SaMoTer 2026 Signals Italy’s Construction Equipment Push on Exports, Skills and Tech

SaMoTer is back in Verona for its 32nd edition, reaffirming its role as Italy’s reference trade fair for construction machinery and jobsite technologies. For four days, the city turns into a meeting point for the global equipment supply chain, with Veronafiere and UNACEA once again partnering to bring the sector together.

Despite a complicated geopolitical backdrop, the show has expanded: Veronafiere president Federico Bricolo said the exhibition area is up 20% compared with 2023, a result he credited to the work of the organising teams and the push to become more international.

The 2026 slogan, “Keep on Building,” frames the event as more than a product showcase. The message is about continuing to build infrastructure, but also relationships, skills and market links at a time when trade tensions, tariffs and sudden policy shifts can disrupt planning. The layout reflects that ambition: six halls and three outdoor areas, plus dedicated formats like the Digital Construction Site and the SaMoTer Arena and Forum, designed to take innovation out of brochures and into real operating scenarios, including AI, connectivity and automation applications already moving from pilot projects into everyday jobsite workflows.

One of the headline additions is the SaMoTer Academy, developed with Engim Veneto, aimed squarely at the skills gap. The project focuses on training and recruitment, introducing young people to construction machinery and tightening the link between technical education and employers. Organisers want the approach, starting with earthmoving modules in Veneto’s technical institutes, to scale nationally, on the logic that machines are evolving quickly and the workforce has to keep pace. Over today and tomorrow, 200 students are scheduled to visit sponsoring companies to see operations up close and explore job opportunities.

Behind the show floor, the numbers underline why SaMoTer is positioning itself as an international platform. Italy’s construction machinery sector is valued at about EUR 4 billion in production and employs around 6,000 people directly; including marketing, components and related services, the ecosystem supports more than 85,000 jobs. Around 70% of production is exported, generating EUR 3.2 billion in revenue in 2025. Italy’s domestic market ranked third in Europe in 2025, behind Germany and the UK, overtaking France. Against that backdrop, SaMoTer 2026 stepped up its internationalisation effort, selecting and inviting top buyers from 23 countries across Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS area, the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, alongside operators hosted with support from the ITA-Italian Trade Agency.

At the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy Valentino Valentini positioned SaMoTer as a place to see “Made in Italy” industrial manufacturing in its most concrete form: machines that build infrastructure worldwide. He pointed to a supply chain that remains competitive, while warning about tougher import pressure and a more aggressive global playing field, as well as the need for regulatory clarity at European level, particularly as the industry navigates green and digital transitions. The Ministry, he said, backs the sector through incentives for innovation, development contracts and Transition 5.0 programmes, arguing that this is not a niche industry but one that enables national infrastructure development.

“The Italian construction machinery sector is one of the world leaders, offering a comprehensive range of products and making a significant contribution to the Italian economy. Expanding its global impact needs an international showcase of the highest calibre: and this showcase is precisely SaMoTer

Said Michele Vitulano, President of UNACEA.

The opening featured contributions from Federico Bricolo (Veronafiere), Valentino Valentini (Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy), Stefano Vallani (President of Verona City Council), Flavio Massimo Pasini (President of the Province of Verona), Michele Vitulano (UNACEA), Mauro De Tommasi (Director, Analysis and Studies Office, ITA-Italian Trade Agency) and Diego Ruzza (Councillor for Transport, Mobility and Public Works, Veneto Region). Veronafiere’s ribbon-cutting delegation included CEO Barbara Ferro, board member Desiree Zucchi, Deputy General Manager Gianni Bruno, B2B exhibition manager Valeria Santolin and SaMoTer event manager Matteo Pasinato.

SaMoTer runs until Saturday, 9 May. In a year defined by uncertainty, Verona is betting on something simple: keep building, keep meeting, and keep the sector moving forward with the people and skills needed to operate the next generation of machines.

SaMoTer 2026 Signals Italy’s Construction Equipment Push on Exports, Skills and Tech published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.