The decision of the members of Acimall – the Confindustria member association representing Italian manufacturers of technologies for the wood and furniture industry – to form a new association is the main outcome of the General Assembly held on June 3 in Baggiovara (Modena) at the headquarters of the “sister” associations Acimac and Ucima. This is not a random decision, but the first step towards a new project that will enable Acimall to offer new services and, above all, to present a new vision to its members.

The meeting unanimously approved the Acimall Board’s proposal to continue the process of establishing the “Federazione Confindustria Macchine per ceramica, legno, plastica e gomma, imballaggio e confezionamento” (Federation of the Ceramic, Wood, Plastic and Rubber Machinery, Packaging Machinery Industry). The “collective machinery association” is to form a new strong unit not only within Confindustria, but also in Italy’s political and economic life, representing around 1,300 companies with 70,000 employees and a total turnover of 19 billion euros, more than 75 percent of which comes from exports. A turnover that makes a decisive contribution to the Italian balance of trade.

The new association is intended to offer additional services, advice and training to the member companies of Acimall, Acimac (technologies for ceramics), Amaplast (plastics machinery) and Ucima (packaging technology), the four Confindustria associations that have joined the project to date.

“The time has come to make decisions that will help capital goods manufacturers to compete in an increasingly competitive market with smarter tools,” said Acimall President Enrico Aureli, one of the first supporters of this ambitious project.

And Aureli adds: “The partnership with Acimac, Amaplast and Ucima – and we are confident that other associations will join in – will help us to defend our positions even more effectively in an increasingly global scenario. Because, for example, the challenges posed by China and other emerging countries must be met with the same rules for everyone. And not only that: together, we can provide more comprehensive answers to the challenging issue of the ‘green transition’ of our companies and the numerous new questions that our entrepreneurs have to face in a world that offers increasingly complex challenges.”

During the meeting, Acimall also approved the closing balance sheet and presented the balance sheet for the Cepra business unit.