11.05.2015 – Germany manufactured process plant and machinery with a value of EUR 7.8 billion in 2014, up 2.3 % on the previous year. “We are delighted by the strong performance of process technology in the past year. However, this cannot hide the fact that there is a lack of investment and the economic environment is becoming increasingly unpredictable,” noted Richard Clemens, Managing Director of VDMA Process Plant and Equipment.
Almost all product groups recorded substantial growth during this period. Production of equipment and machinery for water and wastewater technology rose by 5.6 %, while equipment and machinery for the chemical industry saw growth of a good 2 %. The latter includes stills, mixers, mills and centrifuges, among other things. Production of heat exchangers declined by almost 5 %.
Manufacturers of process plant and equipment enjoyed a good start to 2015. The production index issued by the German Federal Statistical Office showed year-on-year growth of 9.3 % in the first two months. Exports of process plant and machinery amounted to 5.4 billion Euro in 2014, an increase of 3.8 % on the previous year. A total of 191 countries were supplied. German process technology is in demand throughout the world. Accounting for 38 % of total exports, the EU-28 is traditionally the main customer region. Exports to the EU-28 increased by 9.5 % to EUR 2.1 billion, and the top ten buyer countries include five from this region alone: France (3rd), the United Kingdom (5th), Italy (6th), the Netherlands (8th) and Austria (9th).
With a share of 16 %, East Asia, which includes the Chinese and Korean markets, remained in second place on the list of the most important customer regions. German exports to the region declined by 1 % to 873.7 million Euro. China, the largest individual market for German process technology with a share of total exports of 11 %, purchased process technology with a value of 570.5 million Euro – 11.4 % more than in the previous year. However, this growth was not enough to offset the downturn in exports to Korea, which fell by 20 % to 146.4 million Euro, and Taiwan, which declined by 36 % to just EUR 54.6 million.
Exports to the “rest of Europe” fell by 3.6 percent in 2014, an unsurprising development in light of the fact that Russia accounts for 41 % of exports to these countries. Exports to Russia fell by 5.6 % to EUR 302.2 million. Turkey also lost considerable ground, with exports declining by 11.4 %.
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