The annual assembly of Acimall – the Italian association of woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers, who met last June 24 – appointed the new board members for the 2022-2025 term. The board has been joined by Giorgio Casati (Casati Macchine; Marnate, Varese), Roberto Ghizzoni (Dierregi; Carpi, Modena), Stefania Maggi (Maggi Technology; Certaldo, Florence) and Pierluigi Paoletti (Paoletti Energy; Borgo Valbelluna, Belluno). The assembly also voted to extend the mandate of board member Aldo Zaffaroni (Mario Zaffaroni e Figli; Turate, Como).
Until next June, President Luigi De Vito (SCM; Rimini) and Vice President Marianna Daschini (Greda; Mariano Comense, Como), will remain in charge, i.e. until the member companies will be summoned to change or confirm their roles, after the decision to differentiate the dates for the board and presidency terms, in order to ensure the operating continuity of the association board.
The assembly greeted and thanked for their contribution to the association activities the outgoing board members Umberto Pizzi (Pizzi by PGS; Borgosesia, Vercelli) and Filippo Pellitteri (TWT; Rovereto, Trento).
The vote was the final act of the morning meeting that unanimously approved the 2021-2022 balance of Acimall, after the reports presented by President Luigi De Vito and treasurer Umberto Pizzi; the unanimous approval involved the entire activity of the board, summed up President De Vito in his report.
After reaffirming the mission of the association founded back in 1966, the Acimall president once again stressed the uniqueness of the events that have occurred in the past few years all over the world, and the many issues, often critical, that remain to be solved in the near future: “The past two years were a turning point also for our association, as we had to leverage all our resources to stay vital and proactive, and to respond effectively to our member companies in a period of great uncertainty”, De Vito said.
However, the past two years have also been very satisfactory from a business standpoint, as the Italian production of woodworking machinery and tools amounted to 2.5 billion euros, with a 36 percent increase on 2020 and 11 percent compared to 2019. Good results also for export (1.7 billion euro, up by 30 percent compared to 2020 and 10 percent versus 2019), as well as for domestic sales, amounting to 790 million euros, with a 52 percent growth versus 2020 and 15 percent over 2019. Import also expanded (244 million euros, 59 percent more than in 2020 and 21 percent more than in 2019), and consequently also apparent consumption in Italy, exceeding the billion-euro threshold (up by 54 percent over 2020 and 16 percent over 2019). The trade balance was also very positive, equal to 1.5 billion euros, i.e. 27 percent more than in 2020 and 8 percent more than in 2019).
Luigi De Vito then stressed that “…our industry has brilliantly overcome this difficult two-year period: state incentives played a key role for sure, but without excessively affecting the market trend. The growth we are seeing now is not only driven by incentives, which have substantially caused a concentration of investment decisions within a shorter timeframe; expansion is also resulting from a structural rally that has taken the market back to its standard development lines”. Then, he also mentioned the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “Looking at headline news, we can say that the Russia-Ukraine crisis has so far had a limited impact on our export. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus together account for a significant share of Italian export in our industry, approximately 5 percent of total export; however, such export seems to continue, despite a significant reduction due to the current embargo that has been gradually expanded with the adoption of progressive sanctions”.
Optimism prevails for the future, although provisioning difficulties and conflict-related issues, plus the possible rally of the Covid pandemic, might shuffle the cards once again. “We can reasonably expect – De Vito said – that, by the end of this year, the Italian production of woodworking machinery and tools might reach a new historical record”.
The Acimall president then reviewed the promotion activities, a focus area for the association, benefiting from the economic and organization support of ICE-Agenzia; the initiatives promoted through Confindustria, CFI-Comitato Fiere Industria, the membership of Federmacchine (the Italian federation that gathers all the mechanical industry associations, with the Acimall president sitting in the board) and Eumabois, the federation of the European associations of wood and furniture technology manufacturers, where De Vito holds the role of vice president.
The report also mentioned Xylexpo, “…a project that represents the core business of Acimall, an event to which the association devotes most of its efforts”, said Luigi De Vito, and he added: “After cancelling the 2020 edition due to the sanitary emergency, we launched an exhibition project that combines Xylexpo and Bimu, the international exhibition of metalworking machines, robots and automation. Two different exhibitions merging into one big event dedicated to manufacturing technology. This decision required to change the dates and rearrange the exhibition halls for our event. As a result, Xylexpo will be held from 12 to 15 October, in halls 22 and 24 at Fieramilano Rho, right in front of the Bimu halls, to leverage the interaction and integration between the two events and their visitors.
Xylexpo will be smaller than in the past, as two big groups, one from Italy and one from Germany, are not attending, a decision that we don’t want to hide. I hope this decision will be limited to the next edition, which is still suffering from a climate of uncertainty. The results of this year will be critical for future developments.
Nevertheless, I can state that the two halls assigned to Xylexpo are sold out, with an occupied area close to 18 thousand net square meters and 250 exhibitors. With this area exclusively dedicated to technology, Xylexpo remains (most probably and in spite of everything) that biggest industry exhibition In 2022”.
The Acimall president closed his speech inviting the assembly to dutiful reflection. “Acimall is hour home, an association that – to deliver on its mission to represent and promote the industry – needs active participation by each and every one of us. An association lives if its members contribute with their experience and presence; it’s an opportunity to discuss with each other, to interact, to identify a common destination, to “team up”. Otherwise, it’s just a service company, but in that case, it is driven by a market logic that does not fit into the spirit of an association, and this was certainly not the original intention of our founders”.
