Celebrating 60 years, the 30th edition of BI-MU will be held from October 4 to 8, 2016 at fieramilano exhibition centre, in Milan, Italy.

The Italian machine tool industry is ranked fourth globally in terms of production, sixth in consumption and third in exports. Comprised mainly of small and medium companies, the machine tool industry in Italy is represented by Ucimu-Sistemi Per Produrre (UCIMU), the Italian machine tool, robots, automation systems and ancillary products (NC, tools, components and accessories) manufacturers’ association. The association today has over two hundred associate member companies, which account for over 70% of the Made in Italy of the sector.

For Italy, BI-MU, a biennial show, is one of the historical and most qualified international events dedicated to machine tools, robot, production system and auxiliary technologies industry. The 30th edition (hence 30BI-MU), celebrating 60 years will be held from October 4 to 8, 2016 at fieramilano exhibition centre. Promoted by UCIMU, the event is organised by Efim-Ente Fiere Italiane Macchine, its organising arm. Beginning this year, Sfortec Industry, a 3-day event for technical subcontracting and industrial services, will be held concurrently, from October 6-8, this bringing the user industry together with the supplier industry.

The previous edition of BI-MU in 2014 had attracted 1,060 companies, 47% of which from abroad, and had 3,000 machines on exhibition in a total of 90,000 sq.m of exhibition space. There were 61,926 visitors, of which around 1200 were from India. A few Indian companies also figure among the exhibitors at this event.

The organisers maintain that 30BI-MU has already attracted an overwhelming response followed by an upsurge in domestic demand even as the export market has contracted a bit thanks to the slowdown in important markets like China. Going by the statistics provided by UCIMU, Italy has experienced a record 12 consecutive quarters of growth with regard to the index of orders. According to Massimo Carboniero, the recently elected president of UCIMU, this development is a direct result of special government initiatives like the New Sabatini Law and Super Depreciations, which helps companies, especially in the SME category, by providing easy credit to buy capital equipment – machine tools and other production machines.

“With reference to the New Sabatini Law, over the last two years it provided a considerable contribution to the recovery of domestic demand. After a slow start, thanks to the recent amendments, today it is a tool largely used by the enterprises, to such an extent that the allocated funds are likely to run out within the end of September. For this reason, we ask the Government to do its best to make new funds available to ensure the continuity of this Law, which, in the past, contributed more than any other to the industrialisation of our country,” Carboniero stated recently.

“In the same way and in light of the results achieved so far, UCIMU reaffirms that the validity of the Super Depreciation should be extended to the whole year 2017, as already experienced in France. This measure should be applied to all technologically advanced products and/or to those connected with the improvement of one’s own production processes, purchased in Italy with orders received in 2017 and delivered within 30 June 2018: it is not only an instrument useful for stabilizing domestic consumption, so that it can come back to pre-crisis levels, but it is also the most appropriate provision to foster the modernisation of industrial plants in our country”.

“The average age of the total machinery, installed in the Italian factories and resulted to be almost 13 years, has never been so high before this last survey conducted by UCIMU at the end of 2014, the ‘low’ automation/integration of industrial plants, accounting only for 30% of the total,” pointed out Massimo Carboniero. “These elements should really worry us: the risk is a loss in the competitiveness of the ‘Made in Italy’ manufacturing industry. The Super Depreciation may encourage the modernisation process of prod-uction technologies installed in Italy, so that machines and factories can meet the new requirements of productivity, energy saving, compliance with the safety regulations, digitalisation, automation according to the criteria envisaged by the pattern of Industry 4.0 which the market more and more often requires.”

India is one of the important export markets for the Italian machine tools industry. As a significant importer of machine tools – both metal cutting as well as metal forming machines, for professionals from the users of machine tools in India, BI-MU is an important fixture on the machine tool events calendar.