Italian press manufacturers top the ratings.

When Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government was brought down by a no confidence vote in January, Italy was thrown into yet another political crisis. But for the Italian economy it was business as usual, and in the narrow web machinery sector several Italian manufacturers are continuing to chalk up record sales.

Omet, which recently supplied a second flexo/gravure press to US converter Multi-Color, has also had recent successes in China. GIDUE, based near Turin, recently acquired offset press specialist Castagnoli and added the Xpannd range of offset presses to its existing flexo machines. There is scarcely a country in Europe where GIDUE is not successfully installing its presses, but the case of Poland is exceptional: Of the 19 GIDUE presses installed in Poland since the company entered the Polish market in 2003, nine were installed last year.

Part of the secret of Italian companies' success in the graphic machinery sector is the industry's enterprising and export-oriented trade associations. For example, at Upakovka, the print and packaging show in Moscow in January 2008, no less than 90 Italian manufacturers presented their latest products and services, and at Labelexpo Europe in Brussels last year, 194 Italian exhibitors took part, compared with only 56 from Britain, a country with a significantly bigger economy.