Even closer to members

G.I.S.I.’s commitment to reach it objective is ongoing: the General Assembly in June discussed the aim of being closer to members by offering more services, and of integrating school and industry to train new professionals

by Claudia Dagrada

On June 20th G.I.S.I.’s General Assembly was held, the first with the new board in office since last January, as well as the new President, Lino Ferretti, Emerson Automation Solutions. As usual, at the Association’s headquarters in Cinisello Balsamo, near Milan, many topics were tackled by many speakers in turn. Spotlights were immediately focused on the renewal strategy for the future, in keeping with that enacted during the past six years and Sebastian Fabio Agnello’s terms in office. The deep change continues, aimed at making the association increasingly dynamic. The reference points are of course the members and the industrial world in which they operate, seeking themes to develop to met their requirements. From this standpoint, Claudio Bertoli, G.I.S.I.’s new General Secretary, illustrated the three main points: intensifying services provided to members; integrating school and industry to form knowledgeable professionals (especially in times of 4.0); modifying the charter to keep abreast of the times. But great attention has been focused on changing the normative and legal aspects which need to be clarified, and on creating new synergies with other associations.

Presentation of activities of the first term and of the balance
Activities held during the first half of 2018 were presented: the product category list was printed and circulated, the product survey of 2017 sales data is about to be completed, while the observatory on balance data 2016 is already available; collective exhibitions have been organized in order to take part in the Save Milano, A&T and SPS Italia trade shows, while for the next half of the year H2O, Save Verona, Miconex and mcT Petrolchimico in Milan are being prepared. G.I.S.I. also continues to provide its members with an all-round communication service, both offline and online, to meet al requirements: this includes the annual product category list of member companies, “Controllo e Misura” magazine, the website, the application and “Controllo e Misura digital”. The time then came for the 2017 balance, approved unanimously by all the members present in the hall. Prepared by the Bellavite Fiscal Consulting Studio, analysed and checked by the Auditor and Treasurer, it is aligned with the closure forecast already presented to the Assembly in December. Finally, a new member, dfx, was welcomed: an engineering company which develops and produces information systems for automation.

The market’s performances, at a global, local and industry level
It was then the turn of the Observatory on the performances of the national market, prepared by Renato Uggeri, G.I.S.I.’s Honorary President, and by Giampaolo Vitali, researcher at the National Research Centre, CNR. The latter first provided a picture of the global macro-economic context, in Europe and Italy. From 2010 to 2017 every continent dealt with the economic crisis in its own way. The USA, thanks to a sequence of fast action, emerged from the crisis in a couple of years, while Europe dragged on for a long time, with a sort of “relapse” in 2012 for Italy, France and Spain (Germany was only marginally affected). Coming to Italy, on the other hand, according to the macro-industrial scenario provided by Anie – the National Federation of Electro-technical and Electronics Enterprises, companies found (and still find) in foreign demand what was lacking in the domestic market. 2017 was the year when the highest level of exports was reached. As regards the sector of interest for G.I.S.I., defined by the acronym SAIPL (Instruments, Industrial Automation, Process, Laboratory) the industrial organization seems to be diverse, which brings about a series of effects. In the 2010-2016 period, the upswing was differentiated, with an increase in the variability of the corporate behaviour, and contrasting performances including: foreign demand on the increase and stalled domestic demand; diversified companies and others focused on ailing industries; service and manufacturing companies. As from 2017 in any case all domains have been involved in a wave of investments in or country, especially thanks to the Government’s Industry 4.0 program. Regarding on the other hand the analysis of data collected by the Economic observatory, relative to the 2015/2016 period, in order to provide a broader scenario, non-member companies were included. We are talking about 238 SMEs, subdivided into two main categories: service and manufacturing companies. The growth in turnover fails to keep abreast with large companies, while labour productivity and profitability are positive. Even in this case the sector is rather diverse but with a great growth margin. While opportunities are many, there is no lack of critical aspects, such as, for instance, the competitiveness of great foreign multinationals.

Numerous speeches dedicated to the most current topics
There were also many speeches by professionals relative to the moment’s hottest topics. Stefano Azzolina from the Azzolina Legal Studio described the compliance with the new General Regulation on data protection even after May 25th, the date when it became effective. Massimo Franzin then described the consulting model offered by Fideuram, an Italian bank within the Intesa Sanpaolo group.
Daniele Previtali, Brain Point, introduced “procure to pay” services for he management of indirect purchases (all of the operations which range from the procurement of products and services, to receiving invoices and paying suppliers). Massimo Bianchini and Paolo Domenighetti, Bureau Veritas Italia, focused on Industry 4.0, 4.0 training and the management of cyber security for the protection of industrial control systems. Finally, Giancarlo Franzè (General Manager, e-work) and Piero Giannone (President, K Research) discussed the widespread research organism as a support tool for production development and training.