The Federation of International Mechanical and Electronic Manufacturers and Associations (Ficime) reports on the activities of its 13 member unions. It announces a 2020 balance sheet "Contrasting" for the 417 companies that make up the federation, with a 25% drop in professional electronics activity due to the closure of theatres, or a 4% increase in sales to consumers of electroportable tools and equipment for green spaces.
In the sectors of investment-related BtoB activities, the year 2020 has been "gloomy" with revenues down 8% and headcount down 1%.
More precisely, concerning the manufacturers and dealers of professional printing The federation notes a 14% drop in activity. "The underlying trend towards a decrease in printing volumes in companies has been accelerated by the health crisis and the development of teleworking," comments Ficime.
This sector is represented at Ficime by the Syndicat national des entreprises de solutions et systèmes d'information et d'impression (Snessii), which brings together 12 players (Canon France, Conibi, Epson France, Konica Minolta Business Solutions France, Kyocera Document Solutions France, Oki Europe, Rex Rotary, Ricoh France, Riso, Sharp Business System France, Toshiba tec France Imaging System and Xerox France).
As for the packaging and process machinery sector It also experienced a 5% decrease in billings, "due to the lack of visibility and investment in the agri-food and cosmetics industries, without sufficient compensation from the pharmaceutical sector".
This sector is made up of the federation of the Union of International Trade Companies of Packaging, Process, Marking and Control Equipment (Secimep), which brings together 40 companies including the manufacturer of coding, marking and traceability solutions Domino or the group specialising in labelling and marking machines Weber Marking Systems.
Outlook: Increase in packaging machines and decrease in the professional printing sector
For the first half of 2021, despite the pandemic, the federation forecasts growth of 8% for international companies present in France.
In the area of packaging and process machinery, the increase is expected to be 3%. Only equipment manufacturers in the professional printing sector are expecting a decline in activity, which is expected to be in the order of 1.5%.
"The health, economic and social crisis affecting almost all countries, including France, continues to weigh on our companies, despite their responsiveness and agility, particularly in terms of human organization. Fortunately, their activity recovered in the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 seems to continue this positive trend, says Alain Rosaz, the president of Ficime. The exceptional measures fortunately put in place by the public authorities have enabled many to resist. But let's remain cautious: we have no visibility for the second half of the year."
