Italy’s automatic packaging and processing machinery industry recorded EU€10.46 billion in revenue in 2025, a four percent increase over the record-breaking results achieved in 2024, according to the 14th National Statistical Survey conducted by the UCIMA MECS Research Centre.
The survey involved 629 companies operating in the sector, employing a total of 40,611 people.
Packaging machinery exports reached EU€8.19 billion, accounting for 78.3 percent of total revenue, up 2.5 percent compared with the previous year. The average export share per company stood at 85.4 percent.
The domestic market grew by 9.9 percent to EU€2.27 billion, driven primarily by the food and pharmaceutical sectors, both of which recorded growth of more than 15 percent.
The food and beverage industries remained the largest customer segments, together accounting for 55.4 percent of total sales. The food sector ranked first with EU€3.26 billion (31.2 percent), followed by the beverage sector with EU€2.54 billion (24.2 percent).
Primary packaging machinery generated the largest share of Italian packaging industry revenue at 52.5 percent, driven by form-fill-seal (FFS) machines, which alone generated EU€2.28 billion. Palletising systems grew by 8.1 percent, while cartoning and case-packing machines rose by 7.5 percent.
Emilia-Romagna’s Packaging Valley remains the industry’s manufacturing hub, home to 214 companies (34 percent of the national total), generating 61.2 percent of overall industry revenue.
Employment in the sector reached 40,611 people, an increase of 0.3 percent compared with 2024, with more than 13,000 new jobs created over the past decade.
“Achieving revenue of nearly EU€10.5 billion in an international environment shaped by geopolitical tensions and new trade barriers confirms the strength of both our industry and the supply chain that supports it,” said Maurizio Bertocco, President of UCIMA.
