NEWS
German plastic machine orders fall in H1 2020
The German plastics machinery sector “nose- dived” in the first half of this year, with a 20% fall in orders compared to the same period in 2019. VDMA, the trade organi-
sation that represents German machinery manu- facturers, said that this decline in orders is a continuation of poor results for 2019 – when exports declined by nearly 7%. “The pandemic was the stab in the back for customer industries that had already been performing badly,” said Thorsten Kühmann, Manag- ing Director of VDMA KuG. “However, we also notice that many machines are being supplied – particularly to the medical engineering and packaging sectors.” Exports for the first five months of this year were down by 19% compared to the same period in 2019, said VDMA. Sales to China and the US both fell by 3% due to the effects of the
exports to Russia (up 28%) and Turkey (up 102%) both improved. “The majority of manufac-
turers expect a turnover decline of up to 30% in 2020,” said VDMA.
Most machinery manufac-
turers expect to wait until 2022 to see turnover volumes return to 2019 levels. “For the second half of
Kühmann: “Pandemic was a stab in the back for industries that had already been performing badly”
Coronavirus pandemic. However, while the decline in exports to the US is “only the beginning”, VDMA said there were positive signs for future exports to China. Exports to several
European markets were also affected, including Italy (down 31%), France (down 42%) and Spain (down 48%). While there was also a 73% reduction in sales to India,
2020, many expect incom- ing orders from Western Europe and China to recover, which indicates the first signs of a turnaround,” said VDMA. The organisation has also
released full-year results for 2019 – which show 1% fall in sales and a 7% decline in exports.
Sales of core machinery slipped to €7.8 billion – the first fall in 11 years – but more ominously, orders fell by 14% (fuelled mainly by a 24% decline in orders from the European Union). �
http://kug.vdma.org
Technimark buys Irish moulder
Technimark, a US firm which makes custom rigid plastic packaging and components, has acquired Tool & Plastic Industries, an Irish supplier of injection moulded products for the medical device, pharma- ceutical and consumer products sectors. Terms were not disclosed. Previously privately owned by its joint founders, Tool & Plastic is based in Longford, Ireland, with another facility in Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Both of the facilities have ISO class 8 cleanroom environments for moulding and assembly operations. The combined
company will have 13 facilities and over 4,400 employees worldwide, including its existing sites in the US, the UK, Mexico, China and Germany. �
www.technimark.com
Fraunhofer IWU expands Zittau centre
The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools & Forming Technology (IWU) is investing €6m to add a large research hall with advanced processing machines and analysis equipment at its plastics technology centre in Zittau, Germany, by 2022. A formal ground-breaking ceremony took place on 21 August. The investment will enable Fraunhofer IWU to significant-
ly expand research into lightweight construction, industrial 3D printing and automation, the institute said. This will increase space there from 146 to 700 m2
. The number of Computer image of how the Fraunhofer IWU centre will look 4 INJECTION WORLD | September 2020
researchers at the technical centre, which has been open since 2016, will double to 40. �
www.iwu.fraunhofer.de
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: FRAUNHOFER IWU
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