machines italia magazine 2005

2 11--888888--IITTAALLTTRRAADDEE

OPENING LETTER

Paola Bellusci,Trade Commissioner

Italian Trade Commission

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

Italian machinery gives competitive advantageto North American manufacturers

Welcome to the 2005 edition of Machines Italia, a joint publication by the Italian Trade

Commission and The Manufacturer, highlighting the design, creativity and flexibility of

Italian machinery.

Design is Italy’s trademark, most visible in the consumer world where designer labels tend to

have Italian names. What may be less evident to many (but what world class manufacturers

know) is that Italian leadership in design extends to equipment and machine tools, too.

And when we say manufacturing, we are not simply talking about components for the

automotive industry. You can get superior metalworking machinery from Italy, of course, but

Italian machinery makers also serve industries such as agriculture, foundry, glass, packaging,

plastics, textile machinery and wood, to mention a few.

This magazine is bursting with the testimony of North American manufacturers who use Italian

machinery. Our features on world class manufacturing, agility, maintenance and overall

equipment effectiveness show how Italian machinery contributes to competitive advantage. In

a world where change is the only constant, however, the increasing demands of globalization

require that manufacturers respond, rapidly, to changes in customer demand.

Industry analyst Bob Parker argues in his article Flexible Factories that the “single purpose

manufacturing plant” is poorly suited to the demands of the modern environment. “Many

manufacturers do not have excess capacity, they have the wrong capacity, and I believe there

will be a major effort to re-tool production capabilities around smaller, more flexible factories,”

he says. “Machinery will have to be multi-purpose and support rapid changeover in tooling and

materials. The machinery will be required to work in concert with other pieces of equipment in

the plant and be easily re-configured.”

That sounds like a recipe for Italian machinery to me.

Sincerely,

Paola BellusciTrade Commissioner—Chicago

A flexiblefuture

3wwwwww..mmaacchhiinneessiittaall iiaa..oorrgg

Machines Italia News 4Updates on the activities of Italian companies in the United States

Flexible Factories: 8The Recapitalization of American ManufacturingThe single purpose manufacturing plant is poorly suited to modern manufacturing, argues Bob Parker

A Class Apart 10To succeed in a global market, manufacturers must strive to be world class.Italian machinery can give them an edge

Availability, Productivity, Quality 14It makes sense to monitor the performance of your machinery. The bestmanufacturers use the principles of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

The Ugly Duckling 18Maintenance has traditionally been low on the agenda, but successfulmanufacturers make it a cornerstone of their improvement strategies

Agility Inside 22Lean manufacturing is almost a given these days. What really sets the best companies apart is agility

Trade Bodies Send Students Packing 26A competition gives packaging students an opportunity to win a trip to Italy

Sponsoring Innovation 27Machines Italia sponsors two major North American events

Trade Shows in Italy 28A list of exhibitions in Italy sponsored by our partner associations

Innovation at work 30A summary of Machines Italia’s 14 partner associations and their industries

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Table ofcontents

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MACHINES ITALIA NEWS

Amut S.p.A (www.amut.it) has secured a contract

to supply Global PET, located in Perris, California,

with a complete washing process to produce 2,000

kilograms of clean R-PET flakes per hour. It is the

first of its type to be sold in North America, the first

PET recycling plant operating in California and the

only R-PET recycling washing operating west of the

Mississippi River.

“Global is one of the largest recyclers of post-

consumer PET flakes in the western US. They

presently supply PET flakes to a number of clients

in the US market place,” said Anthony Georges,

vice-president AMUT North America. “They

realized that they could better serve their clients

and expand by cleaning their recycled PET flakes.

With the AMUT system, they will be able to wash

over 40,000,000 pounds of dirty post-consumer

bottles, which are presently collected in the

Californian market place, from municipal

collection and deposit collection agencies. That

will enable them to better serve their clients and

expand their business.”

The premier attraction of the AMUT patented

process is the high quality of the clean PET flakes it

produces. The second was the cost of operation.

The plant uses a very low amount of water—one

pint to clean one pound of dirty PET flake—and the

minor use of chemicals in the cleaning process. The

system is fully automated, a critical factor in

California and any high labor cost area.

Machines Italianews

News Briefs

Eni PetroleumEni Petroleum ExplorationCo, a Houston-basedsubsidiary of Eni S.p.A ofMilan (www.eni.it), hasacquired the Alaskanassets of Denverindependent Armstrong Oil& Gas, which comprise104 leases on the NorthSlope and in the BeaufortSea. Price of theacquisition was notdisclosed. Eni said itwould explore the onshoreand offshore lease blocks,where total net reservesare expected to exceed170 million barrels of oil.

Rulmeca Corporation Rulmeca Corporation(www.rulmecacorp.com), a wholly owned subsidiaryof Italian company RulliRulmeca S.p.A.(www.rulmeca.it), aleading global manufacturerof motorized pulleys forbulk handling, is nowassembling motorizedpulleys in Wilmington, NC.Built specifically for beltconveyors, the pulleys aredesigned with the motorand gearbox hermeticallysealed in the steel shell.Associated EquipmentDistributors, Inc. approvedRulmeca’s membershipMay 2005.

AMUT S.p.A. plans, manufactures, assembles and starts-up recyclingplants, like this PET plant, for industrial and post-consumerthermoplastic scraps.

AMUT cleans up in California

Marangoni Tread N.A. Inc. (www.marangoni.com)

began manufacturing tires in Madison, TN last

year. It has now announced a $2.5 million

expansion of the plant, formerly used by Pirelli.

High-tech tire retreading equipment is to be added,

bringing Marangoni's total investment up to

around $10 million.

Retread tires sell for 30 to 50 percent of the cost

of comparable new tires, saving the trucking

industry some $2 billion a year, according to the

International Tire and Rubber Association

Foundation. Marangoni uses a precured retread

technique, a process in which strips of pre-treaded

rubber are applied to tire casings. Patented in 1976,

Marangoni’s process is seamless, giving greater

wear than most retreads, which leave a splice seam.

Based in Verona, Italy, the Marangoni Group

was founded in 1950 and is a European leader in

both the new and retread tire market. The retreads

are sold in the US under the Ringtread name.

Italian tire manufacturer expands in US


Giardina Finishing Systems USA, Inc. (www.giardina-usa.com), based in

Louisville, KY, is helping US woodworking and furniture manufacturers to speed

up production and improve painted finishes through the use of microwaves.

“Giardina microwave drying equipment accelerates the drying process,”

said Adam Verse, company president. But that isn’t the only benefit. “Because

they dry paint from the inside out, microwaves prevent fluids from penetrating

the wood and raising fibers. It allows more coating to stay on top of the

substrate, giving a better film build and better finish.” Giardina was

incorporated in the US in 1997, just as manufacturers began moving away

from solvent-based to water-based paints.

“As just-in-time delivery took hold, flatline gained in popularity, ahead of

conventional hanglines and cart-based drying,” Verse said. Eggers Industries,

of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, which produces architectural doors, frames,

molding material and ceiling tiles, has used Giardina equipment to cut cycle

time and labor costs. And word is spreading.

“We’re seeing smaller companies and manufacturers of residential wood

products, like kitchen cabinets, adopting our equipment for shorter runs and

lower volume production,” said Verse. Giardina’s Louisville office provides

sales, support and service facilities, as well as a technical laboratory.

Giardina’s MOS system, which uses a particular wave length in the microwaves field, allows rapid dryingof water-based lacquers without heating and without causing the raising of the wood surface.

Giardina improveswood finishing quality

Americans don’t cook pastaproperly, new survey finds

In a recent survey commissioned by world-leading

manufacturer Barilla Pasta (www.barillaus.com)

and conducted by Harris Interactive, 88 percent of

U.S. adults said they cook pasta; 35 percent do so

at least once a week. But 51 percent said they

always or sometimes rinse it after cooking—a

mistake if serving warm, because rinsing washes

away natural starches that allow sauces to adhere.

Adding olive oil to cooking water doesn’t enhance

taste and causes sauce to slide off.

In an effort to educate Americans about

authentic Italian methods, Barilla has created a free

brochure: Pasta 101: A Guide to Cooking and

Identifying Quality Pasta. “In Italy, pasta is treated

with respect, and cooked al dente every time,” said

Lorenzo Boni, executive R&D chef, Barilla America.

“Barilla makes it easy even for novices to experience

this perfection that Italians enjoy daily because, for

more than 125 years, the Barilla family has used the

best quality ingredients for their pasta.”


MACHINES ITALIA NEWS

News Briefs

ITALIAN MACHINETOOL EXPORTSThe total value of exports of Italian machine tools in 2004 topped$2,374 million, the highestsince the 2001 peak of$2,625 million (currentexchange rates). Sales toNorth America totaled $245 million; US purchasesrose by 7.6 percent. Thesales rise was strongacross all manufacturingsectors, from metal cuttingto electroerosion. (Figuresfrom UCIMU-SISTEMI PERPRODURRE (www.ucimu.it),the association of Italian manufacturers ofmachine tools, robots,automation systems andancillary products).

