Page 13 - Industrial Plant 2020

Editorial

Preparing for

the Post-Covid-19

New World

lso this year, I am pleased to intro- analogy comes frequently to my mind: the assassina-
duce Industrial Plants, the yearly tion of the Austrian-Hungarian heir to the throne Fer-
publication for international audien- dinand in Sarajevo in June 1914 initially looked like an
ces of ANIMP, the Italian Associa- accident of history; but, this seemingly small, local
Antonio Careddu
ANIMP President tion of Industrial Plant Engineering and totally unpredicted event ended up leading to
Head of Onshore A Companies, which includes engi- huge consequences: the First World War, shortly
Business Development, neering firms and general contractors, plant compo- thereafter and in part as a consequence, the Second
Commercial and nent manufacturers, service suppliers as well as one; a monumental change in the ‘world order’, with
Tendering universities, with the main focus on designing and
Saipem SpA building large industrial plants in every corner of the With the Covid-19 pandemic we are most
world. With more than 500 current members, for al-
most 50 years ANIMP has strived to develop a world- likely going to witness a revolutionary
class supply chain, competitive globally in any change, forced upon us by new
industrial plant market, and particularly to promote necessities and situations
growth, development, innovation and international
cooperation. Following our tradition, the current issue the disappearance or obfuscation of large empires
shows a selection of our industry’s recently comple- and coming to the fore of new, powerful ones, hith-
ted projects or of those under execution, both in in- erto on the sidelines; the end of the hierarchical social
ternational and domestic markets. order and lifestyle of the belle époque with the emer-
But what a world in which we are living now! Just as gence of new political ideologies and establishments;
our industry had started recovering from the slump in the end of most imperial rules and the beginning of
energy prices and consequently in capital invest- widespread decolonization and independence move-
ments while seeing the first signs of optimism and ments; the fast and disruptive development of new
prospects for growth in 2019, the world has been hit technologies, which have completely changed the
with this terrible pandemic, whose progress and out- way in which we live; rapid industrialization and soci-
come are still quite uncertain. etal transformations, with large-scale population
From what we have seen so far, we certainly believe transfer from agriculture-based countryside to newly
that once the overall situation will stabilize one way or developing industrial cities; and many more, all in the
another, it will be a ‘new normal’, very different world short time of a few decades.
from what we have been used to until recently. An I believe that with the Covid-19 epidemic we might be

IndustrIal Plants - May 2020
11