The German machine tool industry is as optimistic as ever. Following a record year, the sector is expecting another climb in output of 10%. This, at least, is the conclusion drawn by the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW), at its annual press conference in Frankfurt am Main. The companies are working to full capacity. The order levels are so high that they extend well into the current year. Judging by these facts and the latest figures from Düsseldorf, it appears the industry has absolutely no cause for concern: Both wire and tube have already set new records in terms of the exhibitor numbers they have attracted. For the current year, the IMF expects the world economy to grow by 4.1%. The outlook for 2008 is therefore promising, even though growth is anticipated to inch down 0.3% against the year before. Dr. Gerhard Bartz, president of the German Wire and Cable Machinery Manufacturers Association (VDKM) says that, based on the averages of the past few years, the German market absorbs around one third of the wire processing machines produced in Germany; another third go to the European market whilst the remaining third are exported to the rest of the world. In 2007, however, these proportions shifted slightly in favour of the German market, accounting for around 40% of the total. Having said that, the sun isn’t shining everywhere. For some time now, the industry has been complaining of a lack of budding engineers and qualified staff. Experts even fear the industry may have an image problem. If this really is the case, wire & tube provide the perfect opportunity to work against this trend. The editorial team at wire wishes the exhibitors much success, the visitors a host of inspiring solutions and those searching for new ideas, qualified and forward-looking partners.
Manfred Lerch

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