Campania SMEs operating in the mechanics field promote the Industry Plan 4.0: one year on, 65% of companies believe it had positive or fairly good effects on the sector.
- 80% of the companies in Campania are willing to invest a portion of their turnover to transform the company into a Smart Factory (Central and Southern regions data: 90.5%).
- Entrepreneurs are the figures indicated by 44% in charge of stimulating/guiding the digital innovation process in the company (Central and Southern regions data: 28.6%)
Naples, 5 February 2018 – Time to take stock for Central and Southern Italy SMEs operating in the mechanics field, about one year on from the presentation of the National Industrial Plan 4.0 by the Minister of Economy, Calenda. According to the picture produced by the MECSPE observatory of the Cental and Southern regions, presented today in Naples by Senaf on the occasion of the sixth stop of the “DIGITAL FACTORY MECSPE LABORATORIES, The Italian way to industry 4.0”, dedicated to the focus on “Industry 4.0 and aerospace”, 64.7% of those interviewed believe there have been positive or fairly good effects on the industry, whilst expressing the need for less attention placed on large companies and a long term plan. The figure is in line with the regional gap relating to Campania, which stands at 65%. In particular, among the planned initiatives, the Central and Southern sample attaches great importance to the improvement of digital enabling infrastructures (60%), to the creation and active involvement in working groups (50%), to the strengthening of the guarantee fund for SMEs (40%) and to the incentives for training plans on digital enabling technologies (35.7%). The percentage of the relevance given to the hyper-depreciation for the machinery used for digitalisation (21.4%) is significantly different from the national survey, which stands at 69.7%.
“Campania and in particular Naples are confirmed as a vital area and an important point of reference for the whole of Central and Southern Italy – says Maruska Sabato, Project Manager at MECSPE (Parma Exhibition Centre, 22-24 March 2018) – data from the MECSPE Observatory show that the climate of confidence in reference markets and business growth prospects is not a prerogative that is exclusive to Northern Italy, showing above all how Campania companies have a particularly strong bent for innovation, with at least 8 out of ten companies willing to invest part of their turnover to turn their business into a Smart Factory. That is why we chose Naples as a stop for the ‘DIGITAL FACTORY MECSPE LABORATORY’, the Italian way for industry 4.0′. A representative city that could summarise the change in progress through its excellence, like the many companies in the aerospace sector.”
“The Industry Plan 4.0 is a challenge that involves all companies that are attentive to change, interested in seizing the opportunities that derive from the fourth industrial revolution – says Luigi Carrino, President of the Campania Aerospace District. It means growing in competitiveness thanks to various tools ranging from the digitalisation of production processes to the enhancement of human capital. Aerospace is the supply chain that develops more innovation and this fact leads us to experience the opportunity to be a driver for all the other sectors with increased responsibility”.
There is therefore a positive outlook, even summing up the path of companies towards innovation and the assessment of their company position in relation to the Industry 4.0 process: 41.2% of the interviewees from Campania believe to be in line with the expertise required (a fact which is substantially close to the gap of the other regions of Central and Southern Italy, which stands at 45.2%), while 29.4% even considers to be ahead of the actions of their competitors – a figure that is approximately 10 percentage points higher than the average central and southern Italy sample, which reaches “only” 19.4%. In this context, the driver figure responsible for stimulating/guiding the digital innovation process in the company, according to 44% of the analysed sample, is the entrepreneur (against a 28.6% relative to the average of the Central and Southern regions).
The positive perception also extends to the benefits that technology is bringing in terms of staff: 88.5% of Central and Southern Italian entrepreneurs believe that technology is able to improve the quality of work, while 54.5% believes that employees see it as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Very important data have emerged from the MECSPE Observatory – states Riccardo Resciniti, Professor of Economics and Business Management at the University del Sannio – In particular, the survey shows how businesses, and in particular those in Campania, attribute great importance to the issues of Industry 4.0 and the relevant Government plan, requesting further attention for small and medium-sized enterprises. In Campania it is predominantly the entrepreneur who stimulates/guides the digital innovation process in the company, also marking a greater commitment with respect to what occurs in other Central and Southern regions (44.4% of companies against 28.6%).”
