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Machine tool sector rebounds

December 17, 2013

German engineers have said they're looking to the future with confidence as the domestic machine tool sector braces for more orders from home and farther afield. Thousands of additional jobs may be created.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Aatd
Worker at Trumpf egineering firm, Germany
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Following a disappointing 2013 marked by stagnation, Germany's machine tool sector was gaining momentum again, the engineering industry association VDMA said Tuesday.

VDMA President Reinhold Festge confirmed earlier forecasts, saying the sector would grow by 3 percent next year and reach a record output of 203 billion euros ($280 billion).

"The key to growth are developments on established markets, including Europe," Festge said in a statement, adding that traditional industrialized nations around the world would play an important role in the ongoing recovery of the global economy.

More orders, more jobs

VDMA officials pointed to the eurozone nations that have finally overcome recession. They said emerging economies would also grow further, but warned that their current structural problems might have an impact on German exports of machinery.

Small German companies making big machine tools for China

The positive outlook for 2014 would also mean employment in the sector would improve again significantly, the association maintained, speaking of up to 5,000 possible new jobs in the offing.

"If things go extremely well, the German machine tool sector might for the first time employ more than one billion people," Festge said.

Small and medium-sized companies form the backbone of the domestic engineering industry, but there are also a couple of listed heavyweights in the sector, including ThyssenKrupp, Gildemeister and Gea.

hg/tj (dpa, Reuters)