"Still, these numbers are certainly encouraging,” adds Zucchi, “even though the pandemic is still not under control, especially in Countries that are essential markets for our industry, such as India. Investments in the textile sector have thus seen a rather patchy recovery. Without a widespread vaccination plan on a global scale, our people remain limited in their movements, jeopardizing the possibility of seizing business opportunities in different markets.”

“A future recovery is also threatened by rising prices for raw materials,” states ACIMIT’s president. “A significant growth trend is currently under way, beginning from last summer and continuing to swell between late 2020 and early 2021. These price hikes are pushing up input costs and, in the absence of a price adjustment, the negative impacts for machinery manufacturers could be quite significant.”