Amafond, the trade association of Italian equipment manufacturers and suppliers to the metalcasting industry, on the occasion of the 12th edition of the GIFA Show (June 28 - July 2, 2011), published a new directory of its members. "Italian Foundry Technology Machinery & Products Directory, a 176-page volume, heavily bound and in full color, is available upon request to foundries and diecasters. More than 85 companies are extensively profiled and illustrated in color, with details of their capabilities and achievements presented in both English and Italian. Full company contact information is

ASSOCOMAPLAST, the Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers Association, will be exhibiting at the upcoming PLAST-EX Show, taking place in Toronto, from June 21 to 23 - Booth 2425. Founded in 1960, ASSOCOMAPLAST represents and promotes 170 leading Italian plastics and rubber machinery, ancillary equipment and moulds manufacturers. ASSOCOMAPLAST organizes PLAST 2012, the benchmarking trade show for plastic and rubber machinery and equipment in Europe, in 2012. ASSOCOMAPLAST is a partner of the Machines Italia project since its inception in 2001 and collaborates

The Italian plastics and rubber machinery and equipment manufacturers association Assocomaplast said the sector saw production value increase by more than 9% in 2010 - higher than the 8% growth figure predicted in December last year. The association says overall production value, according to information from its 170 members, increased 9.1% to €3.6bn. “All five of the main indicators for the sector reveal decidedly positive trends, recovering the losses suffered in 2009 compared with the record year 2008,” says Assocomaplast. Imports increased 17.2% to €567m, while exports went up 9.7% to €2bn

13 well known woodworking and furniture supplier magazines who met in Istanbul by the sponsorship of Intermob 2010 trade fair, founded an organization called FSM (for International Woodworking & Furniture Supplying Magazines) on 17th October 2010. The board consists in five members: Zeki Yücel, Mobilya (Turkey); Luca Rossetti, Xylon (Italy); Richard Barth, Material Technick Mebel (Germany); Carlos Castelo, L'Echo des Bois (Belgium); Eduardo Kiss, Mobile Fornecedores (Brasil). In the first meeting, after the voting process, Zeki Yücel (Turkey) and Luca Rossetti (Italy) are elected respectively

CHICAGO – The Italian Trade Commission's Chicago Office (ITC), represented through its project Machines Italia, will be one of the major sponsors of the World Business Forum 2010 (October 5 th and 6 th). On the second day of the Forum (October 6th) during the official program itself, Dr. Luca Majocchi, former CEO of Unicredit, one of Italy's major commercial banking institutions, and currently managing director of Meccano SpA as well as an advisor to FEDERMACCHINE (Italy's National Federation of Associations of Manufacturers of Capital Goods Intended for Industrial and Handicrafts

Some good news, at last, though long awaited, for the Italian production of machinery and technology to process wood and wood-based materials. According to the Acimall trend survey for the first quarter 2010, we are seeing a consolidation of recovery that started in the last three months of 2009. It’s mainly good news from foreign markets that are bringing cautious optimism also for the near future, still considering that these figures compare to the first quarter 2009 that was the most difficult period of the crisis. According to the statistic sample interviewed by the analysts of the

Italy produces approximately 50% of the machinery used to produce footwear and leather goods around the world and 80% of tanning machinery globally, according to Assomac, an association that represents Italian manufacturers of machines for footwear, leather and tannery industries. Many of the manufacturers are small, with the entire industry employing approximately 6,200 people in Italy. There are three basic tanning centers in Italy, says Peter Helfer, a managing partner at Campex LLC, an Exeter, N.H., a company that sells Italian leather-making machinery in North America. Whole hides and

Bologna might be best known abroad for its meat sauce and for being home to the oldest university in the western world, the University of Bologna. But this city, situated between Italy's Po River and the Apennine Mountains, has earned the nickname the "Packaging Valley." Packaging machinery has become one of the dominant industries throughout Italy. Though the United States, China and Japan all produce automatic machinery, Germany and Italy produce two-thirds of all packaging machinery sold internationally, according to a study by the Confederation of Packaging Machinery Associations. Italy