Euromap reports China and eastern Europe were the only growth areas

The only areas providing growth for European plastics machinery manufacturers last year were eastern Europe and China, according to European plastics machinery manufacturers association Euromap.

Production value recorded by the national plastics machinery association members of Euromap in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland and the UK reached E15.7bn in 2003, down slightly from E15.8bn in 2002. The association forecasts a 3.5% increase in production value in 2004 however.

Euromap president Ulrich Reifenhдuser said about the 2003 results: “With the exception of Eastern Europe and China and some local markets, the worldwide plastics and rubber industries have been on economic hold in 2003 and no signs of sustained global growth were in sight. This applies especially to North and South America. Considering these circumstances, the result achieved can be absolutely considered as success.”

The 2003 production value was made up of E9.5bn in core plastics machinery, ancillary equipment E1.1bn, moulds and dies E4.6bn and flexographic printing machines for plastic films E473m. Flexographic printing machines did best with 4.7% growth; moulds and dies were also in positive territory with a 2.2% increase. Core plastic machinery was down 1.7% however, but did better than ancillaries which suffered an 8.8% decline.

Euromap estimated that European plastics machinery manufacturers have a 54% share of the E17.7bn world market for core plastics machinery, a market that did manage in 2003 to “slightly surpass” 2002, the association said.