Bound for Glory

Bound for Glory is the title of a novel by Woody Guthrie published in 1943, from which a film directed by Hal Ashby was based in 1976.

L'editoriale di Stefano Lavorini

Same title, in a totally different situation, for the TV series currently on air on Gambero Rosso HD, Sky 412, in which Peppe Guida shows us his two souls: that of a gourmet restaurant chef, such as the Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa in Vico Equense, where all the dishes on offer have a long history made of trials and experiments; and the soul of those who love to improvise recipes with the basic materials of his land, where everything is more immediate and informal, going so far as to create new dishes with what is left over from the night before.

A program that I recommend, even if you have neither read the book nor seen the film... and that in this very vulgate recalls concepts familiar to those who look with curiosity at the world of "made in Italy" in general, and to the Italian manufacturers of packaging machines in particular.

Italian First, at least in this field, is something repeated with one voice at the UCIMA assembly, by Enrico Aureli and Matteo Gentili, respectively outgoing president and new president of the association.

Not to say of the great director Paolo Gambuli who, in passing the position of  head to Mario Maggiani⁽¹⁾, spoke in glowing, at times visionary tones, of our hard-earned local tradition and the leadership position achieved with granitic determination.

On the other hand, this land is the land of many entrepreneurs and managers always ready to jump on the running train of world markets, where something invariably happens that is just waiting to be understood, experienced and put to good use.

In fact, it is thanks to the extraordinary skills, the ability to innovate and flexibility that the turnover of the automatic machinery sector in 2019 exceeded the threshold of 8 billion, up 2.2% compared to the previous year, which represents an exception in the Italian capital goods industry.

This first glimpse of 2020 tells a different story and, given the difficulty of making predictions, the wish expressed by Gentili is to consolidate the results achieved, even if - he said - a contraction of a few percentage points in the sector turnover is more likely.

«The association - reiterated the newly elected head, that wants to make transparency the figure of its mandate - can and must raise awareness among members on the need for a cultural review, especially in terms of issues related to digitization, to support companies in a new start with the aim of continuing to sell quality, skills and services».

Nevertheless, and in spite of the worrying world situation, Ucima proves to be positive also because in the last four years of Aureli's mandate it has grown a lot, in terms of representativeness and lobbying capacity and awareness of its potential, as also  shown by the entry into the "brand" of Villa Marchetti (headquarters of Acimac+Ucima), of Amaplast, which represents the plastics machinery supply chain.

«We have high hopes in the new president of Confindustria, Carlo Bonomi - Aureli stressed - and in the two vice-presidents very close to us: Maurizio Marchesini, responsible for the supply chains and medium-sized companies, and Emanuele Orsini, president of Federlegno-Arredo, responsible for credit, finance and tax. Another figure of Ucima who bears witness to our growth and who can offer us precious support, is Giuseppe Lesce who now leads the Federmacchine world and who will be able to make our voice heard where economic policies are decided at a national level».

As is happening in companies, everything is changing, in terms of organization and strategic objectives, with the aim of assuming, among other things, a leading role in terms of sustainability (Packaging Speaks Green), trade fairs (Ipack-Ima), promotion on a global market that is changing (as Marchesini said, mentioning the project to create a European Cloud platform, an alternative to the American and Chinese ones).

In short, after a day spent with over 100 delegates from the finest companies in the sector, it has to be said that this is our home, and that having it grow is in the interest of the entire packaging world.

Ad maiora - towards greater things..