According to the AFM, turnover in the Spanish machine tool industry was 17.1% higher in 2023 than in the previous year, setting a new record.
After a hesitant start, total turnover in the machine tool sector (machine tools, components and cutting tools) reached a record value of over EUR 2 billion in 2023 thanks to strong momentum, which is 17.1% more than in 2022. Broken down by sub-sector, mechanical engineering grew by 21.5 percent, with forming technology showing a great performance with an increase of 37.6 percent and 447 million euros; metal cutting also grew with an increase of 15 percent to 929 million euros turnover.
Significant investments in the automotive sector were the main reason for the good performance of metal forming. In metal machining, sectors such as energy and aviation contributed to growth. As far as the other sub-sectors are concerned, components and cutting tools maintained similar figures to the previous year, while other machinery and services increased significantly by 27% and 18% respectively.
Machine tool exports
Exports stood out with growth of more than 20 percent and a turnover of 1.552 billion euros, even though sales to Germany, one of the most important export countries, proved to be difficult. On the other hand, the USA and Mexico, as well as Italy, China and France, have significantly increased their foreign sales. Particularly noteworthy is the result in the USA, which has become the most important target market for Spanish machine tools for the first time in years.
In terms of exports, the growth in metal forming is very striking with EUR 329 million and an increase of 64% compared to 2022. Metal machining grew by 13 percent and reached 782 million euros.
José Pérez Berdud, President of the AFM Cluster: “The sector’s presence at international level is tangible proof of our competitiveness. In the market niches in which we operate, we occupy very prominent, often even leading positions. It is very remarkable that the sophistication, the technological level, the degree of automation and consequently the average price of the systems we sell have risen very sharply in recent years. We are receiving orders that would have been unthinkable ten years ago.”
Incoming orders
Incoming orders rose by 12% in 2023, following an 11% increase in the previous year, with a strong increase in metal forming (+22%) and moderate growth in machining (+5.2%). As far as the origin of the orders is concerned, the strength of the USA and Mexico, which have broken all their records, should be emphasized. Germany held up despite some weakness; China lost much of its growth in 2023 after two very strong years, and Italy is returning to the usual figures of the past following the removal of tax incentives. Spain, on the other hand, recorded growth of 34%, even if the absolute figure is not yet considered sufficient.
Xabier Ortueta, CEO of AFM Cluster, commented: “In a complicated scenario for the whole of 2023, we have managed to overcome the decline in orders suffered by some of our neighboring countries. An atypical mix of markets and customer sectors with unique, high-level operations has allowed us to close a good year in terms of order intake.”
Forecast for 2024
The sales forecast for 2024 is moderately optimistic in view of the interesting order backlog at the end of the 2023 financial year. Growth of around 5 to 7 percent is expected. Although incoming orders are likely to slow down in the first half of the year, industry experts are predicting a good recovery towards the end of the year. In any case, it will be difficult to reach the level of 2023.
Xabier Ortueta also commented: “The markets are still in turmoil, with some sectors doing very well and others less so. The scenario of high inflation and high interest rates seems to have reached its turning point, but is not fostering the necessary confidence to invest. Forward-looking analysis suggests that the economy and machine tool orders will continue to weaken, at least until the final quarter, before making a full recovery by 2025. Let’s hope so.”
Industrial trade fair BIEMH 2024
Spain’s leading industrial trade fair, BIEMH, will take place in Bilbao from June 3 to 7, 2024. With 1,044 confirmed exhibitors and more than 2,000 registered products and equipment, it provides an excellent starting point for exhibitors on their way to an increasingly productive, efficient and automated industry. In addition to machine tools, tools and components, additive manufacturing, metrology and services for the industry, the focus of the trade fair will be on sustainable productivity, with robotics, automation and digitalization highlighted as key drