"Steel is the sustainable material par excellence, recyclable and reusable almost indefinitely. It can be further improved and innovated, and it can lead innovation - says Emanuele Morandi, president and CEO of Made in Steel -. Steel can be one of the tools to combat ecological damage provided that entrepreneurs do not view the market as a battlefield, but work together and share experiences, to develop the steels of the future.” According to the latest estimates of the siderweb Research Department, the expenditure for research and development in the steel industry, after income statement costs and not considering capital expenditure, is about 0.7 % of turnover. A small share compared to other manufacturing sectors (electronics 8.9 %, automotive 3.2 %, machinery and mechanical equipment 2.8%). Therefore, there is room for growth, even considering that 99 % of the investments of the steel industry in 2017 were allocated to tangible fixed assets (according to the analysis of a sample of 144 companies, included in the siderweb study “Bilanci d’Acciaio 2018” - Steel Balance Sheets 2018). The delicate relationship between man and machine, machine to machine interactions, and additive manufacturing are also themes that deserve to be explored. With innovation, steel can reduce consumption, emissions and noise, and make use of different inputs. In a nutshell: sustainability. According to data from the World Steel Association, in the last 50 years huge global investments in technology and research have led to the production of ultra-resistant and ultra-light steels, reducing the weight of some products by up to 40 %. Furthermore, the steel industry has also dramatically reduced its energy consumption: a ton of steel is produced today using 60 % less GJ than in 1960. Greater efficiency has also been achieved in the use of raw materials, with more flexible and compact production chains contributing to reducing consumption. More than 40 national and international speakers will attend the main Made in Steel conferences to be held in the siderweb Conference Room, in the centre of pavilions 22 and 24 at fieramilano Rho. Among them, protagonists of the Italian and European steel production such as Alessandro Banzato, president Federacciai and CEO Acciaierie Venete; Gianpietro Benedetti, president of Danieli Group; Virinder Bahadur Garg, CEO Liberty Steel Rolling Mills; Fernando Espada, president of Eurometal; Antonio Gozzi, president of Duferco Group; Matthieu Jehl, CEO of ArcelorMittal Italia; Antonio Marcegaglia, president of Marcegaglia Group. Market and protectionism, user industries, in particular automotive, and steel mills are some of the topics that will be addressed during the conferences. The general meeting of Assofermet, the national association of distributors and dealers of steel, ferrous scrap and hardware, is also scheduled for 16 May. For further information please visit: www.madeinsteel.it/en