Limiting our companies to the domestic market can be dangerous, Italian tube and pipe company head Antonio Marcegaglia told Steel Business Briefing at the conference organized by Assofermet and Eurometal in Stresa, Italy, last month.

The Italian industry is made up of small- to mid-sized players, often family-owned companies, product specialists, and mainly focused on the domestic market. Although Italian companies have grown stronger in the last 50 years, they are less internationalised than their European counterparts, Marcegaglia believes.

In the last five years, demand and consumption have moved to the east of western Europe. The Italian steel industry needs to consider the structural changes in the global economy and build a stronger presence in the new markets, offering a diversified product range. “Our customers are also moving east and we have to be able to follow them,” Marcegaglia advises.

The Marcegaglia group is investing heavily in expansion outside of Italy, particularly in new plants in countries such as Poland, Russia and China, as previously reported by SBB. The company’s turnover abroad is forecast to grow by 30% by 2012.