Thanks not least to a EUR 10m order from car manufacturer Fiat, the fortunes of Italian machinery manufacturer Negri Bossi (Cologno Monzese, Milan / Italy; www.negribossi.com) apparently are looking up, in sharp contrast to the never-ending agony of its much smaller competitor Sandretto (Collegno / Italy; www.sandretto.it).

Negri Bossi will supply five automatic injection moulding cells that operate on high tonnage machines of the "Bi-Power" series, each with a clamping force of 35,000 kN and capable of feeding the assembly of more than 1,500 vehicles per day. All five units will be supplied to the Fiat assembly plant in Cassino / Italy, however, the company provides no information on which parts will be produced – see Plasteurope.com of 22.04.2008.

In 2007, the Italian machinery manufacturer posted sales of EUR 128m, nearly 17% above the 2006 figure. EBITDA amounted to EUR 2.8m (EUR 650,000). The company turned in a positive EBIT of EUR 290,000, compared with a loss of EUR 1.7m in 2006. Nevertheless, the bottom line shows that the net loss widened to EUR 6.6m from EUR 5.9m in 2006, a situation that managing director Eugenio Ferragina attributed to one-off effects.

Foreign sales accounted for 61% or EUR 79m of the sales total in 2007, up from 55% a year earlier. At the same time, debt rose by EUR 16.5m to more than EUR 54m, which analysts believe also represents the value of the company’s assets. Management’s current strategy is to transform Negri Bossi from a manufacturer of a bulk producer of small standard machinery into an internationally positioned provider of individualised production solutions.

For 2008, Ferragina is cautiously optimistic. The company apparently is sitting on full order books, not least due to the Fiat order.