After two years of strategic collaboration, the Chinese SinoCpmc (China Paper Machinery Co.) has today become shareholder of PMT, which is an Italian company (Piemonte region) active in the paper industry and producing equipment and engineering services. Thanks to this shareholding and the fact that its assets are more solid following the recent capital increase, PMT will have the chance to consolidate its presence on the global scene. On the other hand, the Chinese company will profit by the sector-specific competences of the Italian company to reach the market share of a company that is leading in the production of proprietary technologies for the paper industry.
In the words of PMT’s CEO Luca Nugo, «this partnership started in 2014 and its objective is to create an international group that is very strong both technically and financially, as well as capable of being up to the challenges of a competitive and difficult environment like the paper equipment sector. Our Chinese partner is the best choice for us, as they have allowed us to establish very interesting synergies. SinoCpmc is fully owned by the Sinolight Group and is a large state-owned company, as well as one of the last companies that have managed to set itself clear objectives and make significant investments in the paper equipment sector. It is significantly present in the Asian market, whereby this is good for us, as we aren’t, and features a very effective supply chain. It is exactly these elements that led us to establish a partnership two years ago: PMT is a company that boasts excellent technological capacities, yet it has a limited market and finds it difficult to enter the Asian context without having local facilities, services or organization. The solution to these problems has been found by choosing a strong local partner, which was obviously an Asian one; in this respect, it is worth remembering that Cpmc is a very solid player from the financial viewpoint.
Mr Nugo adds that «SinoCpmc enters the corporate capital of PMT with two capital increases: the owned share is about 20%, yet there is the possibility of an option through which this shareholding can become the majority of the corporate capital. The two companies are currently present on the market as an individual identity, which can compete on the global scene thanks to major trade and technological cooperation agreements».
The competitive scenario
Mr Nugo goes on by saying that «PMT currently has a turnover of about 40 million Euro and boasts first-class customers, e.g. Nine Dragons, which is one of the leading Chinese players in the field of packaging papers, International Paper, which has recently become one of our customers, and Stora Enso, DS Smith and Fedrigoni, just to name a few European customers of ours. Europe is still a major market for our company, yet the Asian and American contexts are also extremely interesting. The old continent is undoubtedly our historical market, where we boast a profound knowledge of our customers and their needs. It should be pointed out, however, that in spite of some valid projects the European market has reached the point of saturation for business. Europe will undoubtedly remain a major market for PMT, however Asia features markedly higher growth rates (although growth has somewhat slowed down) and more opportunities. The fact that we are recognized as a company at the cutting edge of technology certainly provides us with major advantages, however local presence and service management directly on the spot are essential elements in our business field: our customers typically wish to have the possibility of contacting us 24/7 and they want to know that there is always someone close to them whom they can rely on for any intervention. With SinoCPMC we will therefore be more competitive thanks to their effective control of the territory, their very well-equipped workshop (e.g. the Chinese group invested a lot in the field of paper production equipment with two workshops in China and it can therefore support not only in the provision of services, but also in the construction of components) and their extensive network of local subsuppliers».