Italian ceramic machinery sales exceed pre-crisis levels

The Italian ceramic machinery and equipment manufacturers reported 8% year-on-year turnover growth in 2015 to reach 1,982.8 million euros. At 2.3 percentage points above the peak pre-crisis levels of 2007, this marked an all-time high for the sector. The figures, unveiled during the Acimac Members’ Meeting held on 24 June, show that the sector maintained its high export share in 2015 (76.8% of total revenues) at 1,522 million euros (up 9.1% on 2014). The Italian domestic market showed an outstanding performance for the third year running with 4.3% growth in sales over 2014 to 460.8 million euros (23.3% of total turnover).

 “The results go well beyond our expectations,” said Fabio Tarozzi, outgoing chairman of Acimac, in his end-of-term speech. “Our sector has once again demonstrated its excellence and confirmed the cluster’s strength and ability to develop technological innovation. We have been rewarded by our courage to invest in research and development even in times of crisis, enabling us to be the first to reach certain niche markets.”

Markets

Export sales performed most strongly in Asia (excluding China) at 278 million euros (up 29.3% on 2014). This excellent result demonstrates Italy’s ability to maintain its leadership position despite the strong Chinese presence in the region.

The European Union remains in second place with 22.6% growth from 226.2 to 277.3 million euros, followed by Africa (predominantly the north African countries) with 22.8% growth to 203.8 million euros. The Middle East dropped to fourth place with a 25.1% decline in export sales to 186.6 million euros. South America was fifth with 185.9 million euros (+8%). North America saw an excellent performance driven by the new US manufacturing cluster, with exports doubling (+92.8%) to 160.9 million euros.

Next were Eastern European markets with a turnover of 152.9 million euros (+7.9%), China with 75.5 million euros (-34.9%) and Oceania with 1.2 million euros.

Structure of the sector and internationalisation

According to figures from the Acimac Statistical Survey, as of 31 December 2015 there were a total of 148 companies operating in Italy (4 fewer than in 2014) with a workforce of 6,229 people (+0.4%). The majority of companies (51.4%) have turnovers below 2.5 million euros, while just 19 (12.8% of the total) have turnovers above 10 million euros.

The process of internationalisation continued at a rapid pace in 2015, most notably in the United States. At the end of December there were 67 foreign companies controlled by Italian groups with a total turnover of 492.5 million euros.

Client sectors

According to the Statistical Survey conducted by the Acimac Research Department, the best-performing client sectors were tiles, heavy clay and sanitaryware, driven as usual by exports. As always, sales to tile manufacturers made up the largest share (82.5%) with a turnover of 1,635 million euros (up 6.1% on 2014). After years of contraction, heavy clay machinery saw double-figure growth (+38.3%) to a turnover of 156.1 million euros (compared to 112.8 million euros in 2014).

In third place was the ceramic sanitaryware sector following strong turnover growth (+25.9%) to 126.9 million euros and a significant increase in domestic market sales (+78.6). The tableware sector also performed strongly (+103%), bringing turnover to 18 million euros. The refractories and technical ceramics sectors did less well with falls of 15.5% and 72.8% respectively.

Forecasts for 2016

Despite the decline in the Italian market (-5.9%), the first quarter of 2016 saw 9% growth over the same period the previous year. “Export sales have risen by 14.2% despite slowdowns in several major markets and the economic and social crisis that are affecting some areas,” commented Acimac’s newly-elected Chairman, Paolo Sassi. “We trust that this growth will continue over the coming months and enable us to maintain last year’s excellent results in 2016.