Politics & Associations

NRW State Secretary Paul Höller visited the headquarters in Bocholt and spoke with Flender CEO Andreas Evertz after a factory tour of parts manufacturing and hardening about the prospects for the machinery and plant engineering sector in the defense industry.

The order intake in mechanical engineering has increased by a real 4 percent in October compared to the previous year. The increase is encouraging but only signifies a consolidation at a low level.

The mechanical engineering companies in Germany recorded a significant decline in their order books in September. This also results in a slight order decrease for the first nine months of 2025.

The mood in mechanical and plant engineering has further deteriorated in the third quarter, and the outlook has noticeably worsened. In addition to the trade conflict, the weakness in key customer sectors is increasingly taking its toll.

Machine orders decline despite stronger year-on-year growth

VDWF launches new online format 'Azubi up'

Formnext and leading AM experts call for a change in the German funding strategy for additive manufacturing

The EU Commission defends the 15 percent "Tariff Deal" with the USA. However, more and more products are subject to the significantly higher steel and aluminum tariffs. The VDMA urgently calls on the EU Commission to advocate for improvements.

The VDWF invites you to the ISTMA-Europe meeting in Berlin

The order intake in May was a pleasant surprise - albeit on a weak year-on-year basis. Overall, companies have recorded a slight increase in orders this year so far, but global uncertainty remains high.