Driven by exports: Toolmaking in Switzerland and Austria

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Austrian toolmaking industry

The trade figures show that the tool and die industry focuses on the production of injection moulds, which are mostly exported. A higher volume of simple value chain products are imported from cost-effective markets and processed to high quality tools and dies. This can be explained by the geographic position of Austria, which has direct access to not only high quality and complex tools and dies from Germany and Switzerland but also to cheaper manufacturing goods from the Czech Republic and Poland.

The technological understanding and tool and die quality is at a high level. This is underlined by 437 patent registrations in the tool and die industry between 2000 and 2011. The production of tools and dies in 2013 was worth €504.18m. This value has increased by approx. 35% from €372.91m, since 2010. In 2013, tools and dies worth €485.75m and 2,106 tonnes were exported, of which €61.16m were for solid and sheetmetal forming tools, €411.39m for injection moulds and €13.2m for die casting moulds. Austria registered a total value of €247.70m in imports, split into €64.9m for solid and sheetmetal forming tools, €157.45m for injection moulds and €25.35m for die casting moulds.

The Austrian trade of tools with foreign markets for 2014 is illustrated in Figure 4. The largest trade partners for importing injection moulds are Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Injection moulds are mostly exported to Germany (the total value is more than four times higher than the US), the US and Switzerland. The largest trade partners for importing sheetmetal and massive forming tools are Italy, Germany,Switzerland, while they are exported mainly to Germany, the US, Switzerland.

As the development perspective of the industry appears positive but restrained and the tool and die industry is well established, the development potential is rated between medium and high as shown in the study “World of Tooling”. Austria has a high export rate and disposes of a high tool and die competence, which is on a level with Canada and the US.

Sources:

• Istma International Special Tooling and Machining Association, 2014

• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD, 2012-2014

• United Nations Comtrade Database, 2010-2014

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