Moretto (Massanzago / Italy; www.moretto.com), which operated recently under the name Moretto Plastics Automation, lifted sales by 4% in 2005 to EUR 24m. This compares with sales growth of 18% in 2004. CEO Renato Moretto said the family-owned manufacturer of peripherals for injection moulding machines managed to deliver a positive result last year, despite the difficult environment.

The company is planning to build production facilities outside Italy within the next two years. There is also talk of one plant in eastern Europe – either in Poland or Slovakia – and one in Asia (India or China). At present, Moretto operates two production lines and one assembly plant at Massanzago, with output of around 60,000 units a year, and has sales offices in Germany, Brazil and Singapore. The portfolio, among other products, encompasses dryers, metering devices, automatic feed systems and cooling systems for plastics processing.