Deputy Minister Di Stefano today inaugurated the first “sectoral task force” between the Italian and German trade fair systems in the context of the “DRUPA Digital” trade fair, Germany’s main event dedicated to printing machinery. The meeting is part of a series of opportunities for discussion that will involve the respective trade associations of various sectors to strengthen coordination between the Italian and German trade fair systems.
The meeting was attended by representatives of ACIMGA (Association of Italian Manufacturers of Machinery for the Graphic, Paper, Converting and Related Industries) and VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, the leading association of German instrumental mechanics), as well as the organisers of the DRUPA trade fair.
“Trade fairs are fundamental components of the promotion of our products,” said the Deputy Minister, “in this case machinery, which not by chance is the leading item in our exports.”
Italy and Germany have the largest trade fair systems in Europe in terms of size and turnover. They are respectively the fourth and third largest in the world. The impact of the pandemic, with the consequent closure of trade fair events in attendance, has caused considerable losses to the sector and its associated industries.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic,” added Di Stefano, “we have supported the fair trade sector, intending to arrive soon at a safe reopening, that will take place on 15 June. It is no coincidence that we have dedicated one of the six pillars of the Pact for Export to trade fairs, as well as important financial instruments”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has promoted closer dialogue and coordination between the trade fair systems of the two countries, with a letter signed jointly by Deputy Minister Di Stefano and his counterpart at the German Ministry of Economy and Industry, Ulrich Nussbaum. The letter is addressed to the leading associations representing the sector, i.e., AEFI (Associazione Esposizioni e Fiere Italiane) and CFI (Comitato Fiere Industria) for Italy and AUMA (Ausstellungs und Messe Auschuss der Deutsche Wirtschaft) for Germany.
“We believe that the cooperative approach is the winning one in this strategic sector. We wanted this round table between the respective trade associations precisely to continue the work of coordination between Italian and German trade fairs,” concluded the Deputy Minister.
Italy is one of the world’s largest producers of graphic, paper, converting and paper converting machinery, with about 250 companies (mainly SMEs), highly specialised, functional and export-oriented. Italy is one of the three leading exporters globally after Germany and China, with a market share of almost 10%.
The second meeting of the “sectorial task force” in the fair trade sector between Italy and Germany is scheduled to take place in Italy, in June, on the sidelines of the “Print4All Conference – Future Factory” event, organised by ACIMGA.