IVECO MOTORSIveco Motors of NorthAmerica (www.iveco.com)has appointed Mid-AtlanticEngine Supply to distributeand service Iveco enginesin Maryland, Delaware,Philadelphia metro, andcounties in New Jerseyand Virginia. Rudox Engineand Equipment willprovide the same serviceand support in New YorkCity and Fairfield, Litchfieldand New Haven countiesin Connecticut. NorthernPower Products will supplyengines and serve OEMsin ground support,construction, agriculture,power generation andother industrial markets in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Automotive industry veteran James G. Selwa has

been appointed CEO of Maserati of North

America. (www.maserati.com). Effective June this

year, Maserati USA separated from Ferrari USA. The

new company will also be responsible for the

reintroduction of Alfa Romeo autos into the US. A

long-time auto industry professional, Selwa (53)

previously headed Rolls-Royce North America, was

CEO of Lotus Cars North America and has also been

involved with Panoz Motor Sport and Volvo Cars.

While no date has been set for Alfa’s return,

American fans of the brand are likely to be counting

the minutes.

Maserati, Alfa Romeo return toNorth America

The Alfo Romeo 159

Italian manufacturers are introducing a range of

equipment aimed squarely at California’s specialty

farming businesses. Sfoggia, (www.sfoggia.com),

Agricola Italiana (www.agricola.it) and others

have introduced planters specially developed for

the 80-inch wide beds used by California

vegetable growers. A large Californian vegetable

producer has been using a Mosa (www.mosa.it)

transplanter tray filling and seed line for some

years and further systems are now in use across

the state. Specialty spinach and baby greens

harvesters from Ortamec are no longer a rare

sight. Its newest harvester uses an automatic

height control system to cut corn salad and similar

crops just below the soil surface.

Cefla Finishing (www.ceflafinishing.com) will be

displaying products and services at two upcoming

major exhibitions: Woodworking Machinery and

Supply Expo at the International Center,

Mississauga, Toronto, On, October 28-30; and

Carolinas Industrial Woodworking Expo,

February 16-17, 2006.

The world leader in finishing technology, Cefla

offers a complete range of solutions for all finishing

needs. Reciprocating spray, roll coat, conventional

and UV drying, molding,

finishing and profile

sanding systems ensure

their clients’ requirements

for superior finishing

quality and production

are achieved.

Italian manufacturerstarget Californiaagribusiness

Cefla—the finishingexperience


Ford and Fiat set up new Italian JobJust seven months after its

divorce from General Motors, Fiat

(www.fiat.com) is going to the

automotive altar with Ford. In a

memorandum of understanding,

the two companies pledge to

work together on new versions of

their small cars. The short-term

targets are likely to be a revival of

Fiat’s iconic Cinquecento (500),

and Ford’s Spanish-manufactured Ka sub-compact. The partners expect to gain

benefits in reduced development and material costs in a sector where margins

are ultra-slim, while still producing very different vehicles. Fiat is to invest

around $12 billion in 20 new models between now and 2008.

The Seicento replaced Fiat’s iconic Cinquecento in 1999

Breaking news from IndecoIndeco North America (www.indeco-breakers.com), of Stratford, Connecticut,

introduced its new, 19-model HP Series of breakers at ConExpo in Las Vegas,

Nevada. Technological improvements include increased hydraulic efficiency.

The variable power system automatically senses the hardness of the material

being broken, adjusting the impact per blow for maximum operating

efficiency. A slimmer profile design enables easier entry into restricted areas

and narrow openings. Improved silencing complies with night work and

indoor demolition noise requirements.

Italian company Celli S.p.A. (www.celli.it), a major manufacturer of power-

driven tillage tools, has launched a soil anti-pathogen system to replace

methyl bromide, which is being phased out because of its ozone-depleting

side-effects. Celli Bioflash uses steam, previously regarded as too slow and

expensive for open-field use. Bioflash deploys a rotary tiller and chemical

applicator to mix anti-pathogens with steam and produce a more effective

bug killer than steam alone—and costs less. Celli Bioflash is already in

commercial use in Australia and Italy and is covered by Italian, Australian,

US and other patents.

Celli Bioflash is effective methyl bromidereplacement

Fast casual dining in atrattoria-style settingToastissimo Café (www.toastissimo.com) has

opened its first US site, in Orlando, Florida,

September 2005, offering ‘fast casual dining’ in a

Roman Trattoria-style setting. Three hundred are

proposed to open in the US over the next five

years. "The menu offers authentic, Roman-style

bread coupled with a fabulous array of distinctive

ingredients and natural foods imported directly

from Europe," said Marc Topiol, co-owner and

company president.

Tractor agreementThe Italian group Same Deutz-Fahr Italia S.p.A.

(www.samedeutz-fahr.com), one of the world

leaders in tractors, diesel engines and farming

machinery, has reached a strategic agreement with

Farmtrac North America LLC (a subsidiary of Escorts

Ltd of New Dehli, India), to market the entire range

of Same tractors in the United States and Canada.

The agreement covers two-wheel and four-wheel

drive tractors in the 75-115 HP category which will

now be produced and marketed under the Farmtrac

color and brand name. The deal extends Farmtrac’s

range and offers SDF a network of over 300 dealers.

Previously, the Italian company had marketed its

tractors in the US through its own subsidiary.

The plan foresees a regular income of more

than $10 million a year.


EXPERT ANALYSIS

The developed economies of the United States

and Europe are widely believed to be non-

competitive in the global economy because of their

high labor and regulatory costs. But the

widespread migration of volume manufacturing in

the United States is largely a myth. Yes,

manufacturing is changing significantly, but the

change is not driven by low cost options alone.

Many other converging factors are also in the mix,

including mass customization, lean manufacturing

initiatives, and high energy prices.

The typical customer in developed markets has

become quite demanding. They have come to

expect everything from custom packaging sizes on

everyday items to personalized automobiles. This

has resulted in an explosion in new products.

In consumer packaged goods, new product

introductions have soared to over 30,000 items a

Flexiblefactories:

The re-capitalization ofAmerican manufacturingConventional wisdom has written the obituary for volume manufacturing in theUS. But it’s not all about labor costs and regulation, says Bob Parker

year from less than 16,000 fifteen years ago. More

new models or updates of automobiles will be

introduced in the next five years than were

introduced in the last 20, and it will only get worse

as custom dosages in pharmaceuticals, made to

order automobiles, and personalized electronic

devices become prevalent. So, there is still volume

manufacturing, but the product mix is much more

diverse. The good news is that the ability to

respond to demand is the hallmark of Italian

machinery makers. US manufacturing giants

Boeing and Caterpillar both embrace the concept

of agile manufacturing, and both use Italian-made

machinery in their assembly plants, as you will see

from the article “Agility inside” in this magazine.

Lean manufacturing has been the talk of the

industry for the last few years. Derived from the

principles of the Toyota Production System, lean is

being widely applied across all manufacturing

segments. The basic tenets of rapid tooling

changeover and synchronizing production to

demand will forever change how factories are

managed. The benefits to manufacturers are huge

in terms of costs, cycle times, and space, so you can

expect to see adoption of lean operations continue

to accelerate.

Lean is essentially about the elimination of

waste, and every hour of machine breakdown and

setup is a nonproductive hour. Italian machinery

manufacturers incorporate high levels of

automation and robotics and have achieved a

combination of leanness and agility through

technical advancement. As Marco Livelli,

managing director of Jobs S.p.A. (www.jobs.it)

once observed of Italian manufacturing: “We must

learn to consider evolution in technology as a daily

and not an extraordinary event.”

In the light of recent events, the price of oil is

unlikely to drop below $50 per barrel in the near

future. Some experts have even predicted triple

digit prices by the end of the year. Regardless of the

near-term volatility, energy costs have permanently

escalated and changed the supply chain economics

for many manufacturing firms. Part, if not all, of

the advantages of sourcing products in low-cost

regions is offset by rising logistics costs. This

change in the cost structure has led to more

companies employing postponement strategies—

moving the final manufacturing steps as close to

the point of purchase as possible.

These factors have led to manufacturing

strategies that include factories that produce highly

specialized products as close as possible to the

customer at the exact point of demand. The existing,

single-purpose manufacturing plant is poorly suited

to support this approach and the machinery within

those plants is obsolete. North America does not

have excess capacity, it has the wrong capacity.

As such, I believe there will be a major effort to

re-tool production capabilities around smaller,

more flexible factories. Billions of dollars will be

spent to move industry from the mass production,

economy of scale approach to the mass

customization, economy of scope approach. Make

no mistake, there is a robust market for industrial

machinery in North America, but the products

must support these new realities.

Italian machine makers strive for “flexible

automation,” which sounds like a contradiction but

which is explained beautifully by Bill Bossard,

VP Sales & Marketing for Salvagnini America

(www.salvagnini.com), in the article on agility.

Machinery will have to be multi-purpose and

support rapid changeover in tooling and materials.

The machinery will be required to work in concert

with other pieces of equipment in the plant and be

easily re-configured. High levels of information

capture and automated control should be part of the

integrated package. Supporting these requirements

will translate to success in a market that is being

overshadowed in the media, but remains robust in

practice. As usual, the Italians are way ahead.


Bob Parker is Vice President of ManufacturingInsights, one of IDC’sindustry researchcompanies thatprovides research and analysis on bestpractices and the useof informationtechnology.

