What ACIMAC (Confindustria) does

ACIMAC (Associazione Costruttori Italiani Macchine Attrezzature per Ceramica) is an Italian industry trade association that represents the manufacturers of machinery and equipment for the ceramics industry in Italy. The organization operates as part of the Confindustria system, Italy's main industry confederation, and is headquartered at Villa Marchetti in Modena. It serves approximately 135 active member companies, which collectively employ around 7,152 people across the Italian ceramics machinery sector. Member companies span producers of equipment for ceramic tiles, sanitary ware, bricks, refractories, tableware, and technical ceramics, with major members including SACMI Imola, System Ceramics, Breton, BMR, and SITI B&T Group.

ACIMAC runs a platform-plus-services model built around four core operating units: MECS (Manufacturing Economic Studies) provides market intelligence, statistical analysis, and economic research; SBS (Scuola Beni Strumentali) delivers professional training for the capital goods sector; S.A.L.A. SRL is a service subsidiary; and Kairos Media Group (wholly owned) publishes B2B trade publications including Ceramic World Review, Brick World Review, Tile Italia, Materiali Casa, and several digital platforms distributed in Italian, English, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, and Farsi. The association also operates the "We Are Acimac" collective brand, launched in 2024 to promote Italian ceramics technology excellence internationally, and organizes collective participation in major global trade exhibitions (Coverings, Ceramics China, ExpoRevestir, Unicera, Indian Ceramics Asia, Batimatec, and others).

ACIMAC generates revenue through membership dues from its member companies, providing access to market research, training, internationalization support, trade promotion, legislative and contractual advisory, environmental compliance guidance, and technical assistance. The association is governed by its member companies under Italian non-profit law. The current president is Paolo Lamberti, with Gian Paolo Crasta as Director General; Bruno Bettelli has been designated as incoming president effective 2026. The Italian ceramics machinery sector that ACIMAC represents generated approximately €1,732 million in 2025, down 5.1% year-over-year from €1,825 million in 2024 and €2,373 million in 2023.

Name

ACIMAC (Confindustria)

Legal name

Associazione Costruttori Italiani Macchine Attrezzature per Ceramica

Website

https://acimac.it

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACIMAC is an Italian Confindustria-affiliated trade association representing approximately 135 manufacturers of ceramics machinery and equipment, providing member services including market research (MECS), training (SBS), B2B publishing (Kairos Media Group), collective trade show participation, and internationalization support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Trade Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Ceramics machinery association
• Industry trade association
• Market intelligence research
• Professional training services
• International trade promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Modena

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ACIMAC generates revenue through membership fees from Italian ceramics machinery and equipment manufacturers. Member companies receive access to services including market intelligence, training, internationalization support, and trade promotion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ACIMAC is an Italian industry trade association (Associazione Costruttori Italiani Macchine Attrezzature per Ceramica) that represents 135 Italian manufacturers of machines and equipment for the ceramics industry. The association provides member companies with market intelligence through MECS, professional training via SBS Scuola Beni Strumentali, B2B publishing through Kairos Media Group (Ceramic World Review, Brick World Review, Tile Italia, etc.), legislative and environmental advisory, internationalization support, and collective participation in international trade fairs.

Product overview

ACIMAC is an industry association representing Italian manufacturers of machinery and equipment for ceramics and brick. The organization operates as a platform-plus-services model, offering research through MECS (Manufacturing Economic Studies), professional training via SBS (Scuola Beni Strumentali), and publishes industry publications through its Kairos Media Group subsidiary including Ceramic World Review, Brick World Review, Tile Italia, Materiali Casa, and international digital platforms. The association also provides member services including technical support, internationalization assistance, legislation advisory, and environmental compliance through its organized service areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ceramic World Review
• Brick World Review
• Tile Italia
• Materiali Casa
• Tile International & Surfaces International
• Ceramic World Review Persian
• MECS - Manufacturing Economic Studies
• SBS - Scuola Beni Strumentali
• Kairos Media Group Srl
• S.A.L.A. Srl
• We Are Acimac
• 34° Indagine Statistica Nazionale ACIMAC (Statistical Survey Platform)

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• IntonoComunicazione SrlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntonoComunicazione Srl is a communication company jointly owned by ACIMAC and Ucima. It develops media relations, press campaigns, social and digital communication, and editorial activities for the promotion of the sector in Italy and abroad.
• Kairos Media Group SrlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKairos Media Group Srl is the publishing company of ACIMAC, serving as the international reference point for B2B publications dedicated to the ceramics and brick industry, design, and specialized distribution of floor/wall materials and bathroom furnishings for over 30 years.
• SBS Scuola Beni StrumentalicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBS (Scuola Beni Strumentali) is ACIMAC's training school providing professional development courses for the sector, including commercial training, technical training, and management programs.
• MECS Manufacturing Economic StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMECS is ACIMAC's research center providing market analysis, statistics, global market studies, and economic intelligence for the ceramics machinery industry.
• S.A.L.A. SrlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerS.A.L.A. Srl is a subsidiary of ACIMAC providing specific services to member companies.
• ConfindustriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACIMAC is a member of Confindustria, the Italian General Confederation of Industry, representing Italian industry interests at national and international levels.
• TecnamajorGTM or Marketing PartnerTecna is the international trade fair for surfaces and ceramics technology. ACIMAC promotes the fair and organizes collective participation, with Tecna 2026 scheduled in Rimini.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Confindustria (Italian General Confederation of Industry): ACIMAC's parent umbrella organization representing all Italian industry. Provides overarching policy advocacy, services, and governance framework under which ACIMAC operates as a member association.
• VDMA (German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association): VDMA is Germany's main machinery industry trade association with 3,600+ member companies across multiple sectors including ceramics machinery. It provides equivalent services (market intelligence, trade fairs, policy advocacy) but at much broader scale and not specialized in ceramics alone.

Direct peers

• UCIMA (Italian Union of Manufacturers of Automatic Packaging Machinery): UCIMA is Italy's sister trade association for packaging machinery manufacturers, jointly owned (with ACIMAC) of IntonoComunicazione. It operates the same associative model: market research, international trade shows, training, and Confindustria affiliation, serving the same member base profile of Italian capital goods manufacturers.
• ACIMIT (Italian Textile Machinery Association): Italian trade association for textile machinery manufacturers, also under Confindustria. Operates the same model of collective international trade show participation, MECS-equivalent statistics, and member services for Italian capital goods exporters. Most structurally comparable peer outside ceramics machinery.
• ASSOMAC (Italian Footwear, Leather Goods and Tanning Machinery Association): Italian trade association representing footwear and leather machinery manufacturers, closely modeled on ACIMAC. Same Italian industrial district dynamic, same export-driven capital goods profile, and similar service structure for member companies.
• Federazione Confindustria Ceramica (Confindustria Ceramica): The Italian federation of ceramics producers (the downstream customers of ACIMAC members). Sister organization within Confindustria, also based in Modena, providing analogous trade association services to ceramic tile, sanitary ware, and refractory producers that buy ACIMAC members' machinery.

Others

• Ceramic World Review (Kairos Media Group): Actually a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACIMAC, but functionally operates as a peer B2B media brand in the ceramics industry publishing space. Provides adjacency comparison for industry media and information services.

Regional players

• Tecna (International Trade Fair for Surface and Ceramics Technology): Major international trade fair for ceramics technology organized in Rimini, Italy. ACIMAC has a partnership to promote and organize collective participation. Comparable as an industry ecosystem player in the ceramics machinery space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acimac
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acimac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACIMAC (Confindustria)