“Machines Italia in Russia” project brings Italian technological excellence to Moscow. The project aims to support Italian mechanical engineering companies through technological and commercial partnerships with local Russian companies in order to create a network of institutional and business contacts. The initiative is supported by the ICE-Italian Trade Agency office in Moscow and funded by the Ministry for economic development. “The Russian market is substantially recovering, with demand following the same trends as before the crisis of 2009. In 2013, 41% of Italian exports to Russia were machinery and capital goods, which is evidence of Russia’s unchanged interest and constant recognition of Italy’s quality products,” says Roberto Luongo, general director of ICE, the agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian firms, at the launch of the initiative in Rome.
The “Machines Italia in Russia” project includes horizontal actions to promote joint actions among federated members (Acimac, Acimall, Acimit, Amafond, Assocomaplast, Assomac, Ucima and Ucimu) and vertical actions in favor of the sectors represented. The initiative is a public relations and networking event aimed at businesses and institutional partners that will bring together representatives of the Ministries of Economic Development, both Russian and Italian, the Federmacchine Federated Associations, Industrial Associations in Russia, and Russian and Italian large industrial groups. Representatives of the Italian system in Russia, as well as economic and technical actors, universities, research centers and banks will participate too. “The project will allow our Russian counterparts to learn more about the Italian offer, which perfectly integrates the latest generations in production lines with engineering know-how, organizational and managerial competence, reliability and availability for after-sales assistance,” says Giancarlo Losma, president of Federmacchine. In 2014 vertical actions are also planned, as technology seminars, B2B meetings, company visits and the welcoming of incoming delegations of selected Russian companies during the main fairs in their respective sectors. Overall, there will be approximately 15 specialized initiatives guaranteeing the participation of over 220 Italian companies and about 400 Russian firms, for a total of over 1,500 B2B meetings.