Opposite page(Clockwise from top left)Salvagnini, Jobs, Pulimetal(www.pulimetal.it), andMandelli Sistemi(www.mandelli.com) all offerflexible manufacturingsolutions to Americanmanufacturers

A class


WORLD CLASS MANUFACTURING

apart

This country may import a lot of equipment,

consumer goods and capital items from

overseas but ask any manufacturer if it’s easy to

sell into the US, the answer will be a resounding

“no”. America may be the world’s biggest market

but it’s also the toughest. To succeed in this

market, any company has to be better than

good—it has to be world class.

Now, world class isn’t something that carries

an accreditation, like ISO9000, or TS 14000. It

can, therefore, be an easy claim to make. But it’s

not so easy to live up to. No company sets out

with the intention of being second-class, but

being world class takes more than good

intentions. Customers know what world class

looks like and so do competitors. It isn’t simply

The world has got much smaller and the global market is tougher than ever—andit’s only going one way. Ruari McCallion looks for the roots of success


about quality. A manufacturer may make the

outstanding product in its class but it doesn’t end

there. There are issues of customer service, agility

and response to the marketplace, reliability, after-

sales support and—of course—cost.

These days, it’s become almost expected for

significant elements of a manufactured product to be

made overseas, especially in the Far East, and

primarily for reasons of cost. But the best isn’t

necessarily the cheapest, either. Italian companies

have a long-established reputation for excellence in

engineering—in the auto sector, for example. Ask

anyone for a shortlist of the world’s best sports cars

and the names Ferrari (www.ferrari.com) and

Maserati (www.maserati.com), will be on it,

along with Lamborghini (www.lamborghini.com).

Shoes—think Prada (www.prada.com). Clothes—

Dolce & Gabbana (www.dolcegabbana.it).

Household items—Alessi (www.alessi.com). Italian

names are well represented among the world’s

leading brands and they carry a deserved reputation

for quality, but these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Italian companies are involved in a wide range of

manufacturing activities, supplying both US

consumer markets and US industries. In order to

succeed, they have to be very good indeed.

Prof. Daniel Jones and James T. Womack, the

godfathers of lean manufacturing and the authors

of The Machine that Changed the World, have

talked and written extensively about driving

waste out of the system. Another point they

make, time and time again, is that it’s very

difficult to achieve long-term cost savings,

flexibility, market responsiveness and outstanding

customer service by shipping finished goods

halfway round the world—especially when those

goods are bulky and heavy.

“When we first set up in the US, we had to buy

completed products,” said Dan Zimmerman,

managing director of AOM America, which

manufactures spraying equipment for woodworking

and, increasingly, for the auto industry. Since 2001,

the company has moved from importing finished

products from its parent factory in Italy, AOM S.p.A.

(www.asturooriginalimaves.com) to assembling and

testing in its plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The

shift has brought a number of benefits, to AOM itself

and to its customers.

“Take one pump: it could be wall mounted,

cart mounted or pail mounted. By switching to

bringing in parts with a single inventory, we can

assemble the products as they’re required,”

Zimmerman said. “If we bought guns from the

factory pre-assembled, we’d have no choice but to

hold a lot of SKUs. With our single set-up, when

we get an order in, we pull out the right kit, apply

the needle nozzle or air cap, as required, and

assemble it. It could be used as a cup gun or

production gun—whatever’s required.” The late-

in-the-day assembly also allows AOM to

customize its products for the American market.

“Hoses and other fittings in the US are

different from the EU. Some accessories we don’t

get from Italy —we use cups from Taiwan, which

keeps the price down, as well as conforming to

US standards,” he said. Sourcing this sort of

commodity from Taiwan has proved so effective

that AOM’s Italian parent is now following suit,

and it’s not the only example of how responding

to the demands of the market has helped the

company to improve its performance; but it’s very

much a two-way street and Italian innovation

gives the US company a distinct advantage in the

American marketplace.

“Our equipment uses small compressors, which

we get from Italy. They work on less air than both

domestic and Far Eastern competition. Our main

competitor’s compressor needs 23 cubic feet of

air—ours needs just five to seven,” he explained.

“The advantage to us—and our customers—is

simple: a lot of shops simply don’t have as much as

23 cubic feet of air to begin with!”

Opposite pageSACMI’s latest filling machine,the Solo Mas 14/60/15COMBO, features a fillerdesigned to fill plastic bottleswith non-fizzy products in anultra-clean environment, ablower connected to the fillervia a synchronisation system,and a capper.


WORLD CLASS MANUFACTURING

Locating late assembly and testing in the US

means that AOM’s freight charges are lower and the

space it needs to store inventory is, consequently,

much less—CKD kits take up less space than full

units and there isn’t the same need to carry masses

of options in assembled form. That has enabled

AOM America to abandon plans to expand its

storage capacity—a significant saving in itself—and

also allows the company to proclaim on its packages

that the product inside has been assembled and

tested in the US, using American labor. The

components ship into the country by air cargo,

which is an expensive way of moving goods, but

fast. “The short lead time we are able to offer by

using air cargo is very important. The market

expects equipment to be in stock,” Zimmerman said.

The key factors for Champion Industries

(www.championindustries.com) are design and

after-sales service. The American headquarters is in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where it designs

and makes commercial dishwashing machines for

hotels, restaurants, and other heavy-use customers.

Again, it differentiates its products for the

American market but it goes further than AOM.

“In Europe, you find a lot of small dishwashing

machines, for coffee bars, pubs and snack bars,”

said Hank Holt, vice-president of Ali S.p.A,

(www.aligroup.it), the holding company.

Champion Industries fabricates its own metal and

assembles componentry, including pumps and

motors. “Our US operation is independent but

there is very close co-operation between our

designers in America, Canada, Italy and New

Zealand. We share ideas—we try to be as lean as

possible, for example, and are constantly striving

to reduce overheads. We avoid duplicate handling,

we hold stock on the assembly line and use kanban

replenishment to our manufacturing cells.”

Italian companies aren’t the only ones who face

challenges in the logistics area but, given their efforts

to ensure delivery on-time in full, every time, it’s not

at all surprising to find that an Italian company is at

the forefront of development in track and trace.

“We have been supplying rugged RFID products

to industry since 1985,” said Brad Todd, marketing

manager with Escort Memory Systems

(www.ems-rfid.com) in Scotts Valley, CA. Escort is a

Datalogic (www.datalogic.com) company. “We

make rugged and modular RFID systems for

industrial environments. Our products are highly

‘connected’, meaning they can communicate with

many different factory automation hosts, such as

PLCs and PC based hosts. Our products have

developed an industry reputation for being

premium products in these environments.”

Logistics is very much at the top of Cosmed

USA’s (www.cosmed.it) agenda, too. It makes

cardiovascular and other medical equipment at its

Rome plant and exports to the US through its office

in Chicago, Il. “Our key issues are minimizing our

stock holding but at a level that enables us to

service our customers in a timely fashion,” said

Thomas Dievert, director of operations. “We always

hold enough to service a few orders but, if we get a

huge order or a few at the same time, it clearly

presents a challenge.” The lead time for Cosmed’s

K4B2 cardio-pulmonary exercise testing machine is,

on average, 45 days.

“Generally, our customers recognize that they’re

not going to get the machine straightaway. What

can be important is that they get confirmation of

order, for their budget and timing,” he said.

Naturally, Cosmed delivers. It’s able to penetrate

the US market—the most competitive in the world

for medical equipment—because its products are

innovative and market leaders.

“We are the leader in our market in Europe

and, in the US, we really have only one competitor.

The thing that sets us apart is that our product is a

portable unit,” Dievert continued. “Our products

are bought and used by hospitals, private clinics,

universities and every department in the Army.”


Sports organizations will also find it useful because

it can be used on-site, rather than requiring

athletes to trek back to the central offices. K4B2 is

the first portable system to measure gas exchange

on a true breath by breath basis. Its technology

enables the exploration of physiological responses

in the field during very fast and brief events, or

while recording data over a period of many hours.

However, as has been observed many times before,

innovation is an advantage but, in isolation, it can’t

guarantee success.

“We’ve introduced field service managers to

raise our level of customer support and we’re

available from 7am to 5 or 6pm every day,” he said.

Customers like that but they also like the machine

to be up and operating as much of the time as

possible. Cosmed is proud of its record in that area.

“Everything is very easily fixed due to the board

capacity, which minimizes downtime. That’s the

best argument for our product—serviceability and

maximum uptime.”

Maximizing productivity was the driver

behind Knouse Foods’ adoption of SACMI Imola

(www.sacmi.com) equipment in its apple

processing plant in Chambersburg, PA—but they

got outstanding reliability, too. “We bought the

SACMI filler back in July 1994,” said Bill Vogel,

maintenance and purchasing manager. “We’ve had

to do virtually nothing to it in maintenance terms:

no major rebuilds, nothing. We simply follow the

instructions.” The machine is the only filler on the

company’s line so the reliability record is not only

impressive—it’s kept the company producing, with

no breakdown to the SACMI equipment in the 11

years it’s been on the line.

One of the potential drawbacks of modern

manufacturing techniques—like lean—is that

single-piece flow makes the whole line only as

strong as its weakest component. Having a reliable

filler has drawn attention to other parts of the line

that offered opportunities for improvement. “In

order to keep up with the output of the filler, we’ve

put in a faster capper machine. Downstream, we

have to cool the product before we label it. That’s

a delay at the moment: prior to our acquisition of

the SACMI machine, the cooler was just fine,” he

said. Knouse produces its apple sauce all year

round, thanks to its installation of controlled

atmosphere storage of fresh apples. The sealed

room has all its oxygen replaced with nitrogen,

which arrests the decaying process—you can’t have

oxidation without oxygen, after all. At each stage,

the company is investing in improvements to raise

its productivity. It has achieved some solid success

and is looking to go further.

