Milan, 12 March 2018 – Already 2656 exhibitors from 54 countries and 126,585 m2 have been confirmed three months before the event. Expectations are growing for The Innovation Alliance, the new trade fair, which will take place from 29 May to 1 June 2018 at Fiera Milano.
The event will include, for the first time, five events with linked by a common thread, i.e. the supply chain logic: PLAST, the reference event for the plastic and rubber industry; IPACK-IMA, the leading event for processing and packaging technologies; MEAT-TECH, the event specialised in meat processing and packaging; Print4All, the new format dedicated to the commercial and industrial printing industry; INTRALOGISTICA ITALIA, the event that combines innovative solutions and integrated systems for industrial handling, warehouse management, material storage, and picking operations.
The Innovation Alliance focuses on an innovative cross-cutting supply chain, increasingly oriented towards new integration perspectives, even thanks to the growing popularity of Industry 4.0. At the same time, it showcases leading industrial segments, which make Italy the world’s second manufacturer of industrial machinery.
The Innovation Alliance will occupy 17 pavillions, essentially the entire area of the Fiera Milano exhibition district, representing the largest event ever dedicated to industrial machinery in Italy and one of the leading sector events in Europe. An insight into highly innovative markets, which together, in Italy, record a turnover of 23.7 billion euros and over 70,000 employees (the 2017 preliminary consolidated results are provided by ACIMGA, AMAPLAST, ANIMA, ARGI, UCIMA) and in most cases, they have an export level close to 70%, thus offering an example of the great appreciation Italy’s industrial products have around the world.
The specialised offering provided by the five events will be the focus of this exhibition project. However, there will also be opportunities for a cross-cutting reflection on new materials and technologies and Research & Development to enable companies to continue to be competitive in today’s market.
“Trade fairs aim at anticipating the market’s development – declared Lorenzo Caprio, President of Fiera Milano – that’s why we shared this project, which the organisers of all the involved events strongly believed in. This international appointment will provide interesting content and opportunities. The promotion of the single events and associations involved, the work carried out by Fiera Milano and ICE (The Italian Trade Agency) have positioned The Innovation Alliance as one of the greatest events in Europe for industry players from all over the world.”
The wide and cross-cutting offer makes this event truly unique in Europe. An attractive feature, especially for international players, who will find interesting added value, which will allow them to know more about this industry in a system logic in which everything is connected.
A whopping 1000 profiled top buyers from 51 countries will join the numerous international operators, thanks to the effort of the organisers and ICE. Top managers of major manufacturing companies will come to evaluate and buy the technology showcased at the trade fair.
“Innovation Alliance will be a major event to showcase Italy’s advanced technological offering and support a set of sectors that live on exports and whose results reveal the place of Italian-made quality at the highest levels. – commented Michele Scannavini, President of ICE (the Italian Trade Agency) – As a confirmation of the synergy between Mise and ICE for Innovation Alliance, ICE’s involvement will attract buyers from major markets with the highest growth potential.”
THE SECTOR: SMART INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY MOVING TOWARDS THE 4.0 RECOVERY
At a time when industry is changing worldwide – especially the industrial machinery sector, which is more and more involved in technological evolutions that can be summarise in the 4.0 technology – the industrial machinery sector is asked to make a qualitative leap to keep up with the market’s recovery.
Innovation is not just bound to technological progress, which is increasingly characterised by mechatronics and advanced robotics, but also by the presence of professionals trained to seize new opportunities and the focus on integration dynamics and possible synergies with other segments. Companies who aim at achieving and confirming their excellence and Italian companies who want to validate their leadership on international markets are more oriented towards this “smart manufacturing” approach.
Therefore, the recent fiscal measures super- and hyper-depreciation entered into force to allow Italy’s companies to keep up with this revolution. Particular attention is paid to training and the introduction of a 40% tax credit up to 300 thousand euros to arrange refresher courses for employees. The Innovation Alliance will act as the driving force for this ongoing recovery.
