TPT March 2022

I NDUS T RY

Interview: ISTech looks towards 2022 CEO of ISTech Alessandro Rescaldani describes his experience of the metal cutting industry and how it looked at the end of an unusual 2021 and looks ahead to 2022. 2021 was a special year, marked by the recovery of many industrial sectors and at the same time by supply difficulties: how did it go for ISTech? Signs of recovery were clear and tangible, undoubtedly supported by the incentives provided by the New Sabatini directive for investments in technologieswith a 4.0 perspective. There have been supply problems for many raw materials we use, but for some reason it has not affected all suppliers equally; our policy of diversifying supply channels has enabled us to fulfil our orders. Many companies have coped with the supply problem by increasing their stocks. In our case, this is difficult, as our production involves customised solutions, but we have increased stocks of the most commonly used components. The combination of these logistics management policies has enabled us to continue to deliver machinery and tools while limiting delays. Industrial automation has undergone considerable development: does this also apply to your sector? There is no doubt that the automation sector is continuing to grow; the trend is widespread in all industries, and even in the metal cutting segment there are many companies that are adapting their production to the new standards of efficiency and competitiveness of the industry. The upswing has been seen in all the segments we cover, but we have noticed a particular liveliness in the cut-to- length companies, the resellers of steel and steel products, the production of valves and other components and semi- finished products. What was more interesting for ISTech in 2021, the domestic market or exports? Most of our production falls within the scope of the regulations on incentives for the purchase of 4.0 capital goods, and this has undoubtedly helped us in terms of sales in Italy, but even abroad, although we cannot count on similar incentives, we have noticed a renewed dynamism in the sector. In particular, also thanks to the ability of our dealer, the Scandinavian markets have shown considerable receptivity to our solutions. As for Klaeger, the brand has confirmed its usual good performance in the German-speaking markets. Are there any innovations in the pipeline for 2022? Yes. First of all, a considerable expansion of the usable space in our headquarters thanks to a renovation. Thanks to the new incentives, we have also been able to envisage the purchase of a new machining centre, which will allow us to automate the mechanical machining.

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MARCH 2022