Author: a.manzo

Editorial issue n° 68

Posted in column.

And we came to the end of 2018, finally. A year rich of challenges, starting from the widespread of the Industry 4.0 bedrocks in all sectors of machine tools building and application, to the research of new markets and slowdown of previously fast growing economies. A year, indeed, that leaves still unsolved the majority of the challenges: following Industry 4.0 and other innovation, such as Artificial Intelligence applications, means investments and re-thinking of the industrial process; reaching new markets, with other strong investments, could be difficult for many companies, already worn out by the difficulties of economies growing with slow rates, or showing signals of unexpected decrease.
Nevertheless, during its General Assembly in Barcelona, CECIMO reported that its machine tool production is likely to see an 8% gain in 2018. The turnover of CECIMO manufacturers should reach €27.8 billion, continuing its extraordinary growth for the second year in a row and increasing our global market share from 33% to 34%. Hence, the growth of the sector is generally strong, even if there are many differences from one country to the other and the weak rates of resumption in some leading countries in the sector are penalizing the companies based there. It is the case of Italy, where the strong industrial tissue, build up almost exclusively by SMEs is facing the threat of stagnation after not so many years of growth at a
small pace. Moreover, weak global trade might affect foreign demand and slow down European machine tool market growth. And yet, the technological development is one of the biggest in years: Industry 4.0 is a real industrial revolution and more innovation is still to come in many fields, from additive manufacturing to Artificial Intelligence, from circular economy to data analysis and storage. For instance, by applying AI to industrial data, some startups are minimizing machines’ downtime. One of them, Uptake, is trying to collect and analyze data that at the moment are available but still not considered, to prevent machine stops and decrease downtime: no need to add more sensors or to change process, every data needed to make possible early alarm that prevent system failure are already monitored and stored, it is only matter to analyze them in the correct way. This is an innovation that can strongly improve productivity, but needs testing, development and experimentation before being affordable and easy to use, in a word needs investment. And the same can be told for many other technologies that are already handy. In 2019, during many shows all over the world, these topics will be central: we are at the beginning of a period of enormous and fundamental changes, first of all in the sector of machine tools.
On the other side, the need of restrictive environmental policies is forcing companies in re-evaluating their processes and their productive standards. Who will be in grade to keep up with all this innovation: the matter is if only biggest companies will do.

UCIMU: 2018 record year for the Italian machine tool industry. Expected stability for 2019

Posted in news from companies, news number 68.

2018 was the year of records for the Italian machine tool, robot and automation industry, which recorded double-digit increases for all economic indicators. The 2019 will instead be characterized by substantial stability. This is a summary of what was illustrated by Massimo Carboniero, president of Ucimu-Sistemi per produrre, the association of Italian machine tool manufacturers, robots and automation, during the usual press conference at the end of the year. As emerges from the preliminary figures prepared by the Ucimu-Sistemi per produrre Business Studies & Culture Center, in 2018,
production grew to 6,900 million euros, marking an increase of 13.4% compared to the previous year. This is the fifth consecutive year of growth and, in absolute terms, the new record for the Italian industry in the sector. The result was determined both by the excellent performance of deliveries by Italian manufacturers on the domestic market, which grew by 21.1%, to 3,270 million euros, and by the positive trend in exports, which grew by 7.2% to 3,630 million euros. According to the Ucimu elaboration on the ISTAT data, in the first eight months of the year (last survey available), the main countries of destination of the sector made in Italy were: Germany 246 million euros (+ 11.6%); China 237 million euros (+ 7.1%); United States 223 million euros (+9.5%); Poland 143 million euros (+ 49.8%) and France 135 million euros (-4.6%). By virtue of these increases, Italy has strengthened its role on the international scene where it has distinguished itself not only for the expertise expressed by the industry, measured by production and export data, but also for the liveliness of demand sustained and stimulated by measures for competitiveness such as super and hyper-depreciation included in the Industry / Business 4.0 programs. In particular, in 2018, consumption of machine tools, robots and automation in Italy rose by 25.9%
to 5,620 million euros. The willingness to invest in new technology, including digital, by Italian users has led manufacturers to direct their attention to the domestic market, as evidenced by the reduction in the export-to-production ratio, from 55.6% in 2017 to 52,6% of 2018. In an unfavorable general climate, in 2019, the Italian industry in the sector, should however confirm the performance of 2018, benefiting from the positive trend of deliveries on foreign markets, expected to increase. The internal market is clearly slowing down, whose growth trend seems to have lost the momentum we have become accustomed to over the past few years. Production will increase to 7,040 million (+ 2%) driven by exports which, expected to grow by 5%, will amount to 3,810 million euros. Consumption, that is to say the demand from Italian users, will stop at 5,630 million euros (+ 0.2%). The stationary nature of the internal market will have repercussions on both deliveries of Italian manufacturers that will fall to 3,230 million euros (-1.2%) and on imports that will stand at 2,400 million euros (+ 2.1%). The production export figure will increase by one percentage point to 54.1%.

