In Italy, as well as in many other countries in Europe and in the world, 2011 has not been the best year ever as far as economics is concerned: the crisis, its spectre being looming for a few years, seems to have begun to show itself more powerfully in Italy recently, affecting many different sectors. However, in spite of the crisis, there are some sectors that have toughed it out better than other ones and in these black months for the world economy they are having comforting results. This is the case, for example, of the production and processing of plastics (like polyethylene, PE and so on) and rubber.
To be precise, the companies that let Italy hope for the future are the ones that are specialized in the production of machineries for the processing of plastics and rubber, a sector that can be seen as a sort of oasis of the made in Italy. An oasis that, in spite of the crisis, in the first 9 months of the year has shown not to have yielded to the negative period we are going through: according to the data gathered by ISTAT and concerning the first nine months of the year, indeed, Assocomaplast (the Italian association of the manufacturers of machineries and moulds for plastics and rubber) has calculated the projections for the whole year, as far as both import and export of machineries for the production of polyethylene and other plastics is concerned. The picture of the situation that emerges from that is certainly positive: in the internal market the situation is stable, but exportations are increasing. Projections include a 4 billion euro estimate (which means an increase by 11%) as far as the total production of 2011 is concerned (a datum that is similar to the one of 2008), and an even more evident increase as far as exportations are concerned, with an increase by 19,3%, to reach 4 billion euro and a trade surplus of 1,8 billion, which means a +24,6%.
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Positive data, especially if you consider that we are speaking about a niche in Italy, a niche that includes less than 200 companies specialised in the production of machineries for the processing of plastics and rubber. A little number of companies which contribute to the 7% of the Italian non energetic trade surplus. But where do most machineries that have been realized in Italy go? To have the lead is Germany: in the last few years exportations to this country have increased a lot, but truth to be said, according to the president of Assocomplast the situation is now stabilizing. Other countries in which Italian machineries for the production of plastics and rubber are very popular are the States, Brazil, Russia and Turkey: the hopes for the future are built also on these countries, and Italy expects a lot also from the so-called emerging countries (like Indonesia and Malaysia), which do not belong to the main importers of Italian machineries yet, but they certainly bode well.
To sum up, the market of machineries for the processing of plastics lets Italy hope for the future.
