The engineering industry in Emilia-Romagna is a strategic asset for the development of Italy. What are the effects of the 2008 crisis on this industry in the region? What were the responses from companies? What questions for public policy emerge from the reading of the structural features of the regional industry and effects of the crisis? To outline the answers to these questions, in addition to the statistics available from official sources and to previous empirical research, information were drawn from a series of more than forty interviews (carried out between January and April 2011) to 28 engineering companies in the provinces of Bologna and Modena and to associations of firms in the two provinces. A background of the debate on development issues in manufacturing sectors introduces the relevance of mechanical production of the Emilia-Romagna region. The results of the empirical investigation focus on the networks of relationships that characterize the mechanical filières in the region. In the second part of the paper, 28 case studies are presented with regard to their structural characteristics, the pre-crisis strategies, the effects of the crisis and post-crisis strategies, problems, perspectives of local subcontracting. Issues of public policy are highlighted. For eight companies that have agreed to the disclosure (Ima, Sacmi, Marchesini, Tetra Pak, Partena, Rossi, Caprari, CBM) extended description drawn from interviews are also available
