News

  13/07/2020 | Packaging

Italian packaging machinery sales top EUR 8 bn for the first time

The Italian automatic packaging machinery manufacturers are the only Italian capital goods producers to report growth in revenues in 2019 (+2.2 %), thereby confirming the world leadership position of a niche mechanical engineering sector which for the first time in its history has broken the EUR 8 bn revenue barrier. The number of operative companies decreased in 2019 (down 2.4 % to 616) as a result of the series of M&As underway in the sector, while the number of employees rose to 33,304 (+2.1 %).

Over the last eight years (2012 to 2019), packaging machinery manufacturers have seen an almost 50 % increase in turnover (from EUR 5.5 to 8.04 bn), 40 % growth in exports (from EUR 4.56 to 6.35 bn) and the creation of 7,000 new jobs.

79 % of the sector’s turnover was generated abroad, amounting to EUR 6.35 bn, an increase of 2.3 % compared to 2018. This export growth is half a percentage point higher than that of domestic Italian sales (+1.8 % in 2019 to EUR 1.69 bn).

The European Union remains the main destination area for Italian packaging machinery and accounts for 37.5 % of total turnover (EUR 2,383 m) including sales in Italy, followed in second place by Asia with a value of EUR 1,402 m and a 22.1 % share, then North America in third place with EUR 814 m (12.8 %). With respect to 2018, non-EU Europe (EUR 637 m; 10 % of the total) has overtaken South America (EUR 559 m; 8.8 %).

In the breakdown of turnover amongst the various client sectors, food and beverage maintained the previous year’s dominant position in 2019, when it accounted for 56 % of total turnover. More specifically, food alone accounted for 29.6 % of total sales (EUR 2,377 m).

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