From the perspective of the overall preparation that the fourth industrial revolution requires from staff in data analysis and management, the level of skills is regarded as high by 45% of the interviewees and average by 55 out of 100 entrepreneurs in Central and Southern Italy. In particular, to improve training in Campania, 45.5% of the businesses adopt activities dedicated to digital skills, relying on methods that envisage the support of technological instruments (27.3%), or using traditional methods such as reading, comparisons, debates and courses (18.2%). Whereas, 18.2% state that they do not currently have ad hoc activities, but that they are planning to introduce adequate training in the future.
SMEs operating in the mechanics field that today have introduced new enabling technologies in the Central and Southern regions have preferred solutions for connectivity (62.5%), IT security and the Internet of Things (both with a percentage equal to 43.8%), additive manufacturing (37.5%) and collaborative robotics (31.3%). Moreover, by the end of 2018, IT security, smart materials and augmented reality will be present in 25% of Central and Southern Italian companies. The general level of digitalisation achieved in companies is high, especially when it comes to product design and development (66.7%), the relationship with the machinery supplier (56.3%) and the relationship with the customer and sales channels (43.8%). Among the most anticipated effects, 54.5% expects an increase in revenue of up to 15%, while 80% expects the same result in terms of cost reduction.
To date, in Central and Southern Italy the main factors that are slowing digitalisation are represented by the outdated approach of partner companies (42.1%), the lack of a clear vision of the direction to be taken by top management (31.6) by an uncertain ratio between investments and benefits (21.1%), the lack of internal expertise (21.1%) and investments required that are deemed excessively high (21.1%).
As for investments in coming years, as many as 90.5% of the companies are willing to invest a share of their turnover to turn their company into a Smart Factory, with nearly 3 out of 10 intending to go beyond 10%.
FOCUS – THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ITALIAN SMEs BELONGING TO THE MECHANICS INDUSTRY
Exports remain a driving factor for Central and Southern Italian SMEs with almost 8 out of 10 (76.2%) declaring to export their products and services, with a variable incidence. 38.1% say they generate less than 10% of their turnover abroad, 14.3% say “from 11% to 25%”, 9.5% “from 26% to 45%”, 4.8% “from 46% to 70%” and 9.5% “over 70%”.
Chi esporta, punta prevalentemente verso i seguenti Paesi:
There are no doubts on the future of the market in which individual businesses operate: over the next 3 years, only 4.8% expect a downturn of the context they operate in, whereas 61.9% is openly convinced their target market will expand, and 33.3% believe that there will not be any big changes in the current trend.
Methodological note: this survey was conducted by GRS Research & Strategy on a representative sample of Central and Southern Italy companies in the field of mechanics using the CAWI method (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing). The survey was carried out in July-August 2017.
I numeri di MECSPE 2017
45.817 visitatori, 105.000 mq di superficie espositiva, 2.051 aziende presenti, 10 Piazze dell’eccellenza, 58 Unità dimostrative e isole di lavorazione, 7 quartieri merceologici, 11 saloni tematici, 75 momenti formativi organizzati da aziende, università e associazioni.
I saloni di MECSPE
Macchine e Utensili – macchine utensili, utensili e attrezzature; Fabbrica Digitale – tecnologie informatiche per la gestione di una fabbrica intelligente; Motek Italy – automazione di fabbrica; Power Drive – Sistemi – Componenti – Meccatronica; Control Italy – metrologia e controllo qualità; Logistica – sistemi per la gestione della logistica, macchine e attrezzature; Subfornitura Meccanica – lavorazioni industriali in conto terzi; Subfornitura Elettronica – progettazione, lavorazioni elettroniche e componenti e accessori; Eurostampi, Macchine e subfornitura plastica – stampi e stampaggio; lavorazioni delle materie plastiche e della gomma; Additive Manufacturing – rapid prototiping e 3D printing; Trattamenti Superficiali – macchine e impianti per il trattamento e la finitura delle superfici; Nuovo salone dei materiali non ferrosi e leghe – alluminio, titanio, magnesio, compositi e tecnologie.
The stops of the “DIGITAL FACTORY MECSPE LABORATORIES, the Italian way to Industry 4.0”
The series of touring events created with the aim of crossing strategic areas that are facing the process of joining the National Industry Plan 4.0 continues. Following the success in Vicenza, Bari, Parma and Modena with focus on “Plastics and Automotive” and on 13 November in Brescia with focus on “Aluminium, light alloys and general mechanics”, the programme involves talks between entrepreneurs and associations in Naples on 5 February, where they will discuss “Industry 4.0 and Aerospace”. The road map will end in Parma on 22 March as part of MECSPE, with a debate on training and new professional figures in factory 4.0
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