“We beat the bushes every year to get the funds

to improve the weakest link in the chain,” Vogel

said. “We’ve got more spray bars, we’ve added

cooling towers and improved pump efficiency. On

that particular line, we’ve improved our efficiency

numbers by about 10 percent; we’re shooting for

another 10 percent now.”

Knouse’s experience suggests that it’s almost a

case of “buyer beware—Italian machinery will oblige

you to raise your game across the board”. But that’s

not a bad thing: the competitive marketplace

requires it anyway. What Italian companies are

demonstrating, as they increase and extend their

presence in the US, is that Italy isn’t simply the home

of the world’s most beautiful cars, desirable shoes

and outstanding clothes. It’s innovation, commitment

to excellence, attention to the issues that matter—

customer service and lead times—that are pushing

the Italian story of world-class performance.

“We’ve had to do virtually nothing to it inmaintenance terms: no major rebuilds,nothing. We simply follow the instructions.”

Availability, productivity


OVERALL EQUIPMENT EFFECTIVENESS

quality

Many manufacturers practice it to advantage

without realizing it is a recognized strategy.

“It” is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

monitoring to enable the interrelated analysis of

asset performance, quality results, and output rates,

and thus improve manufacturing productivity.

The terminology is not important. Whatever

they call it (even if they have a term), many

manufacturers employ the methodology in whole

or in part to bolster more profitable plant

operations. Here is how some companies achieve

the benefits of OEE, formal strategy or not.

Consider National Spinning Co. of Washington,

North Carolina, obviously in the textiles industry.

This company’s production ranges from yarns in

one plant all the way through to finished consumer

goods in its other four North Carolina divisions; for

example, sweaters for apparel retailers and

knitting yarn carried by craft stores.

National Spinning covers a broad swath of

OEE-type data measurement—equipment usage

(including maintenance and availability), machine

George Schultz talks with a range of manufacturers to find out how they monitortheir machinery—and what they call the process

Above(Left) Savio’s Gemini two-for-one twister(Right) The TensorFlex processin Savio’s Orion automaticwinder


output, and quality performance. “Yes, we can get

information from all three of those areas from the

system we have set up in our plants,” says Jim

Booterdaugh, director of manufacturing across the

firm’s five plants. The program was implemented

by the company’s IT staff with software also

developed in-house.

“Typically,” he says, “we have a standard at

which we believe each machine should operate

based on the complexity of the product. The

standard is established in a range from 80 to 95

percent of what each respective machine is capable

of producing during the time it is running. We

track the actual output of the machines and

compare it to those standards.”

The procedure then tracks “standard efficiency”

meaning, Booterdaugh explains, “if over 100

percent, they’re performing very well; if less than

100 percent, then we didn’t meet our targets.”

These standards set periodic maintenance

schedules, but “if a machine is failing unexpectedly,

then we won’t be meeting our standard

productivity,” he notes. Standards initially are based

on equipment manufacturers’ recommendations.

“However,” he adds, “OEMs don’t know exactly the

intricacies of our product mix, so they’re adjusted

over time, up or down, based on how the machine

actually performs in our plant.”

National Spinning measures production quality

both on-line and off-line—the former “to make sure

nothing drifts outside the upper and lower limits set

for specific quality parameters,” says Booterdaugh.

Off-line checks, done selectively, ensure accuracy of

on-line reading and “are used sometimes to

measure things that you can’t measure on-line.”

The extensive equipment monitoring system

also helps plant scheduling, besides always

knowing specific machine maintenance periods in

advance to avert “disrupting product flow on

customer orders,” Booterdaugh notes. “More on the

productivity side, if a machine is running much

better than standard efficiency tolerances, we may

be able to take it off one product line earlier and

switch it to another product. So, machine

performance data can influence planning.”

Italian-made machines are the main equipment

in some National Spinning plants. It has “more than

50 each” of Marzoli S.p.A. (www.marzoli.it) carding

equipment and Savio S.p.A. (www.saviospa.it)

spinning equipment. A third Italian vendor, Obem

(www.obem.com), provides dyeing machines.

Anchor Hocking Glass Inc., based in Lancaster,

Ohio, places prime emphasis on the maintenance

and availability side in its approach to OEE

objectives. “One of the things that’s interesting,”

remarks Doug Engrim, manager of manufacturing

engineering at the Lancaster plant, “is that we’re a

‘24/7’ operation so, when you turn a machine on,

it’s on for weeks, months at a time. Talk about

‘effectiveness’; it’s always on!”

That facility manufactures glass tableware, as

differentiated from glass containers or plate glass

products. Engrim emphasizes that there is much

in its machinery and its processes which is unique

to Anchor Hocking’s business. Hence, different

also is the company’s way of handling plant

operation needs. For one thing, says Engrim, “We

have our own machine repair facility: Rebuild it

‘new’ again and send it back on the floor for

‘another five years’.” The company also maintains

its own stock of replacement equipment for

ongoing servicing needs.

“We’re very elementary in what we do,” notes

Engrim, “basically tracking hours of equipment

operation, and that starts to tell us things when the

machinery starts to function incorrectly.” Apart

from specialized glassmaking machines—some

turning out articles at the rate of eight pieces per

minute, others at more than 100 pieces per minute,

the plant depends upon large compressors in

steady operation, despite many having in-service

ages dating back to the 1930s and ’40s.


OVERALL EQUIPMENT EFFECTIVENESS

Among the plant’s complement of highly

specialized machines, Engrim cites four from Italian

manufacturers, “each a unique machine for unique

purposes. It’s why we went to Italy to get them.”

The vendors are: Olivotto Industries S.p.A.

(www.olivotto.it), a press and blow machine; Antas

S.p.A. (also www.olivotto.it), for glass presses and

a fire polisher; Ocmi S.p.A. (www.ocmigroup.com)

for a stem welding machine, and Tecno 5 S.r.l.

(www.tecno5.it), a decorating machine.

These companies (like others following), in

describing a variable, homegrown systems

approach to OEE principles, partly reflect the results

of a broad manufacturer survey taken earlier this

year by The Manufacturer magazine. Only 25

percent of that survey’s respondents claimed to

fully understand the OEE methodology. And less

than half of those who claimed to be using it were

able to quote any OEE figures from their operations.

Manufacturers in this article sampling

certainly demonstrate the broad operational

payoff of OEE’s key elements—even when they

didn’t recognize the name. Significantly, they are

practicing one or more aspects of the equipment

effectiveness model and can cite resulting

productivity and quality benefits.

The metals industry also needs tracking of

assorted equipment’s effectiveness in its

particular, yet varied approaches to productivity.

Union Electric Steel, of Carnegie, Pennsylvania,

uses a form of OEE to focus on producing

individual types of products. “As a fully integrated

forged roll steel manufacturer,” notes Dan

Oberleitner, plant manager at the Carnegie

facility, “we look for equipment—whether a lathe,

grinder, milling machine, or a combination of

operations—high in accuracy, speed and strength;

something that gives you tight tolerances and

overall durability, because we spend so much for

equipment longevity.”

The company uses a DNC (direct numerical

control) program—“CNC, but from a host

computer,” he explains—to “account for the most

efficient way of machining a particular part.” It

looks at the tooling itself, such as more advanced

cutting inserts, the material make-up of the inserts,

and the rigidity “and beefiness” of the holder.

“We’re always looking at how we’re doing

against historic times [of equipment performance],

tracking how things are going out to the machine

tool or things deteriorating,” Oberleitner says. This

relates also to the company’s preventive

maintenance program which includes yearly

takedown of machines and tools.

Oberleitner comments that the in-house

program “may be crude, but it does the work.

Continual monitoring shows how our performance

is—and, obviously, comparison with our pricing,

looking at hours and whether we hit our

expectation toward profit.”

“We’re a ‘24/7’ operation so, when you turna machine on, it’s on for weeks, months at atime. Talk about ‘effectiveness’; it’s always on!”

AboveAntas fire polisher


Plus, looking ahead, it provides productivity

data for major machinery decisions, as in a current

project. Oberleitner says that Union is working on

design with Italy-based Innse Berardi S.p.A.

(www.innse-berardi.com) for a multi-tasking

machine. “Because of limited floor space and trying

to increase productivity, we’re getting one piece of

equipment to do two operations, turning and

milling.” These are sequenced, not simultaneous

steps, he points out. This project replaces purchase

of a different maker’s milling-only machine. Among

other Italian equipment, Oberleitner cites a Tacchi

Giacomo & Figli S.p.A. (www.tacchiusa.com) lathe

at Union’s Valparaiso, Indiana, plant.

“It’s always about productivity,” reasons Ray

DeLong, production manager at Atwood Mobile

Products in Antwerp, Ohio. He was speaking about

collecting data “so we can know about individual

shifts and overall plant performance, and

efficiencies worked to improve productivity.”

Atwood is also a glassmaker, but of tempered

safety glass for the automotive industry (primarily

RVs, buses and mobile homes) and other markets.

The single-plant company has 330 employees, with

$50 million annual sales.

