President Alessandro Zucchi presented industry data for the Italian textile machinery sector for 2022, showing that production increased by 13%, for a value of 2.7 billion euros, while exports grew by 15% (2.3 billion euros).
2022 marked yet another year of growth for the sector, following that which was recorded in 2021. However, for the second half of the year, uncertainties characterizing the current macroeconomic outlook also proved to affect Italy’s textile machinery sector, showing signs of a general slowdown. The results of the Italian edition of Itma, the industry's preeminent global exhibition held last June in Milan, will hopefully play an essential role in providing further growth for 2023. The fair was certainly successful both in terms of the many technology innovations presented and for the number of visitors in attendance (over 111,000 units). The sector now awaits to quantify this effect on upcoming tangible orders.
Italian machinery manufacturers have played a decisive role in presenting new technology trends at Itma, with Zucchi stating that, “Innovation is the discriminating element between those who look to the future with optimism and those who will instead be forced to follow in pursuit.” In the future, innovation will continue to make a difference in our sector, above all in light of strategies put forward by the European Union regarding the so-called Green Deal.
''Initiatives in a Defined Legislative and Regulatory Scenario''
Zucchi goes on to explain that, “With the strategies for ‘sustainable and circular products’ launched by the European Commission to implement Green Deal objectives, these initiatives - which are currently voluntary - will be included in a defined legislative and regulatory scenario. This is an approach that covers a product's entire life span, from design to waste management. The challenge is certainly complex, and textile companies can face it if supported by innovative machinery and systems.” The dialogue begun by Italian textile machinery manufacturers with the entire textile supply chain has generated the Green Label, the Digital Ready initiative and, more recently the Recyclability Index for machinery, representing an indispensable condition for a more eco-friendly fashion industry, one that is increasingly efficient and circular in outlook.
ACIMIT Elected Its New President
During the private meeting of ACIMIT's General Assembly, Marco Salvadé was appointed as the new President of ACIMIT to succeed Alessandro Zucchi.
Who is Marco Salvadé?
Born in Como in 1967, Marco Salvadé is married with two children. He began his career at Salvadé Srl, the family company specializing in the finishing machinery sector, founded by his father and uncle in 1967. After being a member of the company's board of directors, he has been President since 2021.
Marco Salvadé has long been active in the life of the association. Since 2018 he has been a Member of ACIMIT’s General Council, and since March 2023 he has been part of the Italian delegation at CEMATEX, the Committee of European Textile Machinery Associations.
Following the election of Salvadé, the General Assembly expressed its gratitude to the outgoing President, Alessandro Zucchi, who has guided the association for the past six years.
New Board Members Were Elected
Along with the new president, the General Assembly also elected its new Vice Presidents, Chiara Bonino (Bonino Carding Machines SRL), Federico Businaro (Sperotto Rimar SRL), Ugo Ghilardi (Iltema SpA) and Cristian Locatelli (Marzoli Machines Textile SRL).
Marco Salvadé’s first comments as the newly appointed ACIMIT President; “I wish to thank the Assembly for the trust they have placed in me, and I want to express my gratitude to the former President Alessandro Zucchi for everything he has done during the last six years to strengthen the role of the Association and of Italian industry on the international scene. With the new Vice-Presidents and the ACIMIT Board, I will continue the work that has been done in recent years by previous presidents. It will certainly not be a simple task, but one that will no doubt prove stimulating. My primary goal is to increase the sense of belonging to ACIMIT of its member companies, with which we share the same values, and to adjust the association's strategies to changing conditions in the economic and geopolitical context.”
About ACIMIT
Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 13,000 people), which produce machinery for an overall worth of around 2.7 billion euro, of which 86% are exported. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made Italian textile machinery worldwide leaders.
