Bulk solids industry defies the recession

Air handling technology with full order books but sober forecast

Air handling technology combines ventilation and air-conditioning technology as well as process air technology, air pollution control, cooling, drying and surface technology. These sectors continue to forecast a positive sales development for 2023. This is primarily due to the long project durations, which currently still ensure well-filled order books for the plant manufacturers. However, the current order intake shows that the starting position is changing: In the period from January to July this year, orders for all segments fell by a total of 16 per cent in real terms compared to the previous year.

This development is also reflected in the production index for air handling technology: although it increased by a nominal 8 percent from January to July 2023 compared to the previous year, it will probably not be able to continue the positive development in the current second half of the year. In 2022, German production reached a value of 17.3 billion euros. "The recession is now also reflected in the figures of Germany’s most innovative industry," says Robert Hild, Managing Director VDMA Air Handling Technology. "International meetings such as POWTECH, especially on the strong inner-European sales market, are therefore becoming increasingly important for networking and initiating business for the mechanical and plant engineering sector."

Air technology exports from January to July 2023 totaled a strong 9.3 billion euros, up 11 per cent year-on-year in nominal terms (up 2 per cent in real terms). The European market remained the most important German sales market with an increase of 11 percent (5.2 billion euros). As the largest single market, the USA recorded a nominal growth of 4 per cent to 930 million euros. High demand was also recorded from Latin America as well as the Near and Middle East. Deliveries to China (ranked sixth among the most important customer countries), on the other hand, were down in the first seven months of 2023 compared to the previous year. The value fell by 3 per cent to 514 million euros.

Process plant and equipment records increased foreign demand

In the process plant and equipment division, cumulative price-adjusted turnover for the first seven months is up 11 percent compared to the same period last year. This is due to the figures for Germany (plus 16 percent), the euro countries (plus 17 percent) and the non-euro countries (plus 6 percent).

In terms of price-adjusted incoming orders, the monthly value for July shows a plus of 35 percent compared to the same month last year due to increased foreign demand. Overall, however, there is a slight decline in orders of minus 2 percent for the year 2023 to date. The main reason for this is the weaker demand from the euro countries (minus 30 per cent). Orders from the domestic market and from non-euro countries, on the other hand, rose by 18 and 13 per cent respectively compared to the previous year. According to the latest VDMA flash survey (end of June), however, the participating members of the Process Plant and Equipment trade association indicated that adverse effects due to order losses and cancellations are now much less noticeable. Only 28 percent of the respondents were noticeably or seriously affected. The mood among process technology suppliers also reflects this improvement: almost half of the companies are optimistic to mostly optimistic about 2023. However, 23 percent are also predominantly pessimistic or pessimistic.

"For companies in the process plant and equipment sector, supply bottlenecks for electrical engineering and components in particular remain a serious problem," explains Richard Clemens, Managing Director VDMA Process Plant and Equipment. "In addition, many companies are concerned about the current and future shortage of skilled workers. Both aspects show the volatility of our industry, which we want to decisively address at POWTECH and fill with innovative power together with our members."

Process plant and equipment exports increased in the first seven months of 2023 by 4.2 per cent year-on-year to €4.4 billion. The USA increased significantly during this period (from 327 to 473 million euros) and has thus become the most important sales market outside the EU. The country now holds 10.8 per cent of the total volume. China remains the second most important market with a share of 9.5 per cent but has lost ground compared to the previous year (from 431 to 415 million euros). France remains in third place with 267 million euros (6.1 per cent total volume). The importance of the European market for German exports in process engineering is reflected in the subsequent rankings of the other top 10 sales markets: Italy, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, Austria.

VDMA Special Show as networking platform and industry representative

Promoting networking and innovation is also the theme of this year’s VDMA Special Show at POWTECH. Eleven representatives of the bulk solids industry will therefore be present at the booth in hall 2/ 2-204 (AL-KO THERM GmbH, Alexanderwerk GmbH, bar pneumatische Steuerungssysteme GmbH, DIOSNA Dierks & Söhne GmbH, Donaldson Filtration Deutschland GmbH, Filtration Group GmbH, Herding GmbH Filtertechnik, HET Filter GmbH, Masterflex SE, MOLLET Füllstandtechnik GmbH, ts-systemfilter GmbH), who will be demonstrating their innovative strength and the versatility of the industry. The stand’s own Speakers Corner is also a meeting place for networking, where VDMA experts will provide information on the latest topics in the bulk solids sector. Themes will include the biological transformation of the industry, climate and energy policy issues, innovations in the TA-Luft (Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control) and the recruitment of young talents for the mechanical engineering sector. In addition, visitors can expect exciting interviews with VDMA member companies on the topics of corporate culture, promoting young talents and digitalisation.

In addition to the live appearances, the latest events at the VDMA Special Show can also be followed via VDMA’s LinkedIn channel.