Mechatronics, tariffs and China weigh on competitiveness

Italy's mechatronics is one of the strongest certainties of our economy. A transversal sector, which intersects with traditional sectors of our industry, such as automotive, pharmaceuticals and food, or highly innovative ones, such as aerospace and medical. We are talking about a production basin with over 49 thousand companies, capable of generating a total value of EUR 367 billion in 2024 and employing over 900 thousand people. But these days, even certainties need to be reviewed in the light of a global situation greatly disrupted by tariffs, wars and global tensions.

It is on this state of permanent uncertainty that the Antares Study Centre, called upon every year by Unindustria Reggio Emilia to draw up the report on Italian mechatronics, has focused its attention. Lorenzo Ciapetti, who heads the centre and coordinates the survey, anticipates some of the contents of the 2025 edition, entitled 'The state of mechatronics 2025 - Between innovation and technological sovereignty'. One of the most evident data, he says, "is that, for the first time in years, in 2024 Italian mechatronics recorded a setback in exports, which fell by 4.3%, even more than the national average of -1.5%. This is a sign that the post-pandemic recovery is over and that we have entered a new phase: on the one hand, the United States, with its tariffs policies, could reduce our export share; on the other hand, China, is now able to manufacture high quality finished products, and compete directly with ours'.

Italy exports mechanical value to the West, but imports the electronic core from Asian countries. This raises an issue of technological sovereignty: 'Our companies assemble sophisticated value, but remain dependent on critical external inputs,' Ciapetti observes. "We need to think about how to implement selective reshoring, diversify suppliers, invest domestically in digital sectors. And, above all, on how to accelerate innovation'.

Let's be clear: Italian mechatronics is solid and articulate and does not abdicate its leading role in Italian industry. With respect to the countless types of objects and systems produced, the Antares report identified 18 'product-platforms', classified by technological and functional affinity, and pertaining to three main domains: land vehicles and mobility (which alone account for 39% of the value produced), highly complex industrial platforms, such as aerospace, fluid dynamics, embedded systems, biomedical, and traditional instrumental mechanics, i.e. machine tools and industrial automation. In these areas, the average annual productivity per employee can vary significantly, from 102,000 euros in aerospace to around 70,000 euros in mature platforms such as household appliances and agrimechanics. "A polarisation that highlights," notes Ciapetti, "how the most technology-intensive companies are also those best positioned to deal with the transitions underway, from digital to sustainability."

In short, many mechatronics companies retain a strong propensity for innovation. But the question, in the face of a changing global situation, is whether this capacity is sufficient. The size of Italian companies in the sector could be a limitation. 'There is a widespread idea,' says Ciapetti, 'that SMEs are no longer able to keep up on their own and need external help. With this year's survey, we wanted to verify the situation'. The first step was to verify the innovative capacity of our companies by going right inside them to study their dynamics. "We did this with four Reggio Emilia companies, which are not large, but have solid balance sheets, and we were able to ascertain their dynamism, which is no longer based, as it used to be, only on the product, but also on a more open organisational culture. Modern mechatronic SMEs dialogue with other companies in the sector, collaborate with universities, and are open to change. These are the factors that enable them to remain competitive'. In addition to the evaluations for the report, the experience has also resulted in a book, 'Il posto dell'innovazione' (Edizioni Lavoro), co-written by Ciapetti with Giuliano Nicolini, an expert in organisation and change strategies.