This data was reported by Mecs - Ucima Research Centre in its 12th National Statistical Survey, which provides a snapshot of the industry's performance every year. 594 companies were surveyed, with employees amounting to 38,219.

The international markets

Italian manufacturers' propensity for export, especially in the packaging technologies and solutions industry, was once again confirmed in 2023, with foreign turnover accounting for 78.7% of the total and amounting to €7.2 billion (up 10.5 % against 2022).

The podium of geographical areas remains the same: with €2.71 billion in sales, the European Union confirms its position as the main target area for machines made in Italy, making up 37.3% of all exports. Asia comes second with a turnover of €1.47 billion, representing 20.3% of the industry's total international sales. Third place, meanwhile, was held by North America, with sales amounting to €1.25 billion, followed by non-EU Europe (€651 million), South America (€583 million), and Africa and Oceania recording €456 and €135.8 million respectively.

The domestic market

Sales on the Italian market remained essentially stable, making up 22.6% of the turnover, and the year closed at €1.9 billion.

Customer industries

Breaking down turnover according to the various customer sectors, 2023 confirmed the predominant position of the food and beverage industry, which accounted for 57.1% of total revenues. The two sub-sectors of this industry also confirmed their individual leaderships in the ranking: In 2023, food was the top-ranking customer sector, encompassing 30.9% (€2.856 billion) of the total turnover, with an export intensity of 74.5%. The beverages sector takes second place, representing 26.2% of total revenues. 83.3% of sales in this segment are destined for international markets.

Next in the ranking are the tissue market, with €1.699 billion (18.4% of the total), followed by the pharmaceuticals industry, reaching €1.492 billion (16.2% of the total), and cosmetics and chemicals at the bottom.

Turnover by production type

The primary packaging machine family remained predominant with 52.4% of turnover, followed by the end-of-line, labelling, and ancillary equipment segment (27.2%) and secondary packaging (which takes up the remaining 20.4%).

Production structure

The companies that manufacture packing and packaging machinery are mainly concentrated along the regional thoroughfare called Via Emilia, forming an area that its now known as Packaging Valley, although other production districts are also located in Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Tuscany. The geographical location of the companies therefore confirms the predominance of the Emilia-Romagna region in terms of number of companies, employees, and turnover. There are 205 companies based in Emilia-Romagna (34.5% of the national total), which employ 21,881 people (57.3% of the national total) and generate 62.6% of the total turnover, which amounts to €5.781 billion. Lombardy, Veneto, and Piedmont follow in that order. Among the provinces, Bologna and Milan rank above Parma (third) and Vicenza (fourth) in terms of the number of packaging machine companies. But when considering the distribution of employment and turnover, the dominance of the Emilia area is clear: Bologna, Parma, Modena (all in Emilia), and Rimini (in Romagna) occupy the first four places, Vicenza comes fifth, and Bergamo and Reggio Emilia respectively rank seventh and eighth.

Employment structure

In 2023, the number of people employed in the market grew by 1.2%, rising from 37,753 (2022) to 38,219 (2023).

“Essentially, the aggregate data has confirmed the picture painted by ??the preliminary figures, demonstrating how our industry and the entire Italian supply chain have established a method that guarantees reliability and innovation,” stated chair of Ucima Riccardo Cavanna. “Our companies keep growing and setting themselves new challenges, all the while increasingly pioneering solutions that ensure they retain their global leadership. As regards the domestic market, the introduction of the Italian law decree implementing Industry 5.0 provisions will give impetus to new investments and drive growth in the Italian market.”