The Italian machine-building industry comprises numerous sectors grouped into Associations. Italy has more than 43,000 companies in the machine-building area that are similar to other Italian companies, i.e. mostly small-sized employing 13 people on average and with a sales volume of 2.1 million Euro
Based on end-of-the-year figures for 2003 Italian production of producer goods totaled 25.4 billion Euro, counting for 2% of GDP.
The workforce stood at 160,000, i.e. 2.3% of the total labor force employed by the Italian industry.
Exports (16.3 billion Euro) were the industry’s most significant contribution to the domestic economy and accounted for 4.9% of Italy’s overall exports, including goods and services. This percentage climbs to 6.3% when exports of producer goods only are considered. The Italian machine-building industry closed 2003 with a trade surplus of approx. 11.8 billion Euro, an outstanding performance considering that the overall domestic trade balance posted a surplus of 1.1 billion Euro only.
A comparison with the main European countries underscores the importance of the Italian machine-building industry. When comparing the ranking of the 15 EU countries based on GDP, Italy comes fourth with a 12.2% share. However, when considering the added value generated by the machine-building industry only, Italy climbs to the second place in Europe with a 19.6% share.

ITALY'S RANKING IN EUROPE - Eurostat, CSC data processing

The Italian industry of machinery, accessories and special products for glass processing, maintained its usual good performance in 2003 notwithstanding the fewer orders received from both national and international buyers.
The upward trend which characterized the first half of 2002 progressively ebbed off in the first half of 2003 to be replaced by a highly fluctuating market trend in the last quarter. Numerous causes account for this turnaround, but considering the marked export-oriented nature of this industry, the most influential factors were the persistently sluggish French and German markets, the SARS epidemics that sealed off Far Eastern markets for several months, and the dollar weakening against the euro.

In spite of this, the Italian industry of machinery, accessories and special products for glass processing managed to close 2003 with a surplus. Once again, the greatest strength of Italian companies in this industry was their small-medium size and ability to quickly diversify in order to target more promising markets combined with a top quality production.