Pagina 45 - Progettare International 2013

ments that are indispensable for anyone who is
thinking of tackling markets that are the most
difficult and furthest away. In turn, Assofluid
is pursuing its internationalisation campaign,
by attending the most important industry-based
trade-fairs, as well as through the organisation
of associative groups, so as to be able to incre-
asingly represent and promote the Italian in-
dustrial reality and, in particular, that of our
associates”.
There is much talk about ‘business networ-
ks’. Are there any examples of aggregation
also within the Fluid Power industry?
“I’m not aware of any ‘business networks’ that
have been set up between companies within
our industry, but this does not exclude the fact
that there are a number of initiatives on the
go which are geared towards this way of ope-
rating. Personally, I feel that it is fundamental
that companies take a good look at this possi-
bility which is based on a proposal made by
Confindustria to encourage people to overcome
that natural diffidence that exists among com-
petitors, so as to be able to make the most of
the specificity of every complementarity within
the network, as it is indispensable to be able
to effectively compete with the big multinatio-
nals within the industry. So as to underline
the importance and the opportunities that this
instrument has to offer companies, during the
Associative General Meeting which was held in
2011 we invited Fulvio D’Alvia, the General
Manager of Confindustria, to present this spe-
cific initiative. I hope that in the near future
more and more companies will use this impor-
tant instrument as a means of stepping up their
own level of competitiveness both in Italy and
abroad”.
Energy-saving, eco-compatible designs and
electronics are being flanked more and mo-
re by pneumatics and hydraulics. What el-
se can we expect in the near future from a
technological point of view?
“These days, the technological development of
machinery and systems is growing at an expo-
nential rate. Unlike before, a product now be-
comes ‘obsolete’ in the space of just a few years.
This continuous evolution means that the engi-
neering skills of our engineers need developing to
the fullest, so as to always be able to ensure new
and continuous application solutions, which
are also boosted by the latest European direc-
tives regarding energy and the environment. I
am also thinking about pneumatic applications
within industrial automation circles, and tho-
se of a hydraulic nature found in moving ma-
chinery (construction machines, earth-moving
machinery, farming machinery) machines and
systems in the shipbuilding industry, where we
have seen the introduction of hybrid systems
that are capable of guaranteeing high energy-
saving levels combined with extremely high
performance levels. Interesting scenarios are
opening up where combinations that were pre-
viously unimaginable will be a breeding ground
for experimentation and development. Besides
the important combination that is already un-
derway with electronics, also nanotechnologies
could interact with the fluid power industry,
resulting in a number of interesting solutions”.
And to conclude, what does an exhibition
like Hannover Messe represent for the Ita-
lian industry?
“As always, Hannover is the exhibition par
excellence for our industry. Organisation, ef-
ficiency, a trade-fair pole that is capable of
welcoming exhibitors and visitors alike from all
over the world. It is a consolidated reality, con-
sisting of a perfect combination of events which
makes it original and the only one of its kind.
Then let’s not forget that Germany represents
the main foreign outlet market for Italian fluid
power systems and components and it is preci-
sely for this reason that the representation of our
country at Hannover is second only to that of
Germany.
This is another reason why I am proud of the
fact that Assofluid is collaborating in partner-
ship with both this major exhibition institution
and Fiera Milano, on organising our next TPA
Italia trade-fair (International Biennial Exhi-
bition for Motion & Drive Systems, Fluid Po-
wer and Automation), an event which is being
held next year in Milan, May 6th-9th 2014,
with a completely new formula that we shall
soon be presenting to operators and the press”.
41 progettare international