 70% of theoutput for the sector, have won universal recognition for their quality, flexibility, reliability and customization.www.ucimu.it

PACKAGINGUCIMA groups the Italian Manufacturers of Automatic Packing and Packaging Machinery. Its members represent65% of the total Italian production and, on average, 85% of Italian exports. One packagingmachine out of every fourin the world bears the wording “Made in Italy.” And the United States is the industry’s main outlet market for thesector. The worldwide success of the Italian packing and packaging industry is firmly rooted in a consolidatedtechnological tradition and in the ability to find customized packaging solutions. www.ucima.it

PLASTICS AND RUBBERThe companies of ASSOCOMAPLAST, the Italian Plastics and Rubber ProcessingMachinery andMoldsManufacturersAssociation, are globally renowned for their “turnkey solutions”—addressing customer needs through sophisticatedmachines and engineering. As a result, the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery industry has seensteady growth since its inception in 1960. Italian machines are highly prized by the world’s most industrialized andeconomically advanced countries. www.assocomaplast.org

PRINTING, GRAPHIC AND CONVERTINGACIMGA represents the Italianmanufacturers of machinery for the graphic, converting and paper industry. Membersof this association are world leaders in making machinery for rotogravure and flexographic printing, paper andcardboard processing, and converting. Most of what is produced is absorbed by the packaging market with 60%of the industry’s turnover, followed by the graphic sector with 35%, then niche applications with around 5%.www.acimga.it

TEXTILE MACHINERYACIMIT is the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, representing 80% of the entire Italian textilemachinery production. Each member takes pride in helping their manufacturing customers spin “cloth into gold.”Italian textile machinery manufacturers meet the full spectrum of industry needs (spinning, weaving, knitting, andfinishingmachines), and leading American textile and clothingmanufacturers rely on the quality of Italian high-techmachinery. www.acimit.it

WOODIn every segment of woodworking, from sawmills to the industrial processing of solid wood and panel to finishing,the Italian industry is present with technological solutions capable of responding effectively to a multitude of userrequirements. ACIMALL, the ItalianWoodworking Machinery and Tools Manufacturers Association, with over 220 ofthemost qualified companies in their field, represents 90% of the whole industry, both in terms of employees and inturnover. www.acimall.com

ATLANTAc/o Italian Trade Commission233 Peachtree Street N. E., Suite 2301P.O. Box 56689Atlanta, Georgia 30343Tel: 888-ITALTRADE (482.5872)Fax: 404.525.5112E-mail: [email protected]

CHICAGOc/o Italian Trade Commission401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 3030Chicago, Illinois 60611Tel: 888-ITALTRADE (482.5872)Fax: 312.264.6209E-mail: [email protected]

LOS ANGELESc/o Italian Trade Commission1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 700Los Angeles, California 90067Tel: 888-ITALTRADE (482.5872)Fax: 310.203.8335E-mail: [email protected]

MEXICO CITYc/o Instituto Italiano Para El Comercio ExteriorEdificio Omega – Campos Eliseos N. 345Colonia Polanco – 11560 Mexico D.F.Toll Free: (in Mexico City) 5281 50 10 or

(outside Mexico City)1.800.696.6032

Tel: (+52 555) 2808425 -2813950 - 2813957

Fax: (+52 555) 2802324E-mail: [email protected]

TORONTOc/o Italian Trade Commission180 Dundas Street West, Suite 2002Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1Z8Toll Free: 888-ITALTRADE (482.5872)Tel: 416.598.1566Fax: 416.598.1610E-mail: [email protected]

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