Marco Crosta
President - General Manager Mario Crosta Srl
Green technology and energy saving are the buzzwords
The global textiles machinery industry is undergoing revolutions in terms of sustainability and innovation. Marco Crosta, President - General Manager of Mario Crosta Srl talks about the global market for textiles machinery, its pros and cons, and the latest innovations trending the industry in an interview with Fibre2Fashion.com
What is the size of the global machinery market in your niche - finishing, and coating and laminating?
Sorry, but the global size is not possible to define. If we consider finishing and coating machines of a middle or high level (coming mostly from Italy), we could say about euro 60.000.000. If we also include low-level machines (coming mostly from Turkey, Korea, Taiwan and China) - with average prices much lower than the European ones, the numbers can probably levitate to euro 150.000.000.
From which geographies is the demand the most for these machines? Which new markets are you exploring?
The Far East is the most demanding (including India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan), and Turkey is still very active. New markets like Vietnam, Indonesia and Central America are emerging.
What are the latest innovations that these machines offer?
Green technology and energy saving are the factors we are working on, with developments already made that give huge advantages to customers in terms of cost-reduction.
How big is the market for used machinery in Italy?
Used machinery market is quite big and common, but mainly outside Italy. Usually, Italian companies sell their machines (because of factory closure, delocalisation, or replacement of old machineries) to emerging markets like India, Bangladesh, South America and China.
What are the challenges facing the machinery vertical and what would be your three-point formula to resolve them?
Customers request for cheap, high-level and easy-to-work machineries, with a deep interest in after-sale service.
We, from the beginning of our long history (this year we turned 90), have always pushed on the easiness of our machines, making them user-friendly at the maximum. On the quality front, our machines, being the leaders in the face finishing sector, are worldwide recognised.
For some years now, we have also improved and increased the after-sales service network, creating branches all around the world for a quicker and on-site service for customers.
We are also making efforts in cost-reduction, but this is more difficult - having suppliers who don't decrease theirs and are still trying to add more features to our machines instead of taking them out.
What is the trend in the machinery market when it comes to energy efficiency? How good or bad are they? Are there innovations which incorporate solar energy?
As already said, energy saving is a major trend, sometimes underestimated, but with big appeal. We are very focused on it. No solar energy is involved in textile machines.
For which type of machinery has the demand been the most in the last two years?
Sueding machines are very much in demand; but so are all the machines in our production.
How has the growth story been at Mario Crosta? What is the targeted percentage growth for the next two years?
Since the beginning, Mario Crosta has every year increased its turnover, its presence, to become a milestone in textiles finishing. In the last few years, we had an average 20 per cent yearly increase. For the next two years, the target is an increase of 25 per cent annually.
Published on: 06/07/2015
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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