news & facts An
news & facts An excellent 2021 for the italian industry of machine tools, robotics and automation; also in 2022 a strong growth The year 2021 was extremely positive for the Italian industry of machine tools, robotics and automation, which reported double-digit increases for all key economic indicators. This trend should continue in 2022, the year when all ground lost in 2020 should be recovered. This is in short what was illustrated by Barbara Colombo, president of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, the Italian machine tools, robots and automation systems manufacturers’ association, during the traditional end-of-year press conference. As highlighted by the preliminary year’s data processed by the Studies Dept. & Business Culture of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, in 2021 production reached € 6,325 million, marking a 22.1 % upturn compared with the previous year. This is due to the excellent trend of Italian manufacturers’ deliveries to the domestic markets, increased by 27.8 % to € 2,965 million, as well as to the positive performance of exports, achieving € 3,360 million, i.e. 17.4 % more than in the previous year. Based on the ISTAT data processing by UCIMU, in the period January-September 2021 (latest available data), Italian exports of machine tools started to grow again in almost all countries of destination. Sales to Germany, which turned out to be the first country for the “Made in Italy” exports of the sector, went up to € 256 million (+ 38.4 %). The other major destination countries were the United States, € 251 million (+ 9.7 %), China, € 154 million (- 5.3 %), Poland, € 118 million (+29 %) and France, € 117 million (+1.2 %). The domestic market was extremely lively, as shown by the data of consumption, which increased by 30.4 % in 2021 compared to 2020, attaining a value of € 4,645 million. The export/production ratio went down by 2 % points, standing at 53.1 %. In line with the upswing reported by these indicators was also the growth of turnover, exceeding the value of € 9 billion in 2021, after collapsing to € 7.5 billion in 2020. Despite the dynamic demand and the improvement in the context, in 2021 the Italian industry of the sector was not able to achieve a full recovery after the downturn experienced in 2020 because of the difficulty in sourcing components and raw materials. This phenomenon caused a delay between the collection of orders and the actual delivery of machinery. In particular, according to the survey conducted last October by the UCIMU Economic Studies Department & Business Culture on a representative sample of enterprises in the sector, 95 % of the companies said that there are late supplies. The average delay is 3 months, which, added to the usual one and a half months of normal waiting time, makes the delivery time of supplied components and materials increase to 4 ¼ months. According to the interviewed enterprises, the impact of this delay on the delivery time of machinery is estimated at 4 months. As a result, the average delivery time of machinery is currently 9 months versus the 5 months, which manufacturers habitually used to guarantee their customers. The positive trend reported in 2021 should continue even in 2022, the year when there should be a full recovery from the collapse due to the outbreak of the pandemic. further information: www.ucimu.it Gleason launches LINE in Japan Gleason Corporation is pleased to announce the release of its new LINE account, designed to enhance communications with customers in Japan. Effective immediately, Gleason now offers customers in Japan a better way to access news and and communicate directly with Gleason. The new Line account enhances access to news on the latest Gleason gear technology developments, innovative products and services, as well as offering an additional, direct communications channel for customers’ information needs. Gleason’s Line account will also give information on upcoming events, trainings and webinars, and connect to the popular Gear Trainer Webinar series. Gleason’s Line account complements the wide array of Social Media channels and electronic information channels already provided by Gleason Corporation. further information: www.gleason.com 22 no. 1, March 2022
news & facts Nomination for outstanding user and customer experience A revolutionary product innovation from the UNITED GRINDING Group, C.O.R.E. – Customer Oriented REvolution has been nominated for a UX Design Award for its outstanding user and customer experience. The panel selected it from a pool of 300 submissions from 58 countries. C.O.R.E. from the UNITED GRINDING Group brings to life a new machine interaction concept based on a modern hardware and software architecture. It standardizes op eration of all machine tools from the UNITED GRINDING Group, with a new 24-inch multi-touch C.O.R.E. panel offering intuitive controls similar to a smartphone and personalized customization options. The clean design of the C.O.R.E. panel features only a few buttons, ensuring clean visuals. The virtual function keys are also only displayed when needed, further reducing complexity and eliminating potential sources of error. The role-specific interface, with the option of limiting the display to relevant information for the user role, also promotes simplification. In this way, C.O.R.E. improves the working experience both for the machine’s operators as well as set-up and maintenance personnel. Another new feature is the integrated front camera, which enables quick and easy support also via video calls di rectly from the panel. The merits of C.O.R.E. also impressed the jury of the UX Design Awards 2022, earning it a nomination from among 300 products and projects from 58 nations for its convincing user and customer experience. The award is renowned as the top global competition for outstanding experiences, presented by the International Design Center Berlin (IDZ). Just the beginning However, C.O.R.E. encompasses much more than revo lu tionary machine operation. The groundbreaking hardware and software architecture opens up new possi bil ities for networking, controlling and monitoring the pro duction process, and thus for process optimization. It also lays the foundations for the operation of modern IoT applications and thus opens the door to the digital future. further information: www.grinding.ch no. 1, March 2022 23
