Salmoiraghi, President of ACIMIT said that 2009 was a very difficult year for our sector. 2010 can still provide a turnaround. There’s no doubt that we’ve seen some signs of a recovery during the early part of 2010, as confirmed by increased orders for the second half of 2009, and renewed investments in key markets such as China, India and Brazil. However, we need to wait for consumer spending to pick up again in order to see textile manufacturers return to investing with some continuity,” emphasizes Sandro Salmoiraghi, president of ACIMIT, adding that “macroeconomic figures do not as yet provide a one-way indication of this trend.”

ACIMIT President Salmoiraghi then commented on the definitive 2009 figures for Italy’s textile machinery industry, which indicate a 21% drop in production compared to the previous year (amounting to 1,931 million euros). Exports have also diminished by 21%, totalling some 1,506 million euros. In Italy, demand for textile machinery has fallen 27% compared to 2008. The weak internal market is also evident in a drop of imports (-32%), amounting to 359 million euros.

China, India and Turkey are the primary export markets for Italian machinery builders, albeit sales to these countries remain well lower than 2008 levels. Global demand on the whole for textile machinery has been affected by the economic crisis, as well as by a halt in investments. “Our primary competitors have suffered even greater losses than our own,” states Sandro Salmoiraghi. “These figures confirm a general crisis situation: our manufacturers have certainly not been immune, but they have reacted better.”