Italian Infrastructure & Transport Minister Matteo Salvini praised the positive work of the country's construction sector during a speech on the first day of the 31st edition of the triennial SaMoTer construction and quarrying machinery exhibition.
Speaking at the well-attended event, being staged alongside Asphaltica at Veronafiere, featuring 536 exhibiting companies from 23 countries, Salvini said: “I think SaMoTer celebrates the positive side of Italy that is unafraid to dig, work, modernise and go faster. When we excavate, build, move faster and innovate, there is employment, a future and hope: the building and construction sector is vital. Despite professional nay-sayers, we are working on getting things moving again, providing finance and planning everywhere, from North to South; I found 117 sites under temporary receivership all over Italy. I had the honour of pushing the latest public tender code in the Cabinet, which as of July, will avoid wasting time and allow more construction sites to be open. We are also working to ensure that there is also sufficient labour: today will finally see the approval of the decree setting aside €300mn of tax credits for road haulage companies.”
SaMoTer is the only event in Italy highlighting the construction machinery supply chain as a whole and is the main landmark in Europe for 2023. A sector that Unacea-Italian Construction Machinery Union, a partner of Veronafiere-SaMoTer, estimates will post turnover of €3.9bn, with 15% growth over the previous year and exports worth €3.1bn (+9.7%).
The inauguration was also attended by the President of Veronafiere, Federico Bricolo; the Mayor of Verona, Damiano Tommasi; the President of the Province of Verona, Flavio Pasini; and the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia.
“SaMoTer 2023 is the point of arrival after a long run-up period that began in 2017, which Covid then slowed down,” saidFederico Bricolo,President of Veronafiere. Today we inaugurate the 31st edition of the show that reaps the fruit of a constant dialogue with sector operators and the market through projects that the sector has warmly welcomed, as demonstrated by the figures for SaMoTer and its increasingly international format that also sees the return of leading international manufacturers. This edition saw us involve institutions more than ever, primarily the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy. All this thanks to great teamwork with partners and stakeholders, including Unacea and ICE-Trade Agency.”
The President of the Veneto Region,Luca Zaia, commented: “SaMoTer confirms its status as a strategic event for the sector and once again turns the spotlights on Verona, its landmark event on a national and international scale, and the Veneto Region, as a model from the point of view of infrastructures: the Pedemontana Veneta road system will be completed by the end of the year: there is only 12.5 km to go.”
The Mayor of Verona,Damiano Tommasi, said: “Verona is also a city with an impressive trade fair tradition and the sector represented by SaMoTer, given its special features, is one of those that, to function at its best, requires the collaboration of all players, from the supply chain to institutions and ordinary people, as evidenced by the important sites underway in our area.”
ThenFlavio Massimo Pasini, President of the Province of Verona, added: “A triennial trade fair that returns after the interruption imposed by the pandemic to bring the finest new technologies, materials and equipment to the fore: we might even be able to claim that it is the best SaMoTer ever.”
SaMoTer at Veronafiere in 2023 spotlights environmental sustainability and the development of new economic models: vital progress that goes hand in hand with the 4.0 revolution. Against this background, SaMoTer is the preferential observatory for discovering the future building site, and the two main innovations at this show precisely take this direction. Hall 12 – which will also host the inauguration ceremony – is home to the first SaMoTer Lab. This exhibition area brings together companies presenting the most innovative solutions, starting with the 24th SaMoTer Innovation Award winners, alongside very high-profile training and updating courses.
SaMoTer is held in conjunction withAsphaltica, the show highlighting road paving, safety and road infrastructure technologies and solutions promoted together with SITEB-Strade Italiane e Bitumi.
