Market for Precision Tools German precision tool manufacturers expect improvement in general conditions in Q2 2022

Germany — Despite difficult conditions, German precision tool manufacturers were able to increase sales by twelve percent in 2021. The Precision Tools Association of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association VDMA is confident that the general conditions will improve in the second half of the year and that an eight percent increase in turnover is attainable in 2022.

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At a press conference in January, Stefan Zecha, chairman of the Precision Tools Association of the VDMA was satisfied with the industry's performance: “Due to disruptions in the supply chain, shortages of parts and thus stalled production by customers, increasing shortages of materials and personnel, as well as serious cost hikes, more growth was not feasible. We are confident that the general conditions will improve in the second half of the year and that an increase in turnover of eight percent is attainable in 2022.”

For precision tool manufacturers, foreign business was a driving factor in 2021. Overall, exports increased by 17 percent in the statistically surveyed first ten months of 2021. Domestic business picked up during the first half of the year, but was increasingly slowed down in the second half. A lack of components, often electronic components, put a spanner in the works for companies. Important customer sectors such as the automotive industry and mechanical engineering struggled with this shortage. Zecha: “However, at least machines and components could be prefabricated. As a result, tool demand in mechanical engineering was much more encouraging.”

Due to Corona Pandemic

New date: Metav 2022 postponed to June

The road to further recovery will remain bumpy in the coming months. After the impairments caused by order losses and cancellations due to production downtimes at customers tended to increase at the end of the year, the shortages on the material and procurement markets will in all likelihood continue in the coming months. Business with precision tools is not expected to pick up until the second half of the year, as in addition to the material shortages, restrictions due to quarantine measures and travel restrictions are also expected to continue in the first half of the year.

The industry is also pinning its hopes on the two important national industry trade fairs Metav (21 to 24 June 2022) and AMB (13 to 17 September 2022). There, the companies want to present their innovations and take the opportunity to finally enter into a stronger direct exchange with customers. At the AMB, the VDMA will be offering trade visitors a wealth of information, such as the Precision Tools Technology Forum from Tuesday to Friday in Hall 1. In 15-minute presentations, members will show the results of their developments and concrete technical application examples. The range of topics includes machining and clamping technology, measuring and testing technology, digitalisation, research and start-ups.

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