Electronic engineering graduated, with a long experience in the graphic and printing field, Barboglio takes over from Andrea Briganti the direction of the Confindustria association of manufacturers of machinery for the graphic, converting and paper industries.
Enrico Barboglio is the new General Manager of Acimga, the association within Confindustria, gathering Italian manufacturers of machinery for the graphic, converting and paper industry. With a Degree in Electronic Engineering, Barboglio has been General Secretary of ASSOIT, Association of Manufacturers of Printing, Digitization and Document Management Solutions, since 1991, President of 4IT Group, a service and market research company for companies and associations operating in the ICT, Graphic Arts and Direct Marketing market and, since 2016, CEO of Stratego Group. Enrico Barboglio takes over as General Manager of Acimga from Andrea Briganti, who, after eight years leading the association, is now undertaking new professional opportunities.
“A very satisfactory experience for which I am grateful to all members and to the association’s General Council, has come to an end – says Andrea Briganti – In the last years we have tripled the membership base and established relevant projects, participating in the founding of Federazione Carta e Grafica, in the structuring of a strong process for all communication activities and, above all, in the creation of the sector’s trade fair, Print4All: in its second edition, held last May 3-6 at Fiera Milano, the event confirmed the success of the 2018 edition, confirming itself as a reference for the national and international industry community».
For Enrico Barboglio the challenge is to help all companies in the sector, one of the best performing industries within Italian instrumental mechanics, bridging beyond 2022, a year marked by delays in the supply chain (specifically semiconductors and electrical panels) and increases in raw materials prices, to continue along the positive numbers recorded in 2021.
The Italian graphic, converting and paper machinery industry closed 2021 with a turnover of 2.7 billion euros, an increase of 15% compared to 2020. Exports drove the growth, +16%, compared to a lower expansion, +13%, of domestic deliveries, which slightly exceeded one billion euros. Imports also increased by 476 million (+9%), for a trade balance in strong improvement, going from +950 million in 2020 to +1.1 billion at the end of 2021.
Those numbers confirm the Italian sector as the third largest global industry producer, with a global market share of about 10% and a consolidated leadership throughout the EU area, where with 592 million euros (+18% compared to 2020) Italy holds a share of 37%. Among the most expanded markets, in non-EU countries sales, equal to 264 million in 2021, are up 26% on 2020, despite the decline recorded in Russia (-17%) and Switzerland (-30%); excellent performance are also recorded in Central and South America, where exports jumped by +64%, for a value of 96 million euros, after the collapse to 58 million in 2020.
Looking at the production level, the segments that have had the greatest impact on export growth are converting machinery (+18% on 2020), which account for almost 57% of the total; an even more marked increase is recorded for bookbinding machines (+34%), while paper mills (+16%) and printing machines (+13%) increased slightly less.
«I thank all associates and the General Council of Acimga for the designation and for the opportunity to give continuity to Briganti’s work, of which Print4All’s success is just the most obvious expression – states Enrico Barboglio, General Manager of Acimga – The further development of the trade fair will be the groundwork of the next three years’ programme, together with the consolidation of internal relations within the association and with the other supply chain players in support of the market’s development. We come from a record year for orders, which are up 44% compared to 2020 and 16% compared to 2019: considering that the average timeframe production for machines are 12 months, many results will only be evident at the end of this year. The international scenario is likely to affect the overall turnover, but in the last months Acimga has actively worked to protect its members and the value of contracts with international customers. The sector, however, is solid; in 2021 employment grew by almost 4%, investments, after the 2020 crisis, recorded a jump of nearly 14% and Italian products have improved their positioning in the medium-high price range, thanks to products with a very high technological value. In the first quarter of 2022 Italian companies recorded orders for about 260 million euros, down 3% compared to the same period of 2021, but according to data from Acimga’s Export Centre, within the next three years exports will grow up to 2 billion euros».
