Process Plant and Equipment
PressRelease
VDMA Process plant and equipment association expects respectable increase
Frankfurt, 14.03.2018 - ACHEMA from 11th to 15th of June 2018 is the leading exhibition for the manufacturers of process plants and equipment. Richard Clemens, Managing Director of VDMA Process Plant and Equipment Association is pleased „that her in Frankfurt we will once again have an opportunity to see “live” and for ourselves what German engineers have to offer when it comes to process plant and equipment. For the manufacturers of process plants and equipment ACHEMA takes place in an economically positive surrounding.
In 2017 VDMA expects to see respectable growth of between 4 and 5% up to 7.4 billion Euro in German production of process plant and equipment, with out-put already 4.3% above the pre-year value by the end of the third quarter.
Exports account for more than three quarters of all process plant and equipment made in Germany. In 2017, German for-eign trade with process plant and equipment reached a value of 5.6 billion Euro, remaining on a stable level compared to the previous year.
China now takes the lead with growth of 19.1%. This corresponds to a value of 593 million Euro, followed by the US remaining on a stable leel compared to the previous year, amounting to 528 million Euro.
China is not only the key purchaser of process plant and equipment but also a significant competitor on the German market. While imports of process plant and equipment decreased in 2017 by altogether 1.8%, imports from China grew by 3.8%. Over the last 5 years, imports of process plant and equipment to Germany increased by altogether 20%, while imports from China
grew by 46% in the same period. These figures make it all too clear that this is yet another sector where China has become a serious competitor.
At a regional level most process plant and equipment made in Germany is exported to the traditional purchasers in the EU-28 with a share of 38%. Exports to this group of country decreased by 6% be-tween 2016 and 2017, while exports to “other European coun-tries” increased by 6.6% to 686 million Euro. Russia alone ac-counts for machines valued at 237 million Euro, which is 3.4% more than last year and more than one third of the exports to this group of countries.
The impending Brexit in March 2019 is already having nega-tive effects on the engineering sector. Exports of German en-gineering products to the United Kingdom fell by 2.9% in 2017 to 7.2 billion Euro, a downwards trend that could accelerate during the current year. Exports of process plant and equip-ment to Great Britain decreased by 3.5% last year to 234 mil-lion Euro. The UK has slid down the country ranking of the largest export markets for German process plant and equipment by one po-sition to land behind Russia in fifth place.
Remarkable is the development of exports to Iran. After extensive loosening of sanctions in 2016 the German manufacturers of process plants and equipment benefited of the immense backlog demand of Iran. In the period 2015 to 2017 exports to Iran tripled from 13,8 million Euro to 46.1 million Euro caused by a vast widening of oil exploration, but further increase has come to a limit. Political developments may interfere with further improvement.
The VDMA Process Plant and Equipment Association is the representative body and the network for more than 300 predominantly German manufacturers of components, machinery and plant for process engineering. With their 44,800 employees, these companies stand for a production volume of €7.1billion (in 2016). More than two thirds of the production are exported worldwide. With a share of 16percent this makes them global market leader.
More questions? Richard Clemens, General Manger of the Process Plant and Equipment Association, will gladly answer them. Phone +49 69 6603-1431, e-mail: .
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