The annual assembly of Eumabois – the Federation that gathers 14 national associations of woodworking technology and accessory manufacturers – was held on Thursday, October 1, in Nice, France.

The event was hosted by Symop, the association of French manufacturers of instrumental technology. Twelve countries participated (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey) through the representatives of the respective national associations. Portugal, Russia and Slovakia were absent.

President Ambrogio Delachi opened the meeting with a significant speech. “Welcome to the new actors that will contribute to the growth of our Federation: first of all Daniel Schrenk, sales manager of Leuco and new president of the European Tool Group. There will also be a speech by Arturas Jasiulionis of company MPM, who is willing to represent the Lithuanian industry within Eumabois. I would also like to welcome the representatives of companies from different countries. Their point of view and their participation will be surely constructive.”

Delach then moved on to talk about the current market situation. “According to the statistics by Acimall’s studies office, that will be published in the Eumabois industry report, European production of woodworking machinery and tools increased by 9.6% in 2014. This adds to the impression that partial 2015 figures are even more encouraging and that the light at the end of the crisis tunnel is finally approaching. The happiest news comes from North American markets, which are literally pulling the export of European technology. Also partial results in South America are good, while Australia can be definitely considered a significant output market for our industry.”

The President pointed out that there are not only good news. “However, the international scenario still offers several doubts and question marks. First of all in Russia, traditionally a big consumer of European equipment. Great difficulties endure and some companies whose business mainly relied on this big country are confronted with serious problems to continue their normal industrial activity.

Usually, years of powerful growth are followed by years of significant slowdown, but the specific situation in Russia has been worsened by falling oil prices, ruble devaluation, and of course the international political events that have put the country under embargo.

Recently, signals from China have also been all but positive; the Yuan devaluation has caused uncertainty on the markets, as this is a structural measure that, in view of the importance of China, will have long-term macroeconomic effects in all industries, including machinery and plants where we are in the forefront.”