The great agricultural machinery exhibition EIMA International will be held at the Bologna exhibition centre from 19 to 23 October and is preparing to be the first exhibition event of the agro-mechanical sector to reopen its doors, confirming its status as the event of reference in the year’s calendar. New facilities in the exhibition centre and an advanced health prevention system will welcome visitors.
With almost 1,600 exhibiting companies already booked, 30% of which are from abroad, the exhibition will be a very important rendez-vous for business people, farmers and mechanisation technicians, after the long pause due to the health emergency that was cancelled all other sector events scheduled for 2020 and 2021. The Bologna exhibition centre, which has hosted the event since 1969, the year of its first edition, is ready to welcome exhibitors and visitors in an avenue that is being upgraded: after the new pavilions 29 and 30, inaugurated at the 2018 edition, EIMA International will see the launch of pavilion 37, as well as a restyling of the walkways, refreshment areas and services, representing a further step towards the complete restructuring of the exhibition centre that was already planned.
Operating machines, a strong point of EIMA International
Among the major agricultural machinery exhibitions, EIMA International is the one that offers the widest choice of operating machines and equipment. These vehicles for working the soil, treating crops, harvesting and transporting produce, irrigation and livestock farming – located in the exhibition in sectors II, IV, V, VI, VII, X and XI – are here in a wide range of models to meet all working requirements. The 44th edition of EIMA – explains FederUnacoma, the federation of manufacturers organising the exhibition – takes place at a particularly dynamic time for the Italian industry in this sector, which is recording increases in sales both in Italy and abroad. The “Barometer” survey carried out by FederUnacoma shows that in the first six months of the year, 83% of companies in the agricultural machinery sector recorded an increase in turnover compared to the previous year, against a modest 6% of companies that recorded a drop in turnover. Among the profitable companies, a very high percentage (54%) recorded increases of more than 20%. The positive trend is expected to continue in the second half of the year, albeit at less pronounced levels: the Barometer shows that 67% of manufacturing companies expect an increase in turnover, and 27% a stable trend.
Official delegations from 70 countries
Business operators from all over the world will be attending the exhibition – the first of its kind to be held after the suspension of trade fair events due to the health emergency – to find out about the new product ranges and deal with the purchase of the technologies most in-demand in the various agricultural and economic settings. The aim of FederUnacoma – the organiser of the event – is to widen the audience of participants as much as possible, using all the tools and procedures that allow the safe incoming of distributors, importers and economic operators from foreign countries. While the online ticket office is active for foreign buyers, who can benefit from a service package specifically designed by FederUnacoma, the programme of official delegations created by the ICE Agency in collaboration with the Federation is nearing completion. The programme envisages the presence at the fair of 450 delegates selected from 70 countries, and the organisation of “business-to-business” meetings with exhibiting companies, as well as informative meetings and guided tours.
Official delegations have been confirmed from Europe (the group includes 25 countries, from those belonging to the European Union to the Balkans, Russia and Ukraine), the Americas (15 countries in all, including the United States, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay), and Africa (which currently has 13 participating countries, covering the northern belt to include Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, and the Sub-Saharan belt to include Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda). Finally, the Asian and Middle Eastern area is represented by 17 delegations, including those from Turkey, Israel, South Korea and the Philippines.
Focus on vocational education and training
Technological innovation will be the protagonist at EIMA 2021. The topic of education and training for technicians in the sector will also be in the foreground. After the long pause due to the health emergency, during which the major events dedicated to agricultural machinery were suspended, the Bologna exhibition – the first appointment after the freeze on activities and the only international event scheduled for the year – will be the showcase for new models, prototypes and unprecedented solutions created by the attending manufacturers (1,450 from 47 countries).
The programme of EIMA Campus – the section of the exhibition organised in collaboration with the Italian Agricultural Engineering Association AIIA, with the participation of 10 universities – has already developed a calendar of lectures and seminars on emerging themes, such as eco-sustainable cultivation techniques and the most advanced digital applications for controlling cultivation operations and managing the growing mass of technical, economic and environmental data provided by survey systems and electronic networks. The idea behind EIMA Campus is to offer university students during EIMA an immersive experience in the world of agricultural machinery, creating a didactic laboratory useful precisely with a view to supplementing curricula with topical agro-mechanical subjects.