Miller Magazine Issue 109 / January 2019

38 NEWS MILLER / JANUARY 2019 Italian packaging machinery continues its growth The growth of the Italian packaging machinery ma- nufacturers shows no sign of stopping. According to the preliminary figures published by the Research De- partment of Ucima (Italian Automatic Packaging Machi- nery Manufacturers’ Association), the sector’s turnover is expected to see further 6.8% growth to 7.7 billion euros in 2018.Both the Italian and international markets have contributed to these results. In 2018, export sales surpassed a value of 6 billion euros, 6.6% up on the previous year. According to the latest available disaggregated data relating to the first eight months of the year, the area showing the best performance is North America with 27.2% growth. The USA in particular has remained the largest market for Italian technologies with record growth of +35.4%. In second place are Africa and Australia (+15.3%), followed by the European Union (+9.6%) and South America (+2.5%). By contrast, there have been falls in exports to non-EU Europe (-5.8%) and Asia (-2.4%). As for the rankings of individual countries, the USA is fol- lowed by France with growth of +3.1% and Germany (+1.5%). Italy has continued its strong performance in 2018 with revenues of 1.6 billion euros (+7.5%). “This is in no small part due to the Industry 4.0 Plan, which has boosted the take-up of our companies’ most innovative technologies by Italian customers, although the recovery of the market is another contributing fa- ctor,” said Ucima’s Chairman Enrico Aureli. “However, we are concerned about the economic and social policies pursued by the current Italian government, which pay scant attention to the world of production and risk mar- ginalising Italy on the European stage,” continued Aureli. Axéréal to acquire Cargill’s malt business Cargill and Axéréal announce their intention to enter into an agreement under which Cargill will sell its malt business to Axéréal’s malt subsidiary, Boortmalt. The transaction involves the global malt business, including 15 facilities across four continents, representing more than 500 people. This transaction would give Boortmalt access to a global footprint and offer further growth opportunities for Cargill’s Malt business and its people. Boortmalt is one of the world’s leading maltsters with a long-term commitment to the malting industry. Cargill Malt serves the brewing, food, and bevera- ge industries by originating and transforming malting barley into malt. Entry into the sale agreement is sub- ject to information and/or consultation procedures with the appropriate employee representative bodies. The transaction will be subject to regulatory and ot- her approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2019. Axereal is one of France’s foremost cereals coope- rative groups specialising in growing and processing cereals for the brewing, baking and livestock indust- ries. Axereal has 13,000 cooperative members and 3,200 employees. It generates turnover of around € 3 billion per year and operates in 13 countries. As the leading collector of sustainable cereal raw materials, Axereal helps bring high-quality food to the market and aims to become a leader in the agricultural tran- sition. Boortmalt is the Axereal Malt subsidiary which produces high-quality malt for brewers, distillers and micro-brewers. Boortmalt operates 10 malting plants in Europe and produces and sells more than a million tonnes of malt a year. Ucima’s Chairman Enrico Aureli