Organized by ISTMA-Europe and in close co-operation with the European ManuFuture Platform, the European Tooling Platform and the Clusterplast Project, Milan hosted the second edition of the European Tooling Forum on September 25. With the presence of over 100 participants from several European Countries, this initiative promoted by the European Association of this important industrial Sector, was a milestone in promoting its visibility and its importance in the eyes of official national and international bodies, with a special focus on those who decide domestic industrial policy as well as that within the European Commission.
The European Tooling Forum brought together the most important figures within the sector as well as public policy-makers on a European scale. Emphasis is given to the presence of the European Commission and Italian Parliament representatives, as well as European associations, companies, customers, universities and centres for innovation and development, including others directly connected to the Mould and Special Tooling Industry. The meeting was focused especially on strategies associating the sector with the market and emphasized the importance and strategic position of the Sector within the scope of European industrial development as well as its role on sustaining employment and economy.
Presentations and discussions emphasized the strategic role played by the Sector and the importance of giving structural support to concerted efforts which would allow companies to be better prepared to face new challenges in the market – the "Factories of the Future" initiative is a good example.
The delegates were given the opportunity to hear accounts by well-known European companies like Daimler Chrysler – Germany of the strategic importance and added value that the Moulds and Special Tooling Industry brings to innovation and the creation of new products within Europe and European companies.
The current international trade of Moulds and Special Tooling Industry in Europe, its trends and challenges, namely the need to develop new and more complex skills to confront a new business model facing the challenges of the present economic environment were also presented and discussed.
Considered to be an important and most suitable event by the vast majority of participants, it also became an interesting opportunity for debate, allowing personal interaction and networking between the different delegates and establishment of contact between agents, either directly or indirectly associated to the Sector.
This event is included on the strategy of ISTMA Europe to raise awareness and promote the strategic importance of the Sector in the development and sustainability of the European economy within the political decision-making centres, both at a national level as well as in Brussels and Strasbourg. This Association has also assumed a decisive role in facilitating access to the Sector to European Commission initiatives and programmes, namely in relevant R&D projects which allow the European Sector to remain competitive in an ever-more global and aggressive marketplace.
