MILAN, Italy – The year 2023 is on the horizon. Fiera Milano and ANIMA (Federation of National Associations of Mechanical and Engineering Industries) are choosing to focus on long-term goals, renewing and further enhancing their collaboration in the food equipment sector for the next 4 biennial editions of HostMilano.
The objective: to make this partnership all the more strategic and effective. In the next few years, it is going to take on the challenge of further strengthening Made in Italy’s leading position worldwide, and expanding it into new markets.
As the world’s landmark show for technology, design and services for Equipment, Coffee and Food, HostMilano is one of the few select trade fairs with which ANIMA works closely.
It is also the only professional trade show that can boast an agreement with Assofoodtec – the association that represents companies that make slicers, grinders, refrigeration systems, espresso machines, bar equipment and machines for the food industry – and with Fiac, the association for Italian manufacturers of household products.
The numbers confirm how important the show is for professionals: a year from the inauguration of the 40th edition (to take place at Fieramilano from 20 October to 24 October 2017), of the more than 1,300 confirmed exhibitors, many belong to the various ANIMA associations, with significant participation from those in the food service equipment industry and makers of coffee machines.
These numbers are destined to grow.
“ANIMA and HostMilano are two leaders in their respective fields,” emphasizes Fiera Milano president, Roberto Rettani.
“You have food equipment, which is one of the most important entries in the balance sheet for Italian machinery – a main industry in its own right as part of our manufacturing sector.
Then you have HostMilano, which is a show that the entire world looks to in order to get a preview of the latest in innovation and industry trends. It is a business platform and a time for innovation and sharing know-how of the highest levels internationally.
Therefore, this is an agreement of fundamental importance both for Fiera Milano as well as for ANIMA. It goes beyond institutional relationships to become a key factor in industrial policy, to sustain the type of Italian manufacturing that constantly changes in order to take on the evolutions of the market.”
“In an economic situation like the one we find ourselves in now, where geopolitics has an impact on many business decisions, it is fundamental to ‘create a system,’ or, in other words, to make the most of platforms that are truly international, as Host most famously is,” says Alberto Caprari, president of ANIMA.
“Our specialized technologies are in demand all over the world and on all continents. It isn’t just the quality, design and safety features that make them truly appealing.
It also has to do with being from Italy, a country that is also well known for its high-quality food, and this is a key that opens many doors. Therefore, creating a system isn’t just a slogan in our case. It’s a concrete way to make buyers and professionals appreciate the quality of
‘Made in Italy.’ At Host, visitors can reach out and touch a range of complete, integrated solutions for the food industry. Helping Italian companies so that they can grow on international markets has taken a concrete turn with the multi-year agreement between Fiera Milano and ANIMA.
We expect a great number of visitors to the upcoming shows, thanks as well to the importance of the convention centre and Milan, which now is the ‘city brand’ representing ‘Made in Italy.’”
As part of the agreement, Fiera Milano and HostMilano will participate in events organized by ANIMA and its associations, as well as meeting with Italian and foreign press.
But the agreement will also include a series of initiatives that will directly benefit member companies.
These include direct administrative, legislative and regulatory support, the organization of a series of dedicated events and workshops during the show and the sharing of data about economic and market trends each semester relative to the industries represented at the show.
One particularly significant factor is how international HostMilano is – about 61,000 foreign visitors from 172 countries took part in the 2015 edition – and the impact that will have on an industry for which exports play such an important role.
Furthermore, exports are seeing continuous growth, especially toward North America, the Persian Gulf countries, and Asia, as well as toward traditional European markets.
According to Istat data interpreted by ANIMA’s research department, household products are popular exports toward European countries, such as Germany and France where, compared to 2015, in the first six months of 2016, they saw an increase of 3% and 4% respectively, reaching 52 million euros in both countries.
In terms of food technologies, bread ovens exports increased by 20.5% toward Saudi Arabia. Russia also imported 15 million euros in Italian bread ovens, making for an increase of 5.5%. In the United States, however, there was a decrease in demand for ovens (down 30.4%), equal to 16 million euros.
The United Arab Emirates bought 9 million euros in refrigeration equipment, an increase of 1% on 2015, while Germany purchased 35 million euros’ worth (+12,8%), Spain purchased 22 million euros’ worth (+20.7%) and France bought 71 million euros’ worth (+15.2%). In 2016, Turkey requested 24 million euros’ worth of refrigerator compressors (+34.3%).
Coffee machinessaw a 1% increase in exports toward the United States, for a total of 19 million euros. There was a 2.5% increase in exports to China, worth 13 million euros and a 21.1% increase in exports to France, worth 12 million euros.
[source: ANIMA’s research department based on Istat data – the 1st semester of 2016 vs. the 1st semester of 2015]
These positive signals have also been confirmed by recently released ISTAT data: in September, exports outside of the EU saw an increase for the fourth consecutive month, with growth of .5% on the previous month and an increase of 2.7% annually.
Manufacturing is growing by 3.6%(net of energy costs). These numbers are soaring thanks especially to dealings with China (+23%) and the United States (+11%).
Latin America has also made its way back into the positive column,with Mercosur up by 3.9%. Overall, Italian companies have exported products for a value of 15.1 billion euros, 400 million more as compared to the same month the previous year, with a surplus of almost 2.9 billion euros, more than double as compared to September 2015.
For more information: www.host.fieramilano.it, @HostMilano, #Host2017.
