Extrusion International 4-2025

15 Extrusion International 4/2025 ticipated a slight contraction in pro- duction. The stability of the sector can largely be attributed to the strong performance of exports, which in - creased for the fourth consecutive year. According to ISTAT data, ex - ports increased by 1.5% compared to 2023, reaching a total value of 3.62 billion euros. Exports, accounting for three quarters of total production, peaked in the final quarter of the year, particularly in December. While more established markets such as the European Union and North America registered modest growth, other regions – despite ac - counting for smaller shares – proved to be more dynamic. Significant in - creases in demand were observed in the Far Est – especially in China and India – as well as in non-EU Europe- an countries (Turkey), Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. Conversely, imports declined by 7%over the course of the year, end - ing just above 1 billion euros. The macro-level data emerging from the latest National Statisti- cal Survey outline an industry com- posed of approximately 430 manu- facturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment, and moulds, collectively employing over 15,000 people. Moreover, a direct relationship between company size and rev- enue-generating capacity can be observed. While most companies fall into the three smallest turn- over brackets (up to 10 million eu- ros), employing 72% of the sector's workforce, it is the larger enter - prises that account for the majority (78%) of total industry turnover. As a result, as company size increases, so does average revenue per em- ployee and focus on exports. Vice President Barbara Ulcelli emphasized that the average rev- enue per employee in the sector stands at approximately 320,000 euros, significantly higher than the national industrial average. This figure rises even further within Amaplast companies, approaching 330,000 euros. As far as end markets are con- cerned, the largest share of revenue comes from the packaging sector (roughly 29% food-related and 17% non-food). The packaging sec- tor is followed by the automotive industry (nearly 16%), construction (12%), and medical applications (5%). Industry Trade Fairs In addition to information on the numerous international trade fairs Amaplast took part in over the past year, Vice President Cac - cia presented the outcomes of the second edition of GREENPLAST. The 2025 edition – held from 27 to 30 May as part of The Innovation Al- liance alongside trade fairs such as Ipacklma, Print4All, and Intralogis - tica Italia – welcomed 200 exhibi- tors (75% domestic and 25% from 19 foreign countries) across 5,500 square metres. The event registered nearly 17,400 attendees, based on pre-registration and shared visitor tracking data across all fairs, all ac - cessible with a single entry ticket. The next edition of GREENPLAST is scheduled to take place from 28 May to 1 June 2028, once again in conjunction with Ipacklma and Intralogistica Italia. With regard to upcoming fairs, Vice President Caccia noted that preparations for PLAST, the historic trade show organised by Amaplast- Promaplast, have already begun. The twentieth edition will once again take place at FieraMilano Rho-Pero, from 9 to 12 June 2026. Global economy In his speech, Professor Carlo Cottarelli provided an overview of the global economy – projected to grow by 2.8% in 2025, barring any additional shocks that may further exacerbate the uncertainty many businesses already fear. The US and China are expected to be the main drivers of this growth. He then studied the trajectory of the performance of the Italian economy over the past few decades and pointed out the factors hinder- ing its growth, including, first and foremost, the heavy tax burden, excessive bureaucracy, high energy cost, the sluggishness of the justice system, and the increasingly alarm - ing demographic decline. www.amaplast.org www.conextru.eu | dobrowsky.j@conextru.eu Pipeheads for oil & gas CONEXTRU produces top quality multilayer heads for liners made of technical polymers like PA, PVDF, PPS and monolayer cross heads for cover pipes.