• 2024 was another challenging year
• No momentum for three years in a row
• First quarter of 2025 starts on a confident note
• Positive outlook for leading trade fair K 2025

June, 05, 2025 - 2024 was another year to “forget” for German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers. Adjusted for price changes, order intake fell by another 21 per cent compared with the previous year, and sales also declined by 19 per cent.

“This means we have had three very long years in which hardly any new orders were placed, and companies were pushed to their limits,” summarizes Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association.

Short-time work was a widespread measure to cushion the effects of the slump in demand, and layoffs were also commonplace in the industry.

"It is all the more gratifying that we are emerging from the first quarter of 2025 with a glimmer of hope. Orders have picked up noticeably again (price-adjusted +5 percent compared to the same period last year), only sales are still lagging behind, as expected, with a minus of 17 percent," explains Reifenhäuser.

“We currently assume that the bottom has been reached in terms of order intake,” adds Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association. "The industry will work its way up from this level in small steps over the next few months. This means that the K trade fair in October is coming at just the right time,” Kühmann continues. “Companies will be able to present their solution expertise and innovations to a hopefully investment-friendly crowd of customers." Only the uncertainties triggered by US trade policy are currently dampening the mood.

The trade association expects sales in 2025 to remain flat at best, if many new orders can be generated in a short period of time, and to decline by a further 5 per cent at worst, if the sales only take effect next year. The year 2025 will therefore be more of a transition year, but one with a positive outlook.

Positive outlook for the leading trade fair K in October 2025

The K-show, which takes place every three years, continues to position itself as the world's leading trade fair for the plastics industry and is sending out clear positive signals, especially now in the face of a weakening economy. K 2025 is completely booked out, and its international character remains unbroken with 70 percent of exhibitors coming from countries around the world. The confident motto of this year's K, “The Power of Plastics! Green – Smart – Responsible,” reflects the relevance of the industry, but also its determination and potential for innovation and future orientation. The event is the perfect hub for this.

The mechanical engineering sector will once again be making a strong presence at K 2025 in Düsseldorf's open-air exhibition grounds. Six VDMA member companies will be exhibiting with their own pavilions, and a total of more than 40 exhibitors will be involved in the program and exhibition in the VDMA pavilion. Together, they will embrace the K 2025 motto, "The Power of Plastics! Green – Smart – Responsible," and demonstrate how their technologies promote promising plastics processing and the circular economy. Digitalization and artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in achieving success in global competition. The VDMA will also be addressing the topic of young talent: Young people from the companies will also be "part of the programme." They will discuss the challenges and goals of the plastics industry – from the perspective of the younger generation.

Source: VDMA