German trade association VDMA was more relaxed about oil price rises

German machinery makers are more concerned about the rise in steel prices than oil or energy prices, according the VDMA trade association.

VDMA president Prof. Helmar Franz told a meeting in Frankfurt last week that the steel industry is demanding price increases of up to 50%, with especially high value grades disproportionately affected.

Franz said: “Neither supplying companies nor the machinery makers are in a position to absorb the burden or to pass it on to customers in the form of price increases. Negative effects on the course of the business climate cannot be excluded.”

The VDMA was more relaxed about the recent increase in oil prices, saying that higher plastic materials force the processors to seriously consider savings in raw materials and energy.

This permits plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers to offer “efficient solutions and return-on-investment models underlining the advantage of using modern processing technologies”.