The technology industry continues to represent an important economic accelerator for Italy. The proof of this statement is the processing, related to 2017, by Anie, a federation representing electrical engineering and electronic companies within Confindustria. DATA show an overall increase in revenues of 3, 8%, to 78 billion euro for electrotechnics and electronics, with an increase of 7, 8% for the first (58 billion) and 2, 7% for the second (20 billion) compared to 2016.

The uncertainty that characterized the early years seems to have been set aside, thanks also to the restart of investments, supported by the National plan and software for industry 4.0. A positive feeling that also extends to the export field: the annual increase in the Anie sectors is equal to 5,2% – about 30 million euro – with a +4,7% for electrical engineering and a +7,4 % for electronics, thanks to the growth in demand both from the European Union (+4,7%) and from abroad (+5,4%).

In 2017, total revenues increased by 3, 8% to 78 billion euro. The year 2018 confirms the positive trend, both in terms of turnover and orders

On the other hand, Anie technologies are directed towards the trends in the end markets which are variable: those for the industrial market confirm in 2017 a driving role and a decidedly dynamic trend, with an increase of 9, 1% in the previous year. Good news also from the construction sector, after a decade of strong weakness in conjunction with the global economic crisis: in this case the growth is 3, 9%, in line with the restart of construction investments. The energy market also sets aside the slowdown of 2016, both for traditional and renewable sources: the total turnover increases by 2, 9%.

The data processed by Anie (Confindustria) highlight the recovery of the strategic sector

On the contrary, negative news comes from Infrastructures and Transports, which show a decrease of 5, 8% linked also to a temporal misalignment in the orders accounting. The latter actually continues to grow and the turnover linked to the export of the sector rises by 9, 4%. Data from Anie Observatory, conducted on a sample of 130 representative companies, shows a positive point of view for the first half of 2018: 58% of companies show a growth in revenues compared to the first 6 months of 2017, while the increase in orders are about 63% of the sample.

ON THE FOREIGN FRONT there is a 46% increase in turnover. Encouraging news that should cover the second part of the year. Finally, employment: 86% of the organizations involved report stability.

Bresciaoggi July 15^th, 2018

The business grows thanks to software for industry 4.0. This was revealed during the last congress of Brescia organized by industry associations. “The valves and fittings sector is going through a positive period, and the value of investments in 2018 is destined to increase, stimulated by the 4.0 plan”. These are the words of Ugo Pettinaroli, chairman of AVR (Associazione valvole e rubinetti) and Ceir (Center for Exhibition Industry Research).

The two associations have promoted the “Ceir Congress 2018” held in Hotel Saoy in Gardone Riviera, with the participation of some important Brescian companies such as Carlo Gnutti, Almag and Rubinetterie Bresciane, and 12 represented nations of the world. These organizations have also developed thanks to the inclusion of software for industry 4.0 in the production chain. Among the many analyzed topics, we mention: the innovations concerning the sector, the revision of the framework directive on drinking water and the management of investments at national and global level.

The 2017 full year forecast on valves and fittings recorded a production equal to € 7,285 billion which is equivalent to an increase of 4, 1% compared to 2016 (€ 6,995 billion) and foresees a further increase of 1, 8% in 2018. Exports, on the other hand, met a slight decrease from € 4.46 billion to € 4.44 billion (-0, 4% on an annual basis), however, a net increase is imminent during this year (+ 3, 3%).

Employees on the Italian territory have grown from 27,180 to 27,285 (+ 0, 4%), as well as investments, despite the general uncertainty: from € 88, 5 million to € 98, 5 million (+11, 3%), with the possibility of another improvement of € 112 million in 2018.

Chairman Pettinaroli goes on saying that “Despite the climate of general uncertainty, these are positive numbers that give us confidence for the future; mainly for the industrial, sanitary and heating fittings sector, where Italy occupies a strong position in all three sectors: particularly in the Brescian and Novara areas”. Another topic of interest is that regarding exports, where Saudi Arabia occupies the first place with € 152,5 million in 2017 which marks a substantial increase compared to the previous year (+24,7%).

The United States, occupies the third place with € 138, 8 million (-32, 5%), outclassed also by Germany with € 146, 8 million, another country that suffered a heavy drop (-27, 1 %). However, the EU remains the most important outlet area with 36%, followed by Asia with a difference of only one percentage point.  The difference with North America and the non-EU European countries, however, stands at 9%. Nowadays, a company can only grow if it takes a path towards the 4th industrial era, relying on the innovative software for industry 4.0.

Source: Bresciaoggi, 12/06/18

ISTAT notices a delay in the use of IT tools, especially in the Center-South; for this reason GP Progetti focuses on the promotion and digital literacy of companies in the area. The software for improving manufacturing output has brought the expected results from client companies, but there is still a long way to go and wide edges for growth.

