Interview with F. Bellina (Acimaf) about the future of the wire industry

We had a chat with Ferruccio Bellina, president of the Italian Wire Machinery Manufacturers Association (ACIMAF), just a few days before the past wire 2022 in Düsseldorf: a good opportunity to take a look together at the sector’s development and his expectations for the event, which came after a 4-year stop due to the pandemic.

Let's start with an overview: how is the wire market doing?
The trend is quite positive, we are working for the moment. The scenario is still clouded in uncertainty, due to basically two factors: a shortage of electrical components necessary for machine production, which unfortunately is causing major delays in deliveries; and rising raw materials costs, which makes it complicated for semi-finished manufacturers to do business. The steel and aluminum markets seem to have gone crazy, and there is little room for price negotiation.

Let’s bring up a sore point: the Russia-Ukraine conflict. What impact is it having on Italian wire and cable companies?
The Russian market was significantly relevant for us; we calculated that between 10 and 15 percent of all our orders were attributable to Russia. Besides the supply chain disruptions, we are also experiencing problems on the collections of orders placed before the war outbreak.

What are your expectations about the following months?
So far, demand has been good for the general market. I'm talking about both ferrous and nonferrous metal wire and machine manufacturer, who have received a good number of maintenance and plant renewal inquiries. However, we still have doubts on how long this can last. We are worried about war and sanctions, and a possible recession related to overall trends and inflation. Wire drawing operators are already experiencing a slight drop in orders. Generally speaking, in most cases there are orders until July. My worries are from September onward.

Acimaf attended wire 2022 with its own booth, number B51, in hall 11. Below are all the member companies with their own representation at the fair. To download the pdf in high resolution, please click on the image.