27 January 2006

Giovanni Fantoni/ Associazione Industriali Udine

The President of the Industrial Association for the Udine Province is Giovanni Fantoni, the Chief Executive Officer for the company of the same name in Osoppo. He has the following things to say: The last few years have represented a difficult time. Since 2001, due to a series of contingencies, the international economy has forced us to face new and complex problems. These refer to the crisis of the financial markets, the weakness of the dollar and the acceleration of “globalisation”.
That commitment saw the appearance of a strong ability to adapt, which at the end of 2003 coincided with a re-balancing of the negative trend. The year 2004 had already seen an improvement in many production sectors, in particular, mechanics and the steel and iron industry, while construction continued its positive trend. In the initial months of 2005, the Udine province increased its overall exports by +16.5%. Instead, wood and furniture suffered from the difficulty of the “chair district”, which recorded a -3% drop. A lot of companies suffered from the crisis of the European market in their quality as sub-suppliers for large purchasing groups while others, instead, invested in their brand, publicity, product policy and sales network, obtaining a good rate of success.
These industries represent an efficient example for the others and are an important stimulus.
It can be said that the last few months have shown signs of a positive trend in purchase orders and this should reinforce the level of trust for businessmen and encourage them to invest once again, also accepting the encouragement offered to them by the Region and the Government. In fact, on the 1st of January 2006, there was a Government tax relief of 1% on the cost of employment, while the Region will recognise further relief of 1% on Elrap for “virtuous” companies. They are small steps but significant ones in the awareness of the institutions that competitiveness is a fundamental objective and like Confindustria we can finally appreciate a first recognition of a petition that had been requested some time ago.”