Despite having suffered an abrupt setback due to the pandemic situation, in 2021 the Italian automation market exceeded 6 billion mark, growing by 21% compared to the catastrophic 2020 and 8% compared to 2019. In particular, manufacturing recorded the biggest gains, benefiting from its strong domestic demand.

This growth was due to the excellent performance of imports and exports. Exports to Europe slightly fell – 59% involved European countries – while exports to Asia increased (21.3% compared to 20.8% in 2020) America (+ 0.7%), and the Middle East (5.5%, in 2020 it was 4.7%). Regarding the trends of the main technology segments, 26% of the domestic turnover is derived from switchgear, 25% from brushless motors, followed by drives (18%), fixed gearboxes (17%) and HMIs (Human-Machine Interface) (16%).

Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2022, there was once again a significant contraction in the automation sector, due to the poor supply of raw materials, logistical difficulties and the energy shock (which led to often double-digit price increases) resulting from the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. In addition, the repeated lockdowns in Asia also disadvantaged the import of materials from these countries. Nevertheless, Italian companies have succeeded in the difficult task of not raising their prices.

Although the scenario is rather critical and uncertain and Italian companies have expressed uncertainty regarding the next 18 months, most of them have positive hopes for the future. In fact, many closed the first quarter of 2022 with 10% growth.