The Italian Trade Agency via its North American Offices together with 16 of Italy’s leading machinery manufacturers associations will be producing the 2020 edition of the Machines Italia magazine (Vol XIII). The magazine is being developed with SME, the North American based association who organizes leading events for the advanced manufacturing sector such as IMTS, Fabtech, Rapid amongst others and publishes Manufacturing & Engineering and Smart Manufacturing magazines. We would like to provide those of you who work with Italian solution providers an opportunity to share your company’s experience. We hope the following topics provide you with ample considerations in sharing such experiences with our readers. This year we hope to reach almost 300,000 of them here in North America. So it would be a great opportunity to promote your company as well to a targeted audience!
Any information sent to writers at SME should get into the respective Elvis folder per the relevant article below, or to the writers by July 9th, 2020. Submission prior to July 9th, 2020 will provide enough time to evaluate the material and ask any questions before the writing deadline, which is July 24, 2020.
Training Operators on Advanced Equipment: Workforce issues are front and center in the North American manufacturing industry and equipment producers are playing a key role in maintaining basic workforce skills, providing training on new, advanced equipment, and troubleshooting operating issues. In this feature, we examine how Italian manufacturers of advanced equipment are partnering with their North American customers to develop and enhance key workforce skillsets, keeping into account technological challenges and market developments. North American companies who currently source machinery and technology from Italian solution providers in these sectors are welcomed to contribute their stories for interviews and article considerations:
- Food production, processing, and preservation
- Footwear, leather goods, and tanning
- Plastics and rubber processing and molds
- Textile
Robotics and Automation: What are the Latest Advances? The related fields of robotics and automation are advancing rapidly, with new technologies and strategies that can help manufacturers improve productivity while requiring smaller labor inputs. Italian manufacturers of automotive components, pharmaceutical glass manufacturing, furnaces for the glass industry, plastic thermoforming, smart packaging, PET plastics, and sheet metal parts are all leaders in this area. We explore what’s new in the automation options these sectors are supplying. North American companies who currently source machinery and technology from Italian solution providers in these sectors are welcomed to contribute their stories for interviews and article considerations:
- Metallurgical
- Packaging
- Glass processing
https://elvisdam.sme.org/app/#/s/jYoXNhu
Developing Effective, Easy-to-Use Data Strategies that Enhance Productivity: With more data available from manufacturing processes, manufacturers need data strategies that not only enhance productivity but are transparent and easy to use for machining operators, engineers, and company management alike. This feature examines how Italian manufacturers are providing customers with the very latest tools to manage and use data being generated by their machines. North American companies who currently source machinery and technology from Italian solution providers in these sectors are welcomed to contribute their stories for interviews and article considerations:
- Ceramic
- Gears and transmissions
- Fluid power
A Light Touch for Heavy-Duty Machinery: Today, heavy-duty machinery needs to be more energy-efficient, capable of handling multiple applications, and of providing information about how it is operating. Italian producers are integrating new technologies at a rapid pace to accomplish all these goals, with products that are nimbler, easier to use, and capable of integrating with other machinery. North American companies who currently source machinery and technology from Italian solution providers in these sectors are welcomed to contribute their stories for interviews and article considerations:
- Agriculture
- Earthmoving and construction
- Woodworking
After COVID-19: Planning for Manufacturing Recovery: As challenging as it can be, it’s vital to layout plans for the next stages, drawing the necessary lessons from the response to the epidemic. Issues like the safety of operators, ease of adjusting equipment to different tasks, and smart and remote servicing of machinery become more relevant in the aftermath of COVID-19. How are Italian industrial machinery manufacturers coping with these challenges? How do they plan to position their range of products within the new competitive context? Will decisions on whether to sell or to make (commercial vs. production presence) in the North American market be affected? North American companies who currently source machinery and technology from Italian solution providers in these sectors are welcomed to contribute their stories for interviews and article considerations:
- Foundry
- Graphic, converting, and paper
- Marble and stone