Page 32 - MetalForming November 2015

Italian Metal-Fabricating
Italian Metal-Fabricating
Trade Mission:
Trade Mission:
Fantastico!
Fantastico!
Fantastico is one word that best describes a week- long tour of Northern Italy and visit to several machine-tool manufacturers and their customers. Read on for a look at new developments in forming and cutting technology, and how fabricators turn technology into revenue and profits.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
In Italy they say, “Batti il ferro quan- with executives from five leading Italian
manufacturers of machine tools, and their stamping/fabricating customers. Our journey, which began in Venice, featured stops at:
• SanGiacomo Presse
• Prima Industrie Group
• Salvagnini Group
• Promau s.r.l. (Davi)
• CY Laser
At each stop along the way we
learned of new developments in press, laser-cutting and metalforming tech- nology—some slated for display at FABTECH 2015 in Chicago. And, we were able to witness firsthand how sev- eral Italian metalformers and fabrica- tors leverage state-of-the-art technol- ogy to improve productivity and quality.
Stop One: Adjustable-Stroke Presses, and a Hybrid-Style Press
Through a partnership with Brud- erer Machinery Americas, SanGiaco-
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MetalForming/November 2015
www.metalformingmagazine.com
do è caldo.” It means “to act timely
and to not waste time.” Or, as we say in English, to “strike when the iron is hot.”
That’s precisely what Italian machine-tool manufacturers are doing, as evidenced by recent survey data from UCIMO. The Italian association represents manufacturers of machine tools, robots, automation systems and ancillary products. In 2014, UCIMO reports that production by Italian equipment manufacturers grew by 7.9 percent, and it predicts production to grow another 5.2 percent in 2015. Exports to foreign markets, while down in 2014, have rebounded this year, as evidenced by a 2.1-percent uptick in sales for Q1 2015 compared to 2014.
I witnessed firsthand the flourishing Italian manufacturing economy during a recent whirlwind tour of northern Italy. Joined by MetalForming publish- er Andy Flando, and with support from the Italian Trade Commission, we met