Thanks to the numerous solutions that will be showcased and various events on this topic, The Innovation Alliance will be an opportunity to learn more about this change and evaluate whether and how to use 4.0 technologies especially within consolidated business processes.
Circular economy, energy savings, and counterfeiting will be the hot topics. Therefore, the event will be especially addressed to highly qualified operators, who will have a key role in designing production lines and choosing the technologies to be used.
THE STARS OF THE SHOW: ITALY-MADE PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD (AND BACK)
The Made in Italy label defines the excellence of Italian-made products exported in the world. When it comes to industrial machinery – oriented towards strong synergies between sectors and integration between technologies – it also indicates the Italianness expressed as versatility and ability to solve complex production issues and demanding requests with tailor-made solutions.
Italian-made machinery is feeding the new market that we like to call “Made with Italy”, where the excellence of instrumental mechanics has become essential for manufacturing goods and products worldwide. Market figures show that export is still as strong as ever, but the domestic demand is on the rise again.
The importance of the manufacturing companies that will be part of The Innovation Alliance is confirmed by the 2017 preliminary year-end data (Italian market). The rubber and plastic processing machinery sector is worth 4.5 billion euros, representing a 5% increase in terms of turnover (source: AMAPLAST) and exports equal to 70%. The packaging and processing sector, with an overall value amounting to 10.8 billion euros, has seen a +5.9% increase in turnover (source: IPACK-IMA Research Centre derived from Ucima and ANIMA data) and exports equal to 69%. The industrial printing and converting machinery segment has seen growth of 13% and a turnover equal to 3.2 billion euros (source: Acimga and ARGI) and exports equal to 67%. Even the internal logistics segment has seen growth of 5.4%, with an overall turnover equal to 5.2 billion euros and exports equal to 36% (source: ANIMA).
The target countries for the Italian export in these sectors are many: Germany, Spain, and France are the first purchasers in all segments except for logistics, whereas the USA are the top non-European buyer.
The Innovation Alliance will be a test field to understand the directions in which Italy’s industrial machinery exports and international trade are moving.
THE EVENTS: WHAT “THE INNOVATION ALLIANCE” MOVES
Two well-established events (IPACK-IMA and PLAST), two projects developed in a few years (MEAT-TECH and INTRALOGISTICA ITALIA), and a promising debut (Print4All): the five events included in The Innovation Alliance will provide interesting insights into the industrial machinery market.
PLAST: dedicated to technologies for the plastic and rubber material industry and organised by Promaplast Srl, the service company controlled entirely by AMAPLAST (Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers’ Association);
IPACK-IMA: processing and packaging technology exhibition, organised by UCIMA (Italian Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Association) and Fiera Milano;
MEAT-TECH: the event dedicated to processing and packaging in the meat industry, organised by Ipack Ima Srl;
Print4All: a newcomer dedicated to printing and converting on all media and for all types of communication needs. Organised by Fiera Milano, ACIMGA (Italian Association of Machinery Manufacturers for the Graphic, Converting and Paper Industry) and ARGI (Italian Association of Graphic Industry Suppliers);
INTRALOGISTICA ITALIA: dedicated to the most innovative solutions and integrated systems destined for industrial handling, warehouse management, material storage and picking operations. The event, organised by Deutsche Messe and Ipack Ima Srl, is part of the international CeMAT network.
SYNERGIES: ASSOCIATIONS, INSTITUTIONS, SPECIALISED BUSINESSES
The event brings together the competencies of two major European trade fair organisers – Fiera Milano and Deutsche Messe – and major supply chain Italian associations: ACIMGA (Association of Italian Machinery Manufacturers for the Graphic, Converting and Paper Industry), AMAPLAST (Association of Italian Manufacturers of Plastic and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds) and UCIMA (exhibition, organised by UCIMA (Association of Italian Manufacturers of Automatic Packaging and Processing Machines) – and ARGI (the Italian Association of Graphic Industry Suppliers).
The event will be also attended by specialised publishers, category associations, schools and training institutes, research institutes and many other entities bound to the single events, whose initiatives will enrich the supply chain approach of The Innovation Alliance.
