FVG and Japan: an increasingly strong link between culture, technology and industry

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Production investments, technology sharing and integration in global supply chains. These are the guidelines on which, in recent years, the relationship between Friuli Venezia Giulia and Japan has developed. A partnership that confirms the region as an attractive location for large Japanese industrial groups, which find in the Friuli region a competitive hub for Italy and Europe, thanks to the solidity of the manufacturing system, the quality of the human capital and a strategic logistical position, located in the heart of Europe between the Mediterranean and Eastern markets.

But the collaboration between FVG and the Land of the Rising Sun is not limited to trade, it also translates into stable industrial settlements and the development of high added-value skills. Among the most significant presences in the area is Nidec Acim, a manufacturer of electric motors and related components that in 2010 acquired a small company in Pordenone, fostering its development and growth and contributing not only to local employment but also to the development of advanced skills in the field of engineering and electronics. Another outstanding reality is Asahi Kasei, a multinational company active in advanced materials and chemical technologies, which has consolidated its presence in the Friuli region with factories and laboratories, pursuing sustainability objectives in line with the region's development goals.

And analysing collaborations between Italian and Japanese companies, the latest in order of time is that between Interporto di Trieste and Shinagawa Danieli Advanced Materials, a joint venture between the Italian Danieli Group and Japan's Shinagawa. Last December, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a new production and distribution facility in the Bagnoli della Rosandra (Trieste) free zone with an estimated total investment of about 20 million euro. When fully operational, the plant will employ more than 40 people and have a production capacity of more than 10,000 tonnes of aggregates per year, with an estimated turnover of around EUR 30 million.

The presence of these Japanese companies does not only represent an economic investment, but is an expression of a deep collaboration based on shared values such as quality, precision, innovation and a future-oriented vision.

On the institutional front, Friuli Venezia Giulia continues to deepen relations with Japan through contacts with organisations, chambers of commerce and institutions, but also through events, business missions and bilateral agreements. A decisive impulse to this relationship also came from the results obtained by the region at the Expo in Osaka, where FVG presented itself as a European platform for innovation, logistics and advanced manufacturing. In particular, "Selecting Italy", the event staged in the context of the Universal Exhibition, opened a window on the Japanese market by calling together more than 130 stakeholders including institutions and companies. It was a concrete opportunity to consolidate relations already underway and to lay the foundations for new collaborations, confirming Friuli Venezia Giulia as a credible and attractive interlocutor for Japan in the European context.