In fact, investments in the Italian production system are still limited, especially in terms of human capital, a circumstance that also becomes an important brake for the competitiveness of companies. The level of digitization also goes hand in hand: 63% of companies, especially if small, traditional and Central-Southern, have a very low digitization rate. 32% are at medium levels, and only 5% of companies, mostly medium-large reach a high degree of digitization regarding electronics, telecommunications and information technology.

This information was provided by the 2018 edition of the Istat Report on the Competitiveness of the productive sectors. In any case, the “connection” improves: from 2012 to 2017 there has been an increase from 10% to 24% of companies, although with a variance that has widened between SMEs and large companies. «In Italy there is still little investment in human capital» declared the Istat president Giorgio Alleva. «The average employees have only completed compulsory schooling. This affects the competitiveness of companies». Explain the Report that we have only «3% of companies, about 5.000, fully digitized and therefore with an important investment and also a support of human capital and material capital. We then have 30% of companies that have understood the importance of transformation, but which have constraints precisely in the allocation of material and human capital, and more than 60% rather indifferent to this strategy».

Investments are more sustained in the two-year period 2016-2018 compared to the previous one. The innovators are rising: 48,7% of the Italian companies of industry and market services with at least ten employees, have carried out innovative activities; 30% are defined as «strong» innovators (in products and processes), and 25% as product innovators. The Istat report then traces a first evaluation of the National business plan 4.0: for 62,1% of manufacturing firms, the super amortization has played a «very» or «sufficient» role in 2017 in the decision to invest and the hyper amortization for 47,6% (53% in medium-sized companies, 57,6% of large companies). The tax credit for research and development expenses was significant for 40,8% of the companies.

Do you need an estimate for software to improve production? GP Progetti has the ideal solution for manufacturing companies and can support the customer in the search for incentives and facilities provided by the National Industry 4.0 Plan.

Source: Bresciaoggi 24/03/2018

GP Progetti, together with partner Agomir, will be present at the “ALTECNOLOGIE” Trade Fair (High Technologies), taking place on 23-24-25 November at Lariofiere, Erba (CO).

Altecnologie is a BtoB Salon dedicated to businesses that deliver innovative product or process solutions, with proposed applications for a wide variety of economic sectors.

Register to visit the Altecnologie Salon

Altecnologie’s focus will be on:

• ICT and the Digitization of business processes
• Internet of things
• Industrial automation
• Robotics
• Sensor technology
• Integrated logistics
• Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
• Innovation in production materials and equipment
• Plant engineering and machinery for additive manufacturing
• High-tech applications for production and logistics
• Innovation of products, processes, technology transfer and the spread of innovative business models

The event aims to provide operators with opportunities for growth and development by illustrating what the market has to offer in terms of innovation, new technologies, and the latest generation of business solutions.

Thursday 23 | Hours 10:00 – 18:00

Friday 24 | Hours 10:00 – 18:00

Saturday 25 | Hours 9:00 – 14:00

November 2017

Lariofiere Como Lecco

A demo area set up in the Technology Village will host sessions organised by experts on current topics and case histories of excellence.

Read the complete programme.

We look forward to seeing you in Pavillion B, Stand 101-108.

Register now for free access to the initiatives proposed by Altecnologie.

In July 2017 industrial production, also thanks to software for optimising the process and the 4.0 Industry Plan, grew 4.4% over the year. Istat notes that the trend index has been growing almost uninterrupted since August 2016, with the sole exception of January 2017. Capital goods are the driving force, having seen a sharp increase of 5.9% on the year, and “are the only sector well above the 2010 level.” Consumer goods (+ 4.1%), intermediate goods (+ 3.5%) and energy (+ 3.3%) are also up.

The motor vehicle sector has seen a sharp increase over the year, up by 9.1% in July. Also mining activities, machinery and the food industry are doing well. Among the sectors that are struggling are clothing and leather. Gentiloni: “The country is recovering, albeit with difficulty.” Calenda: “Resources for Business are creating jobs”.

“Among the sectors, the one that stands out is automotive production, which saw a rise of 9.1% in July 2017 compared to the same month in 2016.” In the first seven months of the year, the increase recorded by ISTAT was 10%. On a year by year basis, also mining activities (+ 8.4%), machinery and equipment manufacturing n.e.c. (+ 8.0%), the food industry, beverages and tobacco and transport manufacture (both +6,9%) are going well. Decreases have instead been recorded in the sectors of electrical and non-electrical household appliance manufacture, the manufacture of computers, electronics and optics, electro medical appliances, measuring devices and timepieces (both -0.6%) and the textile industries, clothing, leather and accessories (-0.5%).

