Italian packaging goes beyond the 6 billion euros mark

An industry of 621 companies that generate an overall turnover of 6,003 million euros, 9.2% up on 2012, and which employ 26,856 workers.

Turnover that is generated on the international markets (83.1% - 4,989 million euros) and by sales on the domestic market (16.9% - 1,014 million euros).

These are the main figures that emerge from the 2nd National Statistical Survey carried out by UCIMA, the Italian national trade association.

Once again, in 2013 the Italian packaging machinery manufacturers sector confirms its status as the most important Italian capital goods sector (11 industrial sectors that produce a total turnover of 27,599 million euros), generating 21.8% of total turnover and 23.7% of exports.

Structure of businesses

An analysis of the sector by turnover level shows a strong preponderance of small companies. Those with turnover of up to 5 million euros account for 69.4% of the total but only contribute 10% of the total turnover in the sector.

Meanwhile, only 6.8% of companies have a turnover greater than 25 million euros, even if they generate the largest chunk (63.8%) of the overall turnover in the sector.

The majority of companies are located in Emilia Romagna, followed by Lombardy, Veneto and Piedmont. Emilia Romagna is also first as regards its contribution to total turnover in the sector and total number of workers.

Concentrating the analysis on the propensity of companies to export, there are notable differences in the prioritising of the various markets. Smaller companies (up to 2.5 million euros) carry out over half of their business (50.3%) in the Italian market.

The percentage of sales on the domestic market gradually falls as the size of the company increases, accounting for just 6.3% of the turnover of larger businesses (over 50 million euros).

Export markets

The propensity of each business size class per single geographical area to export is also extremely diversified. Whereas the European Union remains the main export area for all classes, its overall importance gradually diminishes, dropping from 49.6% for the first business class (up to 2.5 million euros) to 30.6% for the sixth (over 50 million euros).

This trend is inverted for the geographical areas furthest from Italy (Asia and South America above all), with the biggest and most structured companies reliant on the EU for the greatest proportion of their exports.

Customer sectors

As for the division of turnover between the various customer sectors, 2013 confirmed the prevalence of the food and beverage sector, which accounts for 63.7% of all business. More specifically, beverage machines generate the largest share of turnover in the sector with 2,111 million euros (35.2%) and are most likely to be exported (88%). They are followed by the food sector (28.5% of the total) with a turnover of 1,708 million euros. 77% of sales in this segment are carried out on the international markets.

In third place is the market of machines for the pharmaceutical sector with turnover of 929 million euros - 15.5% of overall business volumes.

In Italy the biggest sector is food (38.6% of total turnover) followed by beverages and pharmaceuticals.

Cosmetics, chemicals and other sectors (including tobacco and tissues) have smaller market shares.

Type of machines, impact on turnover

The distribution of turnover by machine type is not uniform but reflects their differing levels of importance in the production cycle.

The biggest-selling machines are sealing machines (which fall under the category "Forming machines, filling machines, flexible and rigid packaging sealers") with a 38.2% market share (2,291 million euros), followed by "Filling and dosing machines, sealing machines and control machines", which account for 26.2% of total turnover with 1,575 million euros (84.5% of which deriving from exports).

The rest of the turnover is equally distributed among the other types of machines, led by those for secondary and end of line packaging.

2014 Forecasts

"This year - remarks Chairman of UCIMA, Giuseppe Lesce - the economic indicators available to us and export trends suggest an additional increase in business volumes in the next few months."

"The sector's turnover - concludes the Chairman - should therefore continue to grow, albeit at a more moderate rate compared with last year."