Abstract
The machine tool industry is not very concentrated; there are a lot of small and medium companies and only a few leaders. This implies for the actors of this industry such as Prima the need for special focus on the quality of the products delivered for obvious security reasons. It is a very competitive market because the means of differentiating between the different competitors is via investment in new products.
The industry was severely hit by the economic recession. The industrial production in Europe collapsed and caused substantial trouble for the actors of machine tools. The economic perspective is not very optimistic for 2010. According to a study led by Xerfi, if in 2000 sales were at a 100 basis, today, sales are only 66.2.
The industry Prima is in relies mainly on the global growth: producing machines for other companies makes it hard for this industry to emancipate from the global financial situation. Moreover, the industry is very dependent on the credit system: more than 70% of Prima's sales in Italy are under the form of leasing contracts. This sector is based on a distribution system which includes other companies, independent or not, which activity is fully dedicated to lease the machines of the constructors. The recent credit restrictions which struck Europe and other economic zones, hit Prima's sector hard, and investments in the sector have dropped by more than 50% these two years.