Overall, the figures most certainly confirm a trend towards recovery of the Italian economy, Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni also points out: “The figures on today’s industrial production are figures that only one or two years ago, we would have considered impossible to achieve, the country is recovering albeit with difficulty.” Meanwhile, former Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi underlines this with a tweet: – “Industrial production + 4.4% (Istat).

The Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda also underlines the continuing recovery, in addition to the need to support it with appropriate policies: “The annual growth of 4.4% in industrial production, indicated by Istat is a new positive sign of recovery in Italy’s manufacturing system. Notably, the Capital Goods index (+ 5.9%) and even more significant growth in the manufacturing of machinery and equipment (+ 8.0%) indicate that the Industrial National Plan 4.0 is working to encourage and support company investments. The figures confirm the efficiency of the decision to eliminate ineffective incentives by introducing automatic tax breaks which are not tied to a specific industry sector or scale. We should continue to work on supply polices, focusing resources to help companies that can produce and create jobs. ”

Contact GP Progetti to find out what and how to improve your company internally, thanks to software for optimising production processes.

Source: Repubblica.it 11/09/2017

With a growth of 0.1% in July 2017 compared to the previous month, and an increase of 4.4% compared to 2016, Italian industry output represents a new step forward in the latest Istat statistics and proves expectations of a negative result as indicated by a large number of analysts to be wrong. It “would have been an inconceivable figure even just one or two years ago,” commented Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, during the inauguration of a school in Milan, in Cernusco sul Naviglio. “Our country is at last making a slow recovery, in fact even less slow than previously thought”, added the PM. Secretary of the Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, rejoices on Twitter: “We’re bringing Italy out of the crisis. Salvini and Grillo want to take Italy out of the Euro.”

ISTAT. Another step forward with an increase of 0.1% in July on the previous month and 4.4% over the year

Recognition also comes from the City via the Financial Times: “Recovery is under way. Italy is on a roll right now,” reads the London daily newspaper. Production figures are “the latest in a series of better than expected economic data,” continues the article, “the strong growth is likely to continue,” and optimism “has also been reflected in increasing labour force participation’. Driving the industry are capital goods, up 5.9% in July over the year, which have greatly exceeded production levels in 2010, as explained by Istat. In particular, machinery and equipment stand at + 8%, a figure which the Minister of Development, Carlo Calenda, interprets as a sign that Italy’s Industry Plan 4.0 “is working in its stimulation and support of business investment.”

Machinery and automotive are the driving forces, Gentiloni: “Recovery is not as slow as we might have imagined”

Positive signs can be seen in all macro sectors and in twelve out of fifteen activity sectors, starting with mining (+ 8.4% on the year), machinery manufacture (+ 8%), the food industry and transport manufacture (both + 6.9%). Volatility in automobile manufacturing continues (+ 9.1%), while the manufacture of electrical and non-electrical domestic equipment and appliances is suffering, along with computer and electronics products (both at  -0.6%) and the textile and clothing sector (-0,5%). With July’s result, there has been a sequence of rising trends in industrial production which has continued, with the exception of January 2017, from August of last year. According to Paolo Mameli, senior economist at the Intesa Sanpaolo bank, these figures “bode well” for the third quarter and “an upward review of the estimated growth in Italy’s GDP is expected to continue in the weeks to come.”

EURO AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL. In the meantime, the Euro continues to race ahead, reaching a level that has not been seen since January 2015, before Draghi’s quantitative easing came into play. It is thanks to the risk of a Eurozone implosion having been averted, and estimated GDP growth standing at 2.2% this year (way above the US). But the ECB itself seems to have accepted that some appreciation is inevitable: if Draghi has set the Euro at 1.20 “a source of uncertainty that needs to be monitored’, those words are a far cry from 2014, when the Euro stood at 1.40, and the ECB President had spoken of “serious concern” regarding the exchange rate. Tapering, or gradual reduction of the QE programme, is now the next stage in Mario Draghi’s agenda.

The GP Progetti course continues, which, thanks to software to optimize industrial production, accompanies its customers in the Industry 4.0 process.

After Elvi, the Termoplast Group will be the subject of a next video to illustrate the steps that accompanied the GP Progetti customer in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The Termoplast Group is composed of three distinct companies that deal with plastic injection molding and aluminum die-casting for the automotive industry.

Production is growing in Italy, and according to ISTAT figures, manufacturing industry is expanding fast, with an increase of 60%.

The economic recovery will gain speed thanks to a positive “contagion effect” between various sectors. ISTAT presents a rosy view of prospects over the coming months. “The Italian economy is accelerating due to widespread growth in production and an increase in employment”, writes the national institute of statistics, which just last week confirmed that GDP is at its highest level in six years.

