FRANKFURT, Germany—German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers are expecting growth of just 0-2 percent in sales for the year 2022 amid ongoing challenges around raw materials supply and rising prices.
This follows year-on-year growth of over 12 percent in 2021, said Ulrich Reifenhäuser, chairman of the plastics and rubber machinery association at the German mechanical engineering association (VDMA).
"It didn't turn out to be a record year, as the impetus from the automotive sector in 2018 and 2019 was too strong for that," said Reifenhäuser.
"But we are more than satisfied with the order intake in 2021 as a whole—up 39 percent against the previous year," he added.
In terms of production, the industry recorded total sales of $11 billion (€10.5 billion) for 2021, which included $7.9 billion from "core machinery" production.
The figure was up by nearly 6 percent from 2020, but it fell short of 2019's pre-COVID-19 $12 billion total.
In terms of exports, the country had a 19.6-percent share of the 2021 global rubber and plastics machinery market, which grew by 13 percent year-on-year to $40.7 billion.