DeLong says that Atwood’s IT staff set up an

internal system—called its “utilization chart”

program—to measure machine uptime, productivity,

set-up times and number of setups. Operators

manually document their production numbers,

including uptime, yield loss, and machine time.

Individual shift superintendents then enter this data

into the program. Results are posted every two

weeks for employee reference.

The system, about two years old, has brought

some changes in procedures, strategies and overall

operations, DeLong reports, “and we can

somewhat better schedule products to the line.”

Atwood Mobile’s complement of Italian-

source equipment includes a robotically loaded

shape-cutting and grind line from Bottero S.p.A.

(www.bottero.com) and a grinder from Intermac

(www.intermac.com), a division of the Biesse

Group (www.biessegroup.com).

Buhler Quality Yarns Corp, with headquarters

and its single plant in Jefferson, GA, sees

maintenance, quality and efficiency benefits from

its equipment monitoring systems with a software

program in Excel, but it’s primarily for equipment

maintenance, according to Russell Mims,

manufacturing director.

“Just like anything, if you run it ‘7/24’ and don’t

do things,” he says, “it’s not going to be very long

before problems occur.” The system tracks

primarily on an operating hours basis, guided by

OEMs’ maintenance recommendations. Buhler’s

principal Italian-source machine is a Marzoli S.p.A.

roving frame for carding (pre-spinning).

In a different manufacturing sector, furniture, a

brief sampling brought little indication of OEE

activity—currently. Yet, companies are mindful of

its benefits. One of those interviewed, Stanley

Furniture Co. of Stanleytown, Virginia, for example,

doesn’t have “a formal program in quantitative

analysis on equipment,” according to Eric Jones,

corporate industrial engineer. But the company

seems definitely to be looking ahead even while

current procedures are serving it well.

First, it is looking to upgrade its preventive

maintenance program in its four plants. It also

pursues a continuous improvement process, and in

the fall it is “embarking on looking at total lean

manufacturing,” Jones notes. Stanley Furniture’s

present Italian equipment consists of programmable

CNC machines for boring and certain routing, from,

Biesse America (www.biesseusa.com), a subsidiary

of Biesse Group.

Whatever the sector and whatever terminology

they use, companies are mindful of the benefits of

monitoring equipment effectiveness. Those who

use Italian machinery, of course, also know they

have a head start.

The ugly


MAINTENANCE

ducklingMaintenance has been low on the agenda for a long time but successful companies make it a cornerstoneof their improvement strategies, Ruari McCallion reports


More than 35 years after formal techniques

came to the US, maintenance still seems to

be the Cinderella function within manufacturing.

Tools like RCM (reliability-centred management);

FMECA (failure modes effects and criticalities

analysis) and TPM (total planned maintenance or

total productivity management) are no more than

sets of initials in many plants and factories.

Maintenance always seems to find itself on the

front line when there are going to be retrenchments

in the budget. But the fact is that a structured

maintenance plan, integrated into the overall

business strategy, is an essential element in

boosting output and profitability.

The point is illustrated sharply in, of all

things, a computer game: namely, Sim City.

Strangle the Police budget and the Chief will

politely point out that crime is rising to

unacceptable levels. School heads complain but

get on with stuffing more kids into the class. Pull

back on medical and health boss will state simply

that ‘this city needs more hospitals’. Cut back on

the maintenance budget for roads and you’re on

the downward spiral—and doesn’t the head of

highways let you know about it. He interrupts

meetings, shouting that it’s impossible for the city

to survive. The pixellated roads crumble into

rubble, buildings fall into disrepair and the

citizens pick up and move somewhere else. It’s a

lesson our kids seem to be learning but there’s

still a way to go in industry.

“A lot of companies have cut their maintenance

budgets in half over the last 10 years. That means

they can’t get preventive maintenance done—and

that means their machines become unreliable,”

said Robert S. DiStefano, chairman of Management

Resources Group, Inc. “Ninety per cent of

maintenance work is identified within a couple of

days of when it’s needed. The operator hears a

noise and reports it as a high priority. Maintenance

is expected to drop everything and attend to it. The

repair isn’t going to be as effective as it should be

because they won’t know what went wrong. They

have to find out, get the appropriate part and

expedite the repair. That’s costly, because there’s

more downtime than need be.”

If you had an expensive automobile, a Ferrari

(www.ferrari.com), Maserati (www.maserati.com),

Lamborghini (www.lamborghini.com), Alfa Romeo

(www.alfaromeo.com) or the like, you would have

no doubt at all that maintenance is part of the

package. You don’t run it until it breaks, because

fixing it will be so expensive and time-consuming:

the very thought of running an expensive car into the

ground will bring tears to the eyes. But a lot of

companies don’t carry the analogy over to their

workplace and still see maintenance as a cost, rather

than an investment, and allow capital equipment on

which the whole business depends to perform to

something less than its optimum capacity. The

adoption of techniques like lean manufacturing

actually makes companies even more vulnerable to

machine breakdown, so there’s an incentive to do

something about it.

Lean manufacturing brings more machines

together in series, with either automated transfer

or minimal movement between them. Each piece

on its own may be reasonably dependable but line

up, say, three together and the reliability of the

whole center plummets. Why? Simple arithmetic.

One machine may have 90 percent uptime but if

“It has a great effect when it’s first put inbut it doesn’t advertise itself, so peopleforget. They get the idea that getting ridof regular maintenance could save$30,000 a month.”


MAINTENANCE

you have three, then the reliability becomes 90

percent of 90 percent of 90 percent—and that is

only 72 percent. That means you’re running the

risk that the center will be off-line for more than

one day in five. That can be covered by having

stores loaded to the ceiling with spare parts, and

warehouses full of finished inventory, but that’s not

very efficient.

“The largest corporations are recognizing that

maintenance is a front-line business issue,”

DiStefano said. “CEOs are going to shareholders

and telling them that a preventive maintenance

model is a different way of managing their assets.”

It doesn’t have to be expensive, nor a shot in the

dark. Preventive maintenance ideas and practice

have been around for some time, and they’re

really part of the total drive to improved efficiency

and competitiveness, whether you talk about lean,

six-sigma or anything else. The Japanese view is to

maintain and improve the total reliability and

integrity of systems and equipment, through the

people that add value—the operators and

maintainers. The Japanese don’t regard

maintenance as a necessary evil. It’s front-line asset

care, carried out by the operator. The auto analogy

carries over into the workplace: the operator—the

driver—will monitor the oil and screenwash, but

hands the car over to the expert—the

mechanic—for maintenance and repair. If the oil

light comes on while out on the road, the driver will

top the level up; if it comes on again 50 miles later,

it’s time to hand it over to the expert. Of course,

everything has to be kept in proportion; a company

flooded with maintenance staff will never have

anything break down, but nor will it make money if

costs are out of control. Champion Industries

(www.championindustries.com), based in Winston

Salem, NC, endeavours to balance its production

flow. Its machines could, in theory, punch out a

whole lot more material if they were run 24/7, but

they’d do so only until they broke.

“We have a preventive maintenance program

and we’re also able to quickly repair things,” said

Hank Holt, vice-president of Ali S.p.A.

(www.aligroup.it), Champion’s holding company.

“We have maintenance people on our staff and the

reliability of our equipment is generally good.”

That reliability has come from studying

performance and planning accordingly. “In our

dishwasher production plant, we have three

machines that potentially cause problems; our

shearing machine, the punch press and the press

brake. We may have trouble with them one day a

year.” The company is set up so that breakdowns in

those areas can be fixed quickly. It’s able to balance

the cost of maintenance with a realistic assessment

of the inventory cover necessary to see it through.

“We have about two days’ supply of sheet metal

hoods in store—and we can fix just about anything

in two days.” The company’s Aladdin processing

plant is a slightly different matter; it makes plastic

molded parts.

“There, we have to be very precise, so we

carry out very sophisticated machine efficiency

measuring,” he said. The costs involved in

breakdown aren’t limited to maintenance

people’s wages.

“The cost of being unable to produce is high

and too many companies still don’t know the cost

of downtime. It could be $1,000 an hour or, in the

automotive industry, it could be $50,000 an

“The largest corporations are recognizingthat maintenance is a front-line business

issue. CEOs are going to shareholders andtelling them that a preventive

maintenance model is a different way of managing their assets.”

driver education and incentive programs. That’s

preventive maintenance in its purest form, but that

approach isn’t always appreciated.

“The difficulty lies in getting companies to stick

to the plan,” said Mark Dolphin, managing director

of Datastream, which provides asset management

software and systems. “It has a great effect when

it’s first put in but it doesn’t advertise itself, so

people forget. They get the idea that getting rid of

regular maintenance could save $30,000 a month,

or whatever.” The immediate results of cutting

maintenance tend to be positive, as it takes two or

more quarters for the effects to build up, which can

undermine the whole corporate strategy.

Maintenance tools, like TPM and lean, start from

different points but converge on the elimination of

waste. Six-sigma focuses on quality. One of the eight

pillars of TPM is quality maintenance, which means

that the organisation has to look at improving its

equipment from the aspect of quality of product

produced—which is, fundamentally, six-sigma. And

at the core of lean is flexibility. You can’t be flexible,

deliver just-in-time, or cut inventory with

confidence if your machines are down. To world-

class companies, maintenance is an investment as

important as an effective operations and

management strategy. It’s the cornerstone of the

progression from fire-fighting to control.


hour,” said Peter Gagg, of maintenance

management company MCP. A client in Thailand

recently implemented a planned maintenance

strategy. “The company’s turnover is $50 million

and its maintenance costs amounted to $2 million

a year. By doing things differently, analyzing and

planning maintenance, they could increase

output by 50 percent and reduce maintenance

expenditure by 15 percent.”