Xiris Develops Representative Network in North America and Hires European Service Technician

Posted in news from companies, news number 68.

Xiris Automation Inc., a global leader in the creation and manufacturing of welding cameras and weld inspection software, has announced that they have greatly expanded their technical sales representation in North America to better serve their customers. Five months ago, Xiris set out to expand its outside sales team so as to provide the best customer service experience in the industry by adding four outside representatives (REPs) in Canada and twenty outside REPs in the United States. The goal of this initiative is to greatly improve the reaction time to train distributors and provide faster response to requests for demonstrations. Xiris Automation is also pleased to welcome Michael Staiger to the team as our new European Service Technician. Michael will be an excellent addition to the team as he is highly skilled in electronics and mechanics with over 18 years of experience performing technical service and support for complex machinery all over Europe. Based out of the Xiris GmbH office in Duesseldorf, Germany, Michael will be responsible for installation, calibration, and training for all new Xiris customers, as well as servicing and repair work of Xiris equipment across Europe.

Victrex celebrates 40 years of Peek success, with much more to come

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After PEEK had begun to capture the imagination of a handful of people, the first batch of the HPP was manufactured at ICI, a major chemical company, on November 19, 1978. Only three years later the commercialization of the first PEEK polymers, the “VICTREX PEEK” family including glass- and carbon-filled products, followed. Today, this versatile material is used to solve complex engineering challenges, often replacing metals.
“Today, PEEK´s impact can be felt high in the sky, deep in the ocean and even under the skin. There seems to be no limit to the ways people are turning PEEK into brilliant solutions,” says Jakob Sigurdsson, Victrex CEO. “Starting with a handful of employees, today more than 900 people wake up every day and focus on PEEK around the world, seeing success in Asia and the US, as well as in Europe. We operate three state-of-the art polymer manufacturing facilities with a total nameplate production capacity of 7150 tonnes. We also have facilities that enable us to make film, pipe, composite tape and other product forms and components. Although we’ve grown significantly, the heart of our business remains with our customers and the innovation, focus, knowledge, and passion of our people.” The inert properties of the versatile PAEK polymers are one main reason for their success. This family of polymers is ideally suited to extreme and demanding environments. While alternative materials can meet specific needs, PEEKs are located at the top of the polymer pyramid and can support multiple requirements. Their properties include light weight, high strength, and high resistance to wear, high temperatures, fatigue and aggressive chemicals. Together, these outstanding properties contribute to enhanced fuel efficiency, extended part life, greater comfort (smooth operation, less noise), more design freedom and greater cost efficiency.

German machine tool industry on course for record year

Posted in news from companies, news number 68.

Orders received by the German machine tool industry in the third quarter of 2018 were 2 per cent down on the same period last year. Orders from Germany fell by 1 per cent whereas those from abroad were down by 2 per cent. Orders increased by 7 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Domestic orders grew by 20 per cent, while foreign orders rose by 1 per cent. “Orders and production are set to make 2018 a record-breaking year,”
said Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) in Frankfurt am Main. “Nevertheless, for the first time in more than a year we are currently seeing a slight downturn in orders. The boom is gradually coming to an end and demand is normalising,” Schäfer continued. On the one hand, the global economy is slowing, with growth having stalled in the markets outside the euro zone. On the other hand, the strong domestic demand in the second half of 2017, as evidenced at the EMO Hannover, is now leading to a fall in total order levels. And
finally, global developments – including the spread of trade conflicts, increasing protectionism, rising oil prices, high inflation in various emerging markets, unchecked debt etc. – are unsettling customers, especially  small and medium-sized enterprises.

Employment and capacity utilisation continuing to soar

Accounting for almost 73,700 employees in August of this year, the sector workforce remains at record levels. At 95 per cent, there was almost full capacity utilisation in October 2018. The last time such high levels were posted was in July 2012. “Bottlenecks in employees, capacity and materials continue to be the challenges most frequently mentioned by companies,” explained Schäfer.

Production at record levels and higher than expectations

Overall, sales rose by 13 per cent in the first nine months, according to the association’s survey. “It will not be possible to sustain this double-digit growth over the year because production skyrocketed at the end of 2017,” said Schäfer. However, the strong growth has prompted the association to raise its production forecast by a further percentage point. The VDW now expects production to grow by 8 per cent to over EUR 17 billion in 2018. However, Schäfer specifically drew attention to the renewed divergence in the performance of the different sectors and of individual companies.
Metal cutting equipment, which boomed last year, is now growing much more slowly. Forming equipment, on the other hand, is again boosting growth.

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