NEWS
German machinery sector is hit by downturn in 2019
Turnover in the German plastics and rubber machin- ery sector is expected to decline by 10% or more in 2019, according to the VDMA trade association, basing its forecast on data from member companies. In 2018, German machin- ery manufacturers increased combined turnover by 2% to €7.9bn from €7.74bn in 2017. This was less than the 3% growth VDMA had originally predicted for 2018 due to a market downturn starting towards the end of the year.
Incoming orders in the
first quarter of 2019 slumped by 10% year-on-year – a trend which VDMA says is likely to continue in the course of this year, leading to its prediction of full-year turnover dropping by at least
German plastics and rubber machinery production Source: VDMA
10%. Orders fell by 1% in 2018, and VDMA concluded: “The extremely long boom phase of 10 years of uninter- rupted growth had come to an end.” VDMA identified three main negative factors in the machinery market: a cyclical downturn reinforced by
“great insecurity” in automo- tive sector; the trade conflict between the US and China causing shifts in supply chains; and uncertainties in Europe around the UK’s exit from the EU and Italy’s national debt. Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of
VDMA’s plastics machinery group, noted the difficulties in the automotive market: “Investments are virtually at a standstill. Companies that are very close to this sales market already perceive this downturn even more intensely. But also in the packaging sector, use of plastics materials is increas- ingly being questioned. In this sector, the bad image of plastics today has a major impact.”
German machinery
exports increased by 1.5% to €5.43bn in 2018. Exports to China climbed by 19% to €853m, making it the top destination. The US dropped to second in the list of major export countries, as exports from Germany to the US fell by 3% to €820m. �
https://kug.vdma.org/en/
Renaudeau departs from Sepro
Sepro Group CEO Jean- Michel Renaudeau left the robots company on 15 May. Eric Radat, President of the group, said in a statement that he commended Renaudeau for his work in building the group’s revenue as CEO and in establishing successful strategic alliances. However, Radat said: “We want to give a fresh boost to Sepro Group. We must go even further and be more efficient, especially as we contend with the current downturn in the automotive
4
industry, Sepro’s largest end-market.” Sepro said it has started on a new phase in its history, which is “centered on strengthened efficiency and re-energised operations”. Radat has appointed Michel Maire as Interim Manager, while the group seeks a successor to Renaudeau. “During this transition, Sepro remains committed to satisfying our customers and business partners. Existing relation- ships and contacts will stay the same, and we will
INJECTION WORLD | June 2019
provide additional informa- tion at a later date,” he said. Separately, Sepro
announced it has concluded a partnership with collabo- rative robotics group Universal Robots (UR). Under this, Sepro will integrate its Visual Control System with UR cobots and will provide global services for both companies’ products from its 42 service centres around the world. Visual Control System was developed for injection moulding machines and is now used in all Sepro
Jean-Michel Renaudeau
products, including co- branded lines, providing the same user interface regard- less of the type of robot. �
www.sepro-group.com
www.injectionworld.com
PHOTO: SEPRO
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