The expertise embedded in specialist

maintenance management companies can

make them an attractive alternative to the in-

house solution. Having your own maintenance

staff means that they’re always available;

the outsourced supplier, on the other hand, will

have broad experience and be able to benchmark

performance against market leaders. One area

where outsourcing seems to make a lot of sense is

in the forklift fleet. Companies like OM Carrelli

Elevatori S.p.A. (www.ompimespo.it), the Italian

operation of Linde AG, typically offer leasing

packages that include maintenance and cost-

effective support services. Over the life of a truck,

the purchase price will be dwarfed by the running

costs—not just fuel, but maintenance, servicing and

that big bugbear, repairs. Specialist companies have

the resources to anticipate likely causes of accidents

and treat them before they even arise, through

“Companies like OM Carrelli Elevatori S.p.A.typically offer leasing packages that includemaintenance and cost-effective supportservices. Over the life of a truck, the purchaseprice will be dwarfed by the runningcosts—not just fuel, but maintenance,servicing and that big bugbear, repairs.”


AGILE MANUFACTURING

Agile manufacturing is more of a

European term,” explains Bill Bossard,

VP Sales & Marketing for Salvagnini America

(www.salvagnini.com), “whereas Americans tend

to talk about lean manufacturing, but the two are

different. Europeans have always emphasized

design collaboration and working with customers

on design of final product, which better

differentiates agile from lean.”

Salvagnini America is the US arm of one of Italy’s

largest manufacturers of machine tools and metal

forming machinery, and is a perfect example of an

agile manufacturer. Salvagnini builds machining

equipment to order, collaborating closely with

customers for unique configurations; the company

employs highly specialized subcontractors and

adapts quickly to changing market needs and

advances in technology (e.g., in robotics and

automation). In addition, Salvagnini opened a US

operation to sell within the US, and to service US

customers with the same onsite engineering and

service that European customers enjoy.

All of those elements of agility have in common

the ability to respond to demand. The term “agile”

in US manufacturing is not new, but has always

been a bit soft-edged, describing anything that

involves quick turnaround or response. In the last

few years, organizations like APICS and industry

analysts like AMR Research have brought that soft

edge into focus. They define the elements of agile

manufacturing as:

• positioning manufacturing as a service

• improved integration between departments

• faster process changes—for example, turning

over a production line in under an hour

• a highly skilled workforce

• innovative alliances between manufacturers

and their suppliers and customers

Agilityinside

Lean manufacturing is almost a given these days. What really sets the bestcompanies apart, says Dann Anthony Maurno, is agility—and Italian machinerymakes all the difference

“

AboveAgile manufacturers, such asJobs S.p.A., offer not onlymachines that will reproducea customer’s design, but alsosolutions for modeling andprototyping like Jobs’smachines above


If this sounds familiar, it is because “agile

manufacturing” is what US manufacturers call

“contract manufacturing”—the practice of machine

shops and small and medium enterprises. Now,

however, the tail has wagged the dog, and larger

organizations are learning from their agile

subcontractors. For example, US aerospace/defense

giant Boeing and construction/mining/turbine

manufacturer Caterpillar both embrace agile

manufacturing.

Both of these world class companies also use

Italian-made machinery in their assembly plants,

chosen for its agility. Italian machinery makers are,

themselves, remarkable case studies of agile

manufacturing, and worth studying for the lessons

they can teach.

Agile manufacturers do more than simply

produce to a design—they may offer design and

engineering services, prototypes, subcontracting,

and rapid turnaround as well. All of which is the

Italian way. Italy’s tooling machine manufacturers—

companies such as Salvagnini, Mandelli Sistemi

(www.mandelli.com), and Jobs S.p.A. (www.jobs.it)—

all build custom configurations with design

alternatives. “That,” says Salvagnini’s Bossard,

“comes from years of designing and inventing

components that our customers have demanded.”

It’s the essence of agility.

The Concetti Group (www.concettigroup.it),

for example, manufactures weighing, bagging,

closing and palletizing machinery for bulk product

bagging systems, of virtually any product. Animal

feed and cement mix are, of course, very different

in weight and consistency, thus every Concetti

customer receives the services of basic and detailed

engineering, on-site technical surveys, customized

tests for specific products (e.g., best bag and pallet

dimensions), mechanical resistance tests on full

bags, design and estimates for customized

proposals, and assembly and pre-delivery testing.

That level of service is both the Italian way of

business, and the agile way, and one that American

companies increasingly demand. As Michele

Cavaioni, Mandelli Sistemi’s Chief of US Operations

observes, “Italian machinery makers like Mandelli

have come to recognize that US companies have an

increasingly high expectation of services, which is

why we opened a US office in 2003.”

Mandelli manufactures 4- and 5-axis controlled

horizontal machining centers. Their in-country and

on-demand service was key to winning the

business of Messier Dowty in Ajax, ON. Messier

Dowty uses two highly customized Mandelli

Sistemi Storm 2 machining centers to produce

landing gear.

Virtually every Italian manufacturer of renown

once specialized in a single product or industry,

and diversified as opportunity arose. The Concetti

Group’s weighing, bagging, closing and palletizing

machinery for bulk product, for example, is a far

cry from the centrifugal pumps for farmland

irrigation on which Francesco Concetti founded

the company in 1936. Similarly, Cannon S.p.A.

(www.cannon.it) began 40 years ago as a

manufacturer of polyurethane foam machinery, but

has since diversified into plastics, having patented

a gas-injection application used to make plastic

parts for refrigerators. Responding to a particular

US customer demand, Cannon developed an

innovative method to insulate pipes with

polyurethane foam, allowing Cannon’s US

customers to develop home-cooling systems to

reduce temperatures without the use and expense

of air-conditioning.

Finally, in 1981, Bike Machinery S.p.A.

(www.bikemachinery.it) was founded to improve

and innovate the production of bicycle frames.

Bike exports 90 percent of its product to more than

1000 customers in 60 countries, serving virtually

every major bicycle manufacturer. Its innovations


AGILE MANUFACTURING

in mechanics, pneumatics, electronics and

oleodynamics in producing extruded metal bicycle

frames caught the attention of manufacturers in

other sectors. Bike seized the opportunity to

diversify, by first collaborating with, then

acquiring MAS S.r.l. (www.mas-srl.it) a company

specializing in manufacturing pipes in general.

Bike now offers hydraulic units, loading and

transfer machines, used in automotives, sporting

goods and furniture, for example.

Agile manufacturers seize the opportunity of a

strong demand, but use customer design as their

guidelines. Industrial design firm Design

Continuum (www.dcontinuum.it) is a good

example of that agility. With offices in Milan, Italy;

Massachusetts, USA; and Seoul, South Korea,

Design Continuum has engineered such diverse

equipment and machinery as instruments for US

Genomics, paint mixing machinery for DesCPS

Color, and even elements of BMW automobiles for

the consumer market.

As CEO Gianfranco Zaccai describes, Design

Continuum was contracted by BMW to improve

the driving experience. Continuum conducted

user-centric research in New York, Munich, Boston,

and Milan to tap into drivers’ unmet needs. From

dozens of hours of interviews, test footage and

analysis, Design Continuum’s innovation has led to

improvements in BMW cars, including park

distance control (PDC) using ultrasound to

measure how much room the car has when parking

and pulling out, automatic illumination whenever

doors are unlocked via the remote control, and soft

lighting techniques that cast indirect light where

it’s desired and nowhere else.

As every hour spent in breakdown and setup is a

nonproductive hour, agile manufacturers turn

production lines over in minutes, not hours. Italian-

made machinery has high levels of automation and

robotics. Italian machine makers have achieved their

leanness and agility through technical advancement.

As Marco Livelli, Managing Director of Jobs S.p.A.

once observed of Italian manufacturing: “We must

learn to consider evolution in technology as a daily

and not an extraordinary event.” Livelli described

this practice as “innovation technology,” and Jobs is

an excellent example of that practice. Jobs produces

highly automated 5-axis high speed machinery in

the aerospace, automotive, general mechanical and

energy sectors. In 1978 Jobs introduced the first

manipulation robot with high load capacity. In 1994

it introduced a high-power milling centre with

unparalleled systematic use of design technologies

supported by the most modern CAD and Structural

Analysis software. Both technologies are at work

producing the Airbus 380 and the Eurofighter

Typhoon aircraft.

Italian manufacturers were the first in the

world to produce robotic glass blowing and

ceramic-making equipment, and three-dimensional

weaving equipment for clothing. Automation is the

reason style-maker Benetton can change over its

production lines within hours.

Italian machine makers strive for a higher level of

automation, which they call “flexible automation.”

AboveDesign Continuum’sprototyping processes (top)and the finished product forUS Genomics (below)


“Flexible automation sounds like a contradiction in

terms,” said Salvagnini’s Bossard, “because the price

of a highly automated process has always been that

you have to put limitations on those processes in

order to automate them. Our challenge is to build

both automated sheet metal systems, and keep them

flexible enough to quickly change over, so they are

not constricted by either the batch size or product

line, nor are they material dependent.”

