Orders were up, sales down in 2020 for German plastics and rubber machinery industry

The mood at the annual general meeting of the German Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association today was upbeat, as were the results for 2020 presented there.

"After a difficult start, which was characterised by major challenges including a lockdown, incoming orders showed a rapid increase from the summer onwards," Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association in the VDMA, reported.

This was evident, not only in the sectors where this might be expected such as the packaging and medical industries, but also in the automotive and the construction industries. While the latter has been booming for some time, the automotive industry has been notoriously reluctant to invest for several years now.

"All this resulted in a 7% increase in incoming orders compared to 2019, making plastics and rubber machinery manufacturing one of the few machinery sectors to close out 2020 with fuller order books than in 2019," Reifenhäuser said.

Sales, however, were down 12% compared to the previous year, as these were still feeling the impact of the negative trends of 2019 and the start of 2020. These are now bouncing back, showing an 8% increase in the first four months of 2021, while order intake was up 92%, almost double that of the same period in 2020.

The outlook for 2021 is excellent, with the strong incoming order volumes leading many companies in the plastics and rubber machinery sector to project record results this year. The trade association forecasts a sales increase of at least 10%.

The current primary concern is the shortages seen in components and raw materials, said Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association. "Economically, the industry is currently doing very well again,” he said. "However, this also has its downsides in the strained supply chains […] "In particular, the bottlenecks in the supply of plastics – which is impacting the willingness on the part of manufacturers to invest – as well as in the sector of metals and electronic components, could soon lead to the paradoxical situation of machine manufacturers having to curb production despite full order books."

2020 also saw exports of German plastics and rubber machinery abroad fall by 11%. The big exception was the USA: with an 8% rise in machinery deliveries, the country ranked as the number one export destination. Exports to China, the second most important destination country were down by 3%, although surging demand means that local production there is running at full speed, at both domestic and foreign manufacturers. All in all, China remains the most important sales market for German plastics and rubber machinery, with the remaining BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia and India accounting for a 23% share of worldwide deliveries of German plastics and rubber machinery.

Looking ahead to 2022 - a K fair year - the mega trends of the  circular economy, climate protection through CO2 reduction and digitalisation will remain the defining themes, the association said. These will also be the overarching themes at next year's K trade fair, where once again, the VDMA Dome will be setting for the VDMA Circular Economy Forum.

"With the Circular Economy Forum at the next K, our aim is to convince through solid practical examples and to generate impulses,” said Kühmann. “We are dedicating ourselves to this task through the exhibition and programme presented in the VDMA Dome."

The general meeting today also elected a new board that will serve until 2024. Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Managing Partner of Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik, was re-elected chair. The new board will dedicate itself, among other things, to improving the image of plastics and further promoting the plastics recycling industry.