And the growth will not stop there, since the forecasted figures – indicators for the immediate future – indicate a strengthening in growth prospects. Meanwhile, tax revenue is up, with an increase of 1.6% in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, pointing to the rise in VAT revenue (up 4.4%).

THE CONTEXT. The institute of statistics is talking about a contagion effect between individual sectors. “The recovery will be widespread and concerted”

Overall, then, estimated growth appears to have been exceeded, and now it’s just a case of the most eagerly-awaited indicator of all, the government’s own. The updated Document of Economy and Finance (DEF) is shortly to be published, and the bar of annual growth – still stuck at 1.1% – looks set to rise.

Deputy minister for the Economy Pier Paolo Baretta assures us: “In the next ten days or so,  by 20th September at the latest, the task of finalising the plan for growth will be completed”. As yet he has made no comment on the figures.

According to ISTAT, however, if the pace of the past three months is maintained (+0.4%), a GDP of 1.5% is within reach. But where is the recovery coming from? On this occasion there is not one single factor; for ISTAT it’s a question of a “concerted” growth spread throughout production sectors, as explained in the institute’s most recent statement. To the extent that 60% of manufacturing firms are in expansion in the reference sectors, while the service sector is up by more than 50%.

ISTAT: “The Italian economy is accelerating”. Growth exceeds expectations

On the other hand, the latest figures show that in investment terms it’s all systems go: investment is up once again after a difficult start to the year (+0.7%) , and so is self-employment.

Source: Bresciaoggi 06/09/2017

Elvi, a client of GP Progetti’s since 2014, has embarked on a process that looks up to Industry 4.0, also thanks to the software for optimising GP Progetti’s production.

The Customer Company is involved in the development and production of DC motors with special gear motors following consolidated processes to ensure competitiveness and reliability. To further improve the production process, Elvi, with the collaboration of GP Progetti, realizes “continuous improvement” effectively.

To do this, the main tool is eSphere, a finite capacity planner, interconnected to the Mes through eFlexiMes, an integrated hardware and software system specifically designed for the operational management of manufacturing production that can collect industrial production data.

The improvement process takes place on a daily basis as regards the following points:

• Complete management of the production plan
• Order advancement from Mes
• Continuous monitoring of processes
• Synchronous generation of the production performed
• SPC performance and efficiency analysis

Do you want to set up an uncompromising meeting with GP Progetti’s experts to understand how to optimise your company’s production process?

Contact the sales department to find out in detail all the facilities provided by the European Plan Industry 4.0: you have time until the end of 2017.

The National Plan Industry 4.0 is the right opportunity for all the Italian companies willing to benefit from the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution.

But what are the actual benefits for the manufacturing companies for which GP Progetti has been developing software for optimising industrial production since 1993?

The Plan allows for solid measures: above all, tax concession to incentive investments and make companies thrive.

Here are the fiscal advantages allowed for in the Plan Industry 4.0 for manufacturing industries:

• Hyper-amortisation: 250% overvaluation of investments in new material goods, digital appliances and technology that are in line with 4.0 transformations, either purchased or leased;
• Super-amortisation: 140% overvaluation of investments in new instrumental goods, either purchased or leased. For those who benefit from the hyper-amortisation, it is also possible to benefit from the tax concession on investments in new instrumental goods (software and IT systems);
• These benefits are cumulative with:
  • Nuova Sabatini
  • Tax credit for Research and Development activities
  • Patent Box
  • Incentives for capital gearing of businesses
  • Incentives for Start-ups and innovative SME
  • Central Guarantee Fund

Among these measures, there is also the “Nuova Sabatini” for instrumental goods: it is a tax concession offered by the Ministry of Economic Development aimed at easing companies’ access to credit and increasing competitiveness in the Italian productive system. The measure supports investments to buy or lease machinery, appliances, equipment, instrumental goods for protective use and hardware, as well as software and digital technology.

Who is the Nuova Sabatini aimed for?

The measure is for all those micro, small and medium enterprises (SME) that, within the date of the request, are regularly established and are not in economic difficulties.

Guarantee Fund

To increase the credit for SME, the Plan Industry 4.0 has provided for a Guarantee Fund. The aim of the fund is to make it easier for SME to access financial sources through a public guarantee that joins and often substitutes the actual guarantees given by the companies.

Thanks to the Fund, companies have a real possibility to get sources of finance without additional guarantees (and so without the costs of  guaranties and insurance policies) on the amounts covered by the Fund, that doesn’t offer cash contributions.

According to the latest data, more than 99% of companies lacking real guarantees has got access to finance thanks to the Fund.