Automation in Italian machinery has been a

huge advantage to US company American Trim,

which provides product design, tooling and process

development, metal forming, metal finishing, and

product/component assembly for the home

appliance, transportation, building products, and

consumer products industries. It distinguishes itself

in rapid prototype tooling, which reduces typical

prototype lead times by 75 percent and is

significantly less expensive than producing hard

tools. Before installing Italian-made transfer

equipment from APT, and polishing equipment

from Pulimetal (www.pulimetal.it) American Trim

needed half a day to turn over its prototype line, in

changing dies, configurations and material

handling parameters. Now it produces several

prototypes a day, moving rapidly between, for

example, an automotive part to an appliance part

within minutes.

A final benefit of automation is in quality

control. As Design Continuum’s Gianfranco Zaccai

observed: “Something I discovered in the gold-

smithing centers of India, in talking to their

producers, is that they can’t compete with Italian

jewelry makers. Italian labor rates are higher than

in India, but Italy has automated the process such

that the waste of gold is practically zero, versus 14

percent in India. Italian companies have made the

most of automation, be it in jewelry or engines.”

Agile manufacturers might be highly

specialized, so they rely on one another in

elaborate networks of small and medium

enterprises. This, too, is the Italian way of business,

and a company might work closely with its nearest

competitor in creating a design for a third party.

Mandelli, for example, is part of Gruppo

Riello Sistemi (www.riellosistemi.it), along with

Riello Macchine and Burkhardt + Weber

Fertigungssysteme GmbH. Riello Macchine

specializes in design and production of rotary

transfer machines, flexible production cells

(Vertiflex) and a revolutionary 4-spindle horizontal

machining center (MC2). Burkhardt + Weber

manufactures high accuracy machining centers,

production cells, special machines and transfer

lines specifically designed for small or large

volume accuracy components. Yes, there is

crossover in function, but the three companies

share technology and market presence, enabling

Gruppo to create best-possible solutions.

American Salvagnini’s CEO Bill Bossard believes

that the US is learning agile manufacturing very

quickly, behaving more like its European cousins. “I

don’t believe that manufacturing differs a great deal

anymore between the continents. Both economies

are obviously very in-tuned to quick response, and

are very quality oriented. So where else can we

compete? In agility—the ability to respond to quick

demand and unique situations on a daily basis.

That’s really what Salvagnini and Italian

manufacturers strive to do.”

With the strength of American business

practices, plus the awesome output and turnover

of Italian machinery, US companies can achieve

true agility.

“We must learn to consider evolution intechnology as a daily and not anextraordinary event.”


PACKAGING

For the past four years, the Italian Trade

Commission (ITC) (www.italtrade.com/usa),

in partnership with UCIMA (the Italian Association

of Automatic Packing and Packaging Machinery

Manufacturers) (www.ucima.it), and in cooperation

with leading locally-based professional packaging

associations, has provided North American

packaging students with the opportunity to

experience face-to-face Italy’s new packaging

technologies and marketing strategies.

Announced in 2001 at PACK EXPO Las Vegas,

and held every year since, the Italian Packaging

Technology Awards (IPTA) program asks students

from 15 premier North American packaging

universities to write technical papers on packaging.

The goal of the program is to strengthen the

awareness of Italian technology and innovation

within various packaging research and education

programs of these schools.

The competition is open to students in junior-,

senior- or graduate-level packaging related degree

programs. In addition to the 15 universities

currently involved in the program, other schools

may be included as selected by agreement between

ITC, UCIMA and the Institute of Packaging

Professionals (IoPP) (www.iopp.org).

To determine a student’s eligibility to submit a

paper to the program, each university’s respective

faculty looks at criteria such as grade point average,

transcripts and co-op program activities. The

program requires that students who are selected to

submit papers write on topics relating either to

technical innovation in packaging machinery or

innovation in packaging materials. Faculties may

decide to integrate this contest into current

academic courses, allowing selected students

accreditation for their work.

For judging, each university program director/

co-coordinator selects one student paper for

submission to the IoPP for final selection. The IoPP

panel of judges, chosen in accordance with

guidelines established by the ITC and UCIMA, are

tasked with choosing eight papers that best

exemplify the criteria established by these two

organizations. The authors of the eight award-

winning papers receive a complimentary trip to

Italy, hosted by ITC and UCIMA and chaperoned by

three predetermined faculty professors. Faculty

participation offers the academics a noteworthy

opportunity to enhance their programs by sharing

the experiences gathered abroad upon their return

to the classroom.

The trip, held in June for two weeks, includes

visits to selected Italian packaging machinery

manufacturers’ offices and facilities, orientation at

ITC’s offices in Rome and/or at UCIMA’s offices in

Milan, and other related activities. The trip

provides valuable benefits and experiences to the

chosen students, while giving the participating

Italian packaging machinery manufacturers a

unique opportunity to showcase their packaging

technology in action to these future decision-

makers and end-users.

Upon their return, students and professors are

asked to submit a summary of the program and

how it impacted their packaging education.

The 2006 edition of the IPTA program was

launched at PACK EXPO Las Vegas in September

and the eight winning papers will be officially

announced on March 15, 2006.

For more informationabout the IPTA paperwriting competitiondeadline contact JimPeters, IoPP’s directorof education, at630/696-4011, or by e-mail [email protected].

To receive informationabout the latestpackaging machineryand technologies from Italy, phone 1-888-ITALTRADE or log on towww.machinesitalia.org

Student winners visitselected Italian packagingmachinery manufacturers’offices and facilities

Trade bodies sendstudents packing


If you make the purchasing decisions for your

company, you have an enormous responsibility.

You must know the ins and outs of production in a

way no-one else does—finding machines and

systems solutions that are functional, reliable and

durable, with readily available service and spare

parts. You decide whether the return on

investment can ultimately be realized. In short,

much of your company’s success depends on your

purchasing choices. Italian machinery can make

your decision easier.

That’s why this year Machines Italia is proud

to be one of the corporate sponsors of two major

manufacturing industry events: the Association

for Manufacturing Excellence’s Annual

Conference being held in Boston, Massachusetts

from October 31st to November 4th, 2005 and

the World High Performance Forum taking place

in Chicago on November 15th & 16th, 2005.

Both share the common goal of striving to

improve global competitiveness within the

manufacturing industry, presenting technological

advances, workshops and education on best

practices. In keeping with this aim, Machines Italia

will present the latest information on its partner

associations and companies at these events.

At our booths in the Westin Copley Place

(Boston) and Navy Pier (Chicago), Machines Italia

representatives will help you find the right partners

and manufacturers who can administer to your

most challenging and specific production needs.

You will obtain information on the world’s most

highly skilled engineers, designers and

manufacturers who always turn innovation into

productivity either by re-tooling existing concepts or

by creating entirely new systems not yet imagined.

While the conference and forum will address a

variety of issues affecting global enterprise excellence

and corporate leadership, Machines Italia will

provide visitors with case histories, industry white

papers and current information on what Italian

machinery manufacturers are doing here in North

America to keep local manufacturers productive.

Sponsoringinnovation

Machines Italia takes “Turning innovation into productivity” on the road in 2005with sponsorship of two major North American events

For more information on the AME Annual Conference and the World High PerformanceForum, please visit their respective websites: http://ame.org/Events/2005/Boston andhttp://www.hsm-us.com/whpf.


MACHINES ITALIA TRADE SHOWS

Italian exhibitionslisted by date

Trade Show Title Sector Machines Italia Show Location Show DatesPartner Association

MARMOMACC International Exhibition of Marble Stone and Technology Marble ASSOMARMO Verona, Italy Sept. 29-Oct. 2,MACCHINE 2005

BIMEC Biennial Exhibition for Mechanics and Automation Machine Tools UCIMU Milan, Italy Oct. 5-8, 2005

VITRUM 2005 Specialized International Exhibition for flat, bent and hollow glass manufacturing machinery, Glass GIMAV Milan, Italy Oct. 5-8, 2005equipment and plants, glass manufactured and processed, glass products for industry

CIBUS TEC Food Processing & Packaging Technology Exhibition Food Technology Not in Attendance Parma, Italy Oct. 18-22, 2005

TANNING-TECH International Exhibition of Machines and Technologies for the Leather ASSOMAC Bologna, Italy Oct. 25-28, 20052005 Tanning Industry

EIMA & EIMA International Agriculture and Gardening Machinery Agriculture UNACOMA Bologna, Italy Nov. 12-16, 2005Garden 2005 Manufacturers Exhibition

IKME 2005 International Exhibition of Finishing and Knitting Machinery Textiles ACIMIT Milan, Italy Nov. 18-22, 2005

Ipack-Ima International Exhibition for Packing, Packaging, Material Packaging/ UCIMA-ANIMA Milan, Italy Feb. 14-18, 20062006 Handling and Food Processing Machinery Food Technology (ASSOFOODTEC)

PLAST 2006 International Exhibition for Plastics and Rubber Industries Plastics & Rubber ASSOCOMAPLAST Milan, Italy Feb. 14-18, 2006

BI-MU Machine Tools, Robots, Automation Machine Tools UCIMU Bari, Italy Feb. 23-26, 2006MEDITERRANEA

