Investing in China boosts Italian companies: official

PIACENZA -- Investing in the Chinese market can act as a springboard for Italian companies in times of economic crisis, director for Internationalization of the Italian Foreign Ministry Vincenzo De Luca said on Friday.

De Luca, a former Consul General of Italy in Shanghai, made the remarks at the opening of a new plant of the Nordmeccanica Group, a leading company in manufacturing of coating and laminating machinery for flexible packaging, in the city of Piacenza, northern Italy.

In 2009, Nordmeccanica Group opened a plant in Shanghai with only six employees. Years later, in times of economic crisis which has forced thousands of Italian companies to closure, Nordmeccanica Group expects its Chinese turnover to reach 20 million euros ($27 million) in 2014.

The total turnover of the Piacenza-based company, which currently counts three plants in Italy, one in the Unites States and one in China, is expected to exceed 95 million euros ($130 million) this year.

"Nordmeccanica Group was an example of how an important investment abroad can fuel Italian companies' development in their own country," De Luca noted in the presence of international representatives of the packaging industry and local authorities.

Nordmeccanica Group, a family company headed by 74-year-old entrepreneur Antonio Cerciello and his two sons, was able to enter the Chinese market with the right approach, the official noted, by especially investing in innovation, reliability and sustainability.

The company also had the merit to treasure cultural relations with Chinese clients, De Luca added, which he stressed is an essential asset in order to be successful in China.