Mario Conserva, General Manager, A&L and Vice President, Alfin-Edimet, the founding company for METEF talked to AlCircle about the upcoming Metef 2017 exhibition and how the event is going to open its door again to more than 400 international exhibitors covering foundry casting, extrusion, rolling, machining, surface treatments and recycling.
An excerpt from the interview:
AlCircle: Tell us in brief about the foundry industry in Europe and Italy, and the prime international markets for the foundry players in Italy.
Mario Conserva: According to the 2015 analysis of the Italian associations of this segment, Italy has more than 1,100 foundry casting plants with about 30,000 employees, with a turnover of 7 billion euros and a casting production of about 2 million tonnes. With these figures, the Italian foundry system ranks second in Europe after Germany and before Turkey, France and Spain. I wish to recall that the European total production for the same reference period accounted for almost 15.5 million tons, 4,600 foundry casting plants and about 265,000 operators that generated a €41 billion turnover. As for the final destination of castings produced in Italy, 70% of the aluminium alloys that account for about one third of the total – are destined to the transport market while the rest is used for mechanical, building, furniture, electro-technical and other applications.
AlCircle: Which production sectors of the metalworking industry are covered by Metef 2017?
Mario Conserva: METEF was started in 1997 and it immediately took the shape of the first world-level exhibition dedicated to processing of aluminium and technological metals, from primary production to recycling, casting foundry, die-casting, extrusion, rolling, machining and surface treatments: a production chain rich in tradition and know-how.
Last Metef reported over 400 exhibitors, 30% of which coming from 38 foreign countries, trading delegations from 20 foreign nations, over 10,000 visiting operators, 32% of which from 60 different countries, Germany first followed by Turkey, Iran and the Western European countries, all being strategic markets. After 20 years from its first edition, Metef is basically the same show but with more focus on casting foundry and die-casting. For example, pressure die-casting at Metef represents the main European manufacturers of machines, dies and deburring dies, furnaces, steels for tools, lubricants and releasing agents, design and simulation software.
AlCircle: What would be the main focus of Metef 2017 exhibition?
Mario Conserva: Italy has the unique ability to develop high-value-added customized plants, technologies and products that deserve to be promoted. METEF has hit the ambitious target of attracting the whole production chain to an exhibition that is structured as big container of specialized display areas where innovation and customized solutions are always in the spotlight, being the focus of the display areas as well as of the side events.?The characteristics of the production chain are further highlighted by ad hoc initiatives such as the ‘METEF Innovation Award’, now in its 4th edition, aiming at promoting the innovative content of exhibiting companies in the different areas of interest, where the companies unveil solutions and applications for the future.
METEF 2017, whose 11th edition will be held at VeronaFiere on June 21- 24, will offer a special focus on the casting foundry without overlooking the evolution under way in terms of new technologies and new materials in the extrusion and rolling sector, and the fast development of innovative digitalization methods according to the targets set by the Industry 4.0 plan. Great attention will be devoted to the aluminium and foundry production chain for both light alloys and innovative materials; as a consequence, this Metef will focus on the automotive sector, which plays a towing role for the all the industrial induced activities since sustainable lightweight is a pressing need that can only be achieved by innovating materials, processes, elaboration techniques and material-oriented designing. The development of light alloy castings in the automotive sector is the leading issue of METEF 2017, this year’s event to understand where the future of materials is heading to with over 400 exhibitors, thousands of visitors and world leading operators, conventions and seminars. All major global producers of die-casting machines will be present at the exhibition showcasing the latest die-casting technology innovations with integrated peripheral devices to ensure maximum production competitiveness.
AlCircle: What would the attractions be for the aluminium industry players in this mega event in Italy?
Mario Conserva: Along with the 400 leading exhibitors, Metef also offers many concurring events like the great international convention Aluminium2000-ICEB now at its 10th edition (PalaExpo Congress of VeronaFiere on “0th June), a three-day event including 4 parallel sessions and over 120 papers; a major topic will also be the global situation of the aluminium industry to be dealt with during the first day of the show by J. Hirsch of Hydro Aluminium, A. Patel of CRU Group, M. Daylami of Gulf Aluminium Council as well as Jerome Lucaes and Roman Berstenev of UC RUSAL.
Wednesday 21st will be the official opening of Metef in Piazza Italia, with the Metef 2017 Innovation Award ceremony followed by a special edition of the FARO meeting dedicated to the Automotive Market Scenario, with speeches of international experts from Ducker Worldwide and LMC Automotive on new challenges, materials used, technological developments, electrical vehicles and new regulations that will have a large impact on the automotive sector. FARO Club has been supporting manufacturing companies taking informed and confident purchasing decisions for quite some time.
Thursday 22nd will be the day of Extrusion with a series of one-to-one meetings in the exhibition hall. These meetings are conceived primarily for technical operators, manufacturers of machinery, equipment and products for the extrusion industry and for purchasing managers of profiles end users. The Anfia Convention – organized in collaboration with Amafond and offering first-hand accounts of major companies in the metallurgical-manufacturing division – will focus on the Industry 4.0 plan and will benefit from the experience of the Centro Studi Pressocolata and Metalli Leggeri (Diecasting and Light Metals Study Centre) of AIM-Associazione Italian di Metallurgia.
Alongside this, Nadca-Metef convention will be the catalyst of the world die-casting. More space will be devoted to the foundry world with one-to-one meetings in the Sinfonet hall. Sinfonet is the foundry network promoted by the Region Veneto, coordinated by the University of Vicenza and offering study-cases of the high- and low-pressure Diecasting School, promoted by AQM-CSMT, a highly qualified didactic course with university professors, professionals and experts, metallurgists and specialists from AQM, the first and only die casting school in Italy.
Friday 23rd is devoted to the Indian Market and Recycling with the EIT Raw Materials Conference and the presentation of the Summer School on Recycled Aluminium Alloys. A concurrent event will be held in the meantime which is promoted by Assomet Centroal within the project AFFG (Aluminium For Future Generations) managed in Italy by Strategic Advice.
Metef is all this and more … hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of visitors, companies, associations, schools, universities, institutions … the chance to join forces, knowledge and accounts of a system, rich in history, experience and creativity.
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