SIMAC 2006 International Exhibition of Machines and Technologies for Leather ASSOMAC Bologna, Italy Apr. 19-22, 2006Footwear and Leathergoods Industries

GRAFITALIA & Exhibition of Machinery and Materials for the Graphic Arts, Publishing, Graphic ACIMGA Milan, Italy May 9-13, 2006CONVERFLEX 2006 Paper Converting, Package Printing and Communication Industries

LAMIERA 2006 Exhibition of the Metalforming Process Machine Tools UCIMU Bologna, Italy May 10-13, 2006 Machinery Manufacturing

Eurocarne International Exhibition of Meat and Meat Processing Industries Food Technology ANIMA Verona, Italy May 11-14, 2006 - Meat (ASSOFOODTEC)

XYLEXPO 2006 Biennial World Exhibition for Woodworking Technology Woodworking ACIMALL Milan, Italy May 16-20, 2006

FOUNDEQ Exhibition of Equipment and Products for the Foundry of Foundry AMAFOND Montichiari (BR), May 17-20, 2006EUROPE Ferrous and Non Ferrous Metals Italy

CARRARA International Fair for Marble, Machinery and Services Marble ASSOMARMO- Carrara, Italy May 31-Jun. 3, MARMOTEC MACCHINE 2006

TECNARGILLA International Exhibition of Technology and Supplies Ceramic ACIMAC Rimini, Italy Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2006 for the Ceramic and Brick Industries Technology 2006

BI-MU Machine Tools, Robots, Automation Machine Tools UCIMU Milan, Italy Oct. 5-10, 2006

SFORTEC Technical Subcontracting Exhibition Machine Tools UCIMU Milan, Italy Oct. 5-10, 2006

SIAB International Bakery and Pastry Exhibition Food Technology ANIMA Verona, Italy May 5-9, 2007- Baking (ASSOFOODTEC)

Pharmintech The Innovations Exhibition for the Pharmaceutical Industry Packaging/ UCIMA Bologna, Italy June 13-15, 2007 Pharmaceuticals 2007


Website Organizer Address Zip City Telephone Fax EmailCode

www.marmomacc.com/ VERONAFIERE Viale Del Lavoro, 8 37135 Verona 011 39 045 011 39 045 [email protected] home_en.asp 8298111 8298288

www.bi-mec.it CEU-CENTRO Viale Fulvio Testi, 128 20092 Cinisello 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] UCIMU S.P.A. Balsamo (MI) 26255234 26255897

www.vitrum-milano.it VITRUM Via Petitti, 16 20149 Milano 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] 33006099 33005630

www.fiereparma.it/ Fiere di Parma S.p.A. Via Rizzi, 67/a 43031 Baganzola (PR) 011 39 011 39 [email protected]/emain.htm 0521 9961 0521 996235

www.tanning-tech.it/ Assomac Servizi S.r.l. Via Matteotti, 4/A 27029 Vigevano (PV) 011 39 011 39 [email protected] 113 0381 78883 0381 88602

www.eima.it UNACOMA Service S.r.l. Via L. Spallanzani, 22A 00161 Roma 011 39 06 011 39 06 [email protected] 4402722

www.ikme.mi.it Fiera Milano Via Varesina, 76 20156 Milano 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] S.p.A. 485501 48550420

www.ipack-ima.com Ipack-Ima S.p.A. Corso Sempione, 4 20154 Milano 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] 33619826

www.plast06.org Promaplast S.r.l. Centro Direzionale 20090 Assago (MI) 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected], Palazzo F/3 82283756 57512490

www.bimu-mediterranea.it CEU-CENTRO Viale Fulvio Testi, 128 20092 Cinisello 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] ESPOSIZIONI UCIMU S.P.A. Balsamo (MI) 26255229 26255896

www.simac-fair.it Assomac Servizi S.r.l. Via Matteotti, 4/A 27029 Vigevano (PV) 011 39 011 39 [email protected] 113 0381 78883 0381 88602

www.grafitalia.biz CENTREXPO S.p.A. Centro Mostre Specializzate, 20154 Milano 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] Corso Sempione, 4 3191091 341677

www.lamiera.net CEU-CENTRO Viale Fulvio Testi, 128 20092 Cinisello 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] UCIMU S.P.A. Balsamo (MI) 26255230 26255894

www.eurocarne.it Ipack-Ima S.p.A. Corso Sempione, 4 20154 Milano 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] 33619826

www.xylexpo.com/eng/ ACIMALL Centro Direzionale Milano- 20090 Assago (MI) 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] Office fiori, 1a Strada, Palazzo F3 89210200 8259009

www.foundeq.com Edimet S.p.A. Via Corfù, 102 25124 Brescia 011 39 030 011 39 030 [email protected] 221168

www.carraramarmotec.com Internazionale Marmi e V.le G. Galilei, 133 54036 Marina di 011 39 05 011 39 05 info@Macchine Carrara S.p.A. Carrara (MS) 85 787963 85 787602 carraramarmotec.com

www.tecnargilla.it RiminiFiera S.p.A. Via Emilia, 155 47900 Rimini 011 39 05 011 39 05 [email protected] 744111 41 744243

www.bimu-sfortec.it CEU-CENTRO Viale Fulvio Testi, 128 20092 Cinisello 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] UCIMU S.P.A. Balsamo (MI) 26255233 26255897

www.bimu-sfortec.it CEU-CENTRO Viale Fulvio Testi, 128 20092 Cinisello 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] UCIMU S.P.A. Balsamo (MI) 26255229 26255896

www.veronafiere.it VERONAFIERE Viale Del Lavoro, 8 37135 Verona 011 39 045 011 39 045 [email protected] 8298288

www.pharmintech.it/en/ Ipack-Ima S.p.A. Corso Sempione, 4 20154 Milano 011 39 02 011 39 02 [email protected] 3191091 33619826


ITALIAN MACHINERY

Innovation at workin global

AGRICULTURE/FARM MACHINERYUNACOMA represents Italian manufacturers of tractors, agricultural machinery and gardening machinery. TheseItalian manufacturers produce everything from power mowers for the homeowner to tractors and harvesters usedby the world’s leading agribusiness enterprises. UNACOMA members account for 90% of Italian farm machineryproduction. Italian farm equipment manufacturers rank first in the world in terms of the range of machinesproduced. www.unacoma.com

CERAMICSItalian manufacturers of machinery and equipment for ceramics have earned a world-class reputation for providingsolutions that meet 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

EARTHMOVING MACHINERYCOMAMOTER 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 threebillion dollars a year. Italy exports more than $1 billion of earthmoving machinery, equipment and parts annually tomore than 140 countries worldwide. www.comamoter.com

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

FOOTWEAR, LEATHERGOODS AND TANNINGASSOMAC is the association of Italian manufacturers of footwear, leathergoods and tanning machinery—representing 190 Italian companies. Member manufacturers are world leaders in this sector, supplying over 50%of the world’s demand for footwear and leathergoods machines and over 80% of the demand for tanningmachines. In 2002, 125 countries acquired Italian technology from this sector—representing 60% of Italy’sproduction volume of exported machines, with a value equal to $610 million USD. 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” tobusiness—characterized by extra customer care and stronger personal relationships—as one of the reasons itsmember companies attract worldwide customers. www.amafond.com

GLASSAs an evolution of the Italian glass-making tradition, GIMAV—the Italian Association of Glass-ProcessingMachinery and Accessory Suppliers—represents Italian excellence in glass-making machinery today. This industrysector has expanded internationally by employing innovative technology that meets today’s marketplace needs.GIMAV’s 72 member companies are known for customizing machines to meet exacting end-user specifications—from high-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 theadvanced technology that makes Italy a global leader in the stone and manufactured stone industries. Italianmachinery is engineered to be versatile and provide customers with unique solutions to process marble andstone at competitive prices. www.assomarmomacchine.com

METALWORKINGUCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE is the Italian Machine Tools, Robots and Automation Manufacturers’ Association.These 208 companies create machinery and components for industries from aerospace and automotive to appliances.Italian machine tool manufacturing firms are smaller than their international competitors. As a result, their flexibilityand ability to respond quickly is unmatched by manufacturers from other countries. Leading global companies chooseItalian machine tool machinery. 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 packaging machine out of everyfour in the world bears the wording “Made in Italy.” And the USA is the industry’s main outlet market of 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 Processing Machinery and Molds Manufacturers’Association, 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 seen steadygrowth 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 Italian manufacturers of machinery for the graphic, converting and paper industry.Members of this association are world leaders in making machinery for rotogravure and flexographic printing,paper and cardboard processing, and converting. Most of what is produced is absorbed by the packaging marketwith 60% of the industry’s turnover, followed by the graphic sector with 35%, then niche applications witharound 5%. www.acimga.it

TEXTILE MACHINERYACIMIT is the Italian association representing 200 members who create textile machinery used throughout theworld. Each member takes pride in helping their manufacturing customers spin “cloth into gold.” Italian textilemachinery manufacturers meet the full spectrum of industry needs (spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing andlaundry machines), and leading American clothing manufacturers 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 Italian Woodworking Machinery and Tools Manufacturers’ Association, with over210 of the most qualified companies in their field, represents 90% of the whole industry, both in terms ofemployees and in turnover. www.acimall.com

machines italia magazine 2005

Documents

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