Ticino's industry must stop defending itself and start attacking. This is one of the key messages launched by Nicoletta Casanova during the 64th Ordinary General Meeting of ITI, in his first public speech as president of the association.
In front of representatives of the institutions, the economic and academic world, including the Councillor to the States Fabio Regazzi and the new president of the Grand Council Daria LeporiCasanova outlined a vision that aims to strengthen the dialogue between businesses, politics, and civil society, at a time considered crucial for the Canton's economic future.
At the heart of the speech was a word repeated several times: collaboration. Not as a slogan, the president clarified, but as an operational method and strategic lever for addressing technological transformations, geopolitical tensions, and changes in the labor market.
“There is a different Ticino than the one described”
Recalling his first year at the helm of AITI, Casanova explained that he spent months visiting local companies, laboratories, technical offices, and manufacturing facilities. This experience, he said, provided a vision of Ticino that differs from the narrative often prevalent in public debate.
According to the president of the industrial association, the canton's economic fabric is frequently described through concepts such as wage dumping, precariousness, and exploitation, fueling a perception that considers entrepreneurs more part of the problem than the solution.
A representation that, for Casanova, risks creating a growing rift between economic reality and political-media narrative.
In his speech, he instead spoke of companies that continue to invest despite international uncertainty, firms that maintain professional training programs, and manufacturing companies capable of innovating under pressure, adapting quickly to changes in the global context.
AITI's strategy: greater presence and dialogue
In the section dedicated to "development," the president outlined the work done to redefine the association's strategy. The stated goal is to make AITI closer to businesses and more effective in its dialogue with institutions.
The chosen path aims to strengthen dialogue with politicians, unions, and other economic associations, with the intention of bringing the discussion back to reality, basing it on data, insights, and concrete proposals.
The speech also indirectly criticized a public debate characterized as increasingly polarized and influenced by electoral dynamics. In this context, Casanova argued that business associations should take an active role in developing shared solutions, avoiding communication limited to media claims.
Competition between ecosystems and new industry
One of the most significant points of the presentation concerned the transformation of contemporary industry. According to the AITI president, today competition is no longer played out solely between individual companies, but between local ecosystems capable of attracting expertise, innovation, and trust.
For this reason, Ticino should definitively overcome the idea of industry as a sector tied to the past.
The manufacturing of the future, Casanova observed, will be increasingly connected to advanced technologies, sustainability, digitalization, and scientific research. This change will also affect professions, workspaces, and the relationship between young people and the manufacturing world.
In his speech, he mentioned several areas destined to have a profound impact in the coming years: artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced automation, quantum computing, new materials, life sciences, and energy.
According to Casanova, the canton already has internationally recognized companies, research centers, and educational institutions, elements that could allow Ticino to carve out a leading role in innovation processes.
The concerns of Ticino companies
Along with confidence in the region's potential, there were also concerns. The AITI president noted that many companies are still grappling with the consequences of the post-pandemic phase, exacerbated by inflation, tariffs, logistics issues, and rising energy costs.
In his speech, he also addressed several political and fiscal issues fueling the cantonal debate. These include the recent, narrowly defeated anti-dumping initiative, the upcoming vote on cantonal dental insurance contributions, and the issue of neutralizing real estate appraisals.
Casanova also cited the compromise reached on the legal minimum wage, calling it important but potentially problematic for some economic sectors, already facing recruitment difficulties and growing cost pressures.
Hence the appeal to Ticino policymakers: better understand the concrete challenges faced by businesses and ensure adequate framework conditions to maintain competitiveness and employment.
"Ticino has all it takes to lead change."
In her closing remarks, the AITI president urged Ticino's business community to abandon a purely defensive approach and instead leverage the region's expertise, innovation, and human capital.
Casanova spoke of young people intent on building their professional future in Ticino and of entrepreneurs who continue to invest in the canton despite the difficulties.
For the president, the real question isn't whether Ticino has an industrial future, but rather the collective capacity to build it through shared responsibility, collaboration, and strategic vision.
A message that AITI intends to transform, in the coming years, into a concrete course of action to address the challenges of global economic and technological transformation.
