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The "infinite" applications of aluminium: the global turnover of the whole sector in Italy exceeds 40 billion euros. To cope with the new challenges, METEF returns to BolognaFiere from 9 to 11 June, at the same time as MECSPE

Sustainability, circular economy and technological innovation are at the forefront of the new edition of METEF, the international expo for the aluminium, foundry and innovative metals industry

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From automotive to electronics, from transport to mechanical processing, up to the construction industry, over the last decades aluminium is more and more used in everyday life and in the industrial field.

A sector with "infinite" end use applications, which in 2021, just for the first productions and transformations in Italy is worth a turnover of 12 billion euros (+30% on 2020), employing more than 15 thousand people1, and that for the whole chain, including final uses, counts a turnover of more than 40 billion euros2. A sector that will play a strategic role in the pursuit of international industrial decarbonisation goals. Aluminium, in fact, besides being cheap, light and flexible, can be recycled and reused indefinitely in production processes, with extraordinary positive effects in terms of circular economy and energy saving. This is done definitely in order to take advantage of the new challenges and opportunities in the sector that METEF, the international expo for the aluminium, foundry and die-casting, transformation, processing, finishing and end-use industries, will be returning to BolognaFiere from 9 to 11 June 2022. The event, now organized by Senaf, will be held at the same time as MECSPE, the most important event dedicated to innovations for the manufacturing industry.

"METEF returns to focus on its role as a national and international driving force to assist SME in the aluminium sector, which make up about 95% of the workforce and over 70% of the turnover of the industry in the European Union - says Mario Conserva, President of METEF - From Bologna, the new edition of METEF will be projected onto the international scenario and will have to bring together all the players in the supply chain, both national and international, to set up the priorities of this sector. And it will do so by being able to count on the concomitance with the main exhibition for the manufacturing industry, MECSPE, which for years has been a reference point for entrepreneurs who want to innovate production processes."

For 25 years, METEF has been highlighting the main developments in the international light metal industry through a busy program of conferences, events, special initiatives and demonstration activities.

Like the Aluminium Extrusion Forum, the focus on the use of aluminium extrusions in various sectors, from construction to mechanics and transport.
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1 Source CentroAl

2 Source A&L Magazine - Aluminium and Alloys

The Light Alloys Castings Foundry Conference (Convegno Fonderia Getti in Leghe Leggere) will deal with the current framework and prospects of the aluminium castings foundry through the analysis of the drivers of the industrial, university and institutional scenario.

Looking at the end uses, the automotive sector is of primary importance for aluminium and its alloys, the topic will be the focus of the Aluminium and Cars Conference (Convegno Alluminio e Auto) during which the latest news on materials, technologies and applications will be presented against the issues relating to lightening, the availability of raw materials and the relevant regulations. 

Aluminium is considered the "metal of the future" in terms of technological flexibility, circular economy and eco-sustainability, all aspects that will be the focus of the Green Aluminium Conference, an event that will take place in Bologna with its second stage, in which the main qualities of eco-sustainable aluminium, both primary and secondary production, will be presented.

Finally, to highlight the work of the key players in the sector, the METEF Innovation Award will return in 2022, an international initiative, consolidated for over a decade, which aims to to reward the most innovative case histories submitted by enterprises, related to innovation in plants, technologies, products and applications in aluminium and its alloys. The prize, which will be awarded to the winners on the first day of the fair, will be divided into six different categories - materials, machines and plants, technologies and processes, products, components and systems, applications, miscellaneous - and will be awarded by a jury of specialists, who will evaluate the candidatures on the basis of the degree of originality and competitive advantages that the proposed innovations are able to offer, giving priority to aspects of energy saving, eco-sustainability and resource protection. A special prize will also be awarded to projects aimed at decarbonizing the company system as a whole.


"Metef was the first exhibition in the world that grasped the extraordinary development capabilities of aluminium - says Riccardo Ferrario, president of AMAFOND - it is no coincidence that it was born in Italy, which has always been a world leader in materials, technologies and uses of light metal and its alloys. It is for this reason that as AMAFOND, the Italian association of manufacturers of machinery, plants, equipment and products for the foundry industry, we have always participated and supported Metef in all phases of growth and development, starting from the first edition of the fair in 1997. Even more so, we have given our support to the forthcoming Metef 2022 in Bologna, together with Mecspe. Light metal has in fact acquired exceptional importance worldwide among materials for all kinds of applications, both because of its eco-sustainability and because of its strong spread in important segments of industry and economy such as automotive, construction and packaging. The Italian manufacturing industry, the second largest in Europe after Germany, is very connected to and dependent on aluminium, which is why we support a major international trade fair on the sector like Metef."

In addition to AMAFOND, as usual METEF 2022 will be supported by by the main national trade associations such as AITAL (Italian Association of Aluminium Surface Treatment), ASSOFOND (Italian Foundry Association), ASSIRAL (Associazione Italiana Raffinatori alluminio), ASSOMET (National Association of Non-Ferrous Metal Industries), AIM (Italian Association of Metallurgy), ASSOFERMET, CENTROAL (Italian Aluminium Center), CIAL (Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi Alluminio), and international associations such as ALFED (Aluminium Federation), Association Technique de Fonderie, CMF (Cast Metals Federation), Croatian Foundry Association, EA (European Aluminium Association), FACE (Federation of Aluminium Consumers in Europe), FESA (Foundry Equipment Suppliers Association), GAC (Gulf Aluminium Council), IAI (International Aluminium Institute), OEA (Organisation of European Aluminium Refiners and Remelters), RAA (Russian Aluminium Association), Slovenian Foundrymen Society, STOP (Polish Foundrymen's Association), TALSAD (Turkish Aluminium Industrialist Association), WFO (World Foundry Organization).

About METEF
METEF, the international expo for aluminium, metal foundry and innovative material technologies, first launched in Italy in 1997 by Alfin-Edimet, is now in the portfolio of an equal joint venture of Veronafiere and BolognaFiere and stands as a leading event in the international metallurgical segment, updated in concept, structure and location. METEF, whose organization is entrusted to Senaf, will be held at the same time as MECSPE, the reference event for the manufacturing industry in Italy. The organisational and structural innovations of the new METEF are aimed at enhancing, in the global market, a sector of extraordinary social and economic importance such as metallurgy and advanced light metal manufacturing, a segment that is undergoing great development and in our country accounts for a turnover of over 40 billion for the whole sector.

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