PRESS STATEMENT “We should stop generally painting a bleak picture of the situation in the machinery manufacturing sector”

Wolfgang Lemb: “We should stop generally painting a bleak picture of the situation in the machinery manufacturing sector. While orders have declined overall compared to previous years, sales have been higher since 2012 than they were before the financial crisis. The industry is thus still operating at a high level. Mechanical engineering is a diverse industry. Compressors, compressed air, vacuum, and material handling technology are seeing strong order volumes, while demand is declining for machine tools, textile machinery, and woodworking machinery. The power plant construction and wind energy sectors have recently undergone restructuring and significant workforce reductions. Digitalization, the energy transition, technological upheavals in the automotive industry, and the threat of trade wars are creating uncertainty. This makes it all the more important for the government to send a clear signal now and invest in infrastructure as well as in the expansion of renewable energy. The energy transition cannot be achieved through investment reluctance and an obsession with a balanced budget. If companies now tighten their belts or threaten to relocate, they will only make the situation worse.”

Further information and press photos of Wolfgang Lemb