Italian textile machinery manufacturers, a reliable partner of the industry with certifications on sustainability and digitalisation, enter new year with growth expectations. Answering Textilegence’s questions, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) President Alessandro Zucchi expressed that according to preliminary data in 2022, the value of Italian machinery production is expected to exceed 2.5 billion euros, increasing by 10% compared to the previous year, saying exports account for more than 85 percent of this value. He stated that despite the negative factors, even in 2022, the upward trend of their industry goes on and disclosed: “The economic conditions and political tensions threaten business activities in all sectors. Despite this, ACIMIT forecasts for 2023 – 2026 still show a slight growth in demand for textile machinery.”
“Turkey, India and Uzbekistan are expected to be the fastest growing markets in 2023”
Saying that China, Turkey, USA and India are the top markets for Italian textile machinery manufacturers, Alessandro Zucchi continued: “Turkey is the second largest market for Italy behind China. In the first half of 2022, Italy exported to Turkey textile machines for a value of 145 million euros. The Italian machinery most in demand in the Turkish market are finishing machines (27% of total exports), followed by knitting machines.” Zucchi also added that Italian textile machinery foreign sales are expected to grow and Turkey, India and Uzbekistan are expected to be the fastest growing markets for Italian exports in 2023.
DIGITAL READY, the first digital certification specifically for Italian textile machinery
Alessandro Zucchi stated that digitization has become increasingly deeply rooted in their companies, saying ACIMIT has realized the DIGITAL READY certification, the first digital certification specifically for Italian textile machinery. He explained the details as follows: “The certification is designed to simplify the production process, making use of a standard language and unique data reading system that allows different types of machinery to dialogue with production systems. The goal of the certification is to build customer loyalty while establishing a virtuous link between textile machinery manufacturers and their customers.”
1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent emissions avoided by using Green Labelled machines
Alessandro Zucchi said that increased awareness of ecological issues has involved the Italian textile machinery industry and noted that the reduced use of resources, for a lower environmental impact, is just one of the topics through which the Italian manufacturers declare their commitment on sustainability. He continued: “A commitment that ACIMIT has made its own by developing the Sustainable Technologies project. At the heart of the initiative is the Green Label, the document that certifies the energy and environmental performance of the machinery and summarizes it by giving a value to the carbon footprint of the machine itself. Through a survey on the Green Labels produced from 2016 to date, the quantified avoided emissions using green labelled machines are 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, corresponding to 221,187 cars travelling for 35.000 km over a year.”
Zucchi disclosed that they tested the concept for calculating and defining a recyclability index for textile machinery with a group of companies during 2022. Saying that they are working with RINA, an international certification body, on the definition of a specification that companies will have to follow for the issuance of this index, Zucchi informed they expect to finalize this work in the first half of 2023.
Zucchi mentioned that ITMA 2023 will be the largest ITMA ever, with about 1500 companies all over the world and 380 Italian exhibitors, saying ACIMIT is carrying out many activities to promote the participation of Italian companies in the exhibition. Noting that Italian companies are working to bring innovative technological solutions to ITMA 2023, with a focus on reducing energy consumption and raw materials, Zucchi also stated that during their pre-ITMA press conference to be held next March 15 in Italy, the initiatives of ACIMIT will be presented.