Association of Italian manufacturers of implements
Press release

This morning saw the presentation of the 44th edition of the International Exhibition of Agricultural Machinery, to be held in Bologna from 19 to 23 October. 1,350 exhibiting companies will be presenting new ranges and products in the thirteen sectors of specialisation and in the five themed halls of the event. There will also be a large number of foreign operators with delegations from 70 countries. One of the novelties of this edition is the open-air arena for exhibiting machines "in action".

The appointment with the EIMA Green exhibition, one of EIMA International’s areas of specialization, falls at a very favourable time for the gardening market. Having closed the first half of 2021 with record growth (+33%), the sector is set to confirm its good performance in the second half as well. The Bologna event, where all types of gardening machinery and equipment will be on show, is a driving force for the entire sector.

Renewable energies and the circular bio-economy will be in the foreground at the Bologna exhibition centre with the "Energy" show, an open-air demonstration area between halls 35 and 37, where visitors can see machines for processing and treating biomass in action. During the five days of the exhibition, there will also be space for in-depth thematic studies with meetings promoted by the organising partner ITABIA.

Thanks to close cooperation with the ICE Agency, the international agricultural machinery exhibition will be able to welcome business operators from all over the world, in compliance with the differentiated safety protocols established by the health authorities for groups of countries. Business-to-business meetings will be held in a new facility at the Volvo Congress Center adjacent to the exhibition centre and connected to Hall 19.

The programme of events of the world exhibition of agricultural machinery will include initiatives for strengthening educational plans and defining new professional profiles for the sector. EIMA Campus, Club of Bologna and FederUnacoma Workshops are the rendez-vous on this topic that are already on the calendar.

The 44th edition of the Bologna-based event will host the Tractor of the Year awards ceremony and feature a "parade" of the fourteen finalist models. A new outdoor arena will be set up to present the competing machines. The Tractor competition is pushing the sector towards increasingly advanced technologies.

The policy document drawn up by the manufacturers was presented at the FederUnacoma "Forum". Mechanization is fundamental for the Next Generation objectives, but more funds and greater chain coordination are needed. Alessandro Malavolti listed nine key points to relaunch the sector.

A survey conducted by GRS for FederUnacoma confirms the confidence of manufacturers in trade fairs and in particular in the Bologna event. Brand positioning and relations with professional operators are the elements that most motivate companies to participate. "EIMA is an irreplaceable platform for the development of our sector," declared FederUnacoma General Director Simona Rapastella.

The Italian agricultural machinery industry closed 2020 with a production value of 11.5 billion euros, slightly higher than the previous year (+0.4%). The favourable trend of the agricultural economy at the global level keeps production levels high for a mechanical engineering sector that derives 70% of its turnover from exports.

The General Meeting approved an exception that keeps the current bodies in office, with the aim of giving continuity to the activities in a particularly important time of transition. It is a sign of the solidity of the association's base," says President Malavolti, "and of confidence in the work of this President's Council.”

Registration figures released by FederUnacoma show, for the first six months of the year, increases of 52% for tractors and significant growth for all other types of vehicles. A positive phase also on foreign markets, with strong increases in the United States, India and Turkey. World trade is expected to grow by 7.3% over the next four years.

About 250 exhibiting industries have confirmed their presence at the Idrotech Show, one of the specialised areas of EIMA International (Bologna 19-23 October). The most advanced technologies for the use of water in agriculture will be on display at the exhibition. Conferences and seminars on water emergencies also in relation to climate change are also scheduled.

The market for advanced electronics for agriculture has grown fivefold in the last four years and is set to increase even more thanks also to the system of incentives for the digital transition. The EIMA Digital exhibition as part of the 44th EIMA International (October 19-23, 2021) showcases the most innovative technologies and offers a programme of events on the subject produced in collaboration with universities and the AEF world association.

The first quarter of the year shows a clear increase in turnover for manufacturers of components for agricultural machinery and equipment. The domestic market and exports are doing well. According to Comacomp, the positive trend should continue in the coming months thanks to a high number of orders. The October rendezvous with EIMA International is a great opportunity to give further impetus to companies in the sector. To date, 520 exhibitors have been confirmed for the components exhibition alone.

The great agricultural machinery exhibition confirms the dates from 19 to 23 October, and is preparing to be the first exhibition event of agricultural machinery after the blockage and cancellation of all other events in 2020 and 2021. New facilities in the exhibition centre and an advanced health prevention system will welcome visitors.

Demand for agricultural technology is growing, but supplies of raw materials are scarce. Ferrous materials and plastics are hard to come by and showed record increases in March, to the detriment of agricultural machinery, which uses large quantities of these materials. In the manufacture of a tractor, the ferrous component accounts for 75% of the total.

Registrations of tractors and other types of machinery recorded significant increases in the January-March period, which not only made up for the deficit of the first quarter of 2020, but also pushed sales to record levels. Public support was decisive, with tax incentives for 4.0 and the Sabatini Law. Sales of higher-powered tractors soared.

A timetable with deadlines and obligations marks the organizational stages of EIMA International 2021, the great exhibition of agricultural machinery to be held in Bologna from October 19 to 23. The dates have also been set for the next edition, which will be staged from 9 to 13 November 2022.

After a sharp drop at the beginning of the year, sales of gardening machinery and equipment recovered steadily during the summer and autumn months, reaching a peak in the last quarter that brought the final balance to a profit of 3.3%. The figure for lawn mowers was negative, while sprayers, which are also used for sanitizing environments, showed a clear increase.

The second session of the 2020-2021 competition has ended, following the one held last November during the EIMA Digital Preview. Twelve innovations attracted the attention of the international jury of experts (5 as “Technical Innovations” and 7 as “Mentions”), which join the 43 winning entries from the first stage of the competition. Official award ceremony at EIMA international 2021 (19-23 October).

Registrations for the year were down for almost all types of vehicles, even if the final figures appear less negative than expected. The sharp surge in sales in the last two months of the year made it possible to partially offset the collapse recorded between March and May due to the first pandemic wave and the lockdown.