Uteco and Simec join the Italian Technology Center in Pune

The entrance of the two companies in the network was formalized by the signing of the agreement, which took place at the Federmacchine headquarters.

First established in 2013 by Ucimu (the association of Italian manufacturers of machine tools, robots, automation and related products) and Amaplast (the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds manufacturers’ association), the ITC now also enjoys the support of Acimga (the Italian Manufacturers Association of Machinery for the Graphic, Converting and Paper Industry) of which Simec Group and Uteco Group are member companies.

The Italian Technology Center offers its members financial and market analyses, targeted marketing actions and event and exhibition organization services. Being part of a network enables individual member companies to leverage internationalization services while reducing costs and having a dedicated local staff. For this reason, Acimga has decided to promote the ITC among its members, prompting Uteco and Simec to join the network. As part of its internationalization plan, Acimga will support its two members by providing an engineer assisting the two companies locally and joining the staff already working for the ITC.

Acimga director Andrea Briganti, said: ‘India is a very promising market for Italian printing and converting machinery. Italy is one of the five largest exporters to the country and there is still a significant growth margin. I should underline that going to India doesn’t mean delocalizing, it means expanding the scope of “Made by Italy” production – our member companies’ unique set of high-added-value expertise and skill, regardless of where they build the individual parts of their machinery. The Pune ITC will soon be implemented by a spare parts warehouse which will reduce costs even further for network members.

‘In addition, we plan to replicate this model in two more countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, with the goal of helping our members become increasingly global players in the industry of printing and converting machinery in keeping with the specific requests and needs outlined by the association’s General Council. Acimga is putting in place new internationalization services underpinned by ambitious projects and a far-sighted vision of the market and will provide regular updates to all stakeholders.’

The Italian Technology Center will act as a bridge to India for the two Acimga member companies.

Aldo Peretti, group president, Uteco Group, said: ‘To us this is not the finish line, it’s the starting blocks. Our corporate policy covers two directions: increasing our penetration in developing markets and continuing to innovate to keep up top quality standards. India is a high-growth-rate country in our industry; we have a number of business contacts there, and the ITC will provide us with more tools to keep growing in the region.’

Simec Group CEO Emilio Della Torre, said: ‘Our cylinders are in demand across the world and they play a key role in the packaging and printing market. We do not set any geographic limits for ourselves. Our motto is to go glocal. We think globally and act locally. We provide our costumers worldwide both the advantages of centralised production with high output volumes and those of a local supplier, like for example fast shipping everywhere. Being part of the ITC is a further step in this direction: a specialized local business with top-level partners based on a global strategy. We will be sure to support any initiative intermediary bodies like Acimga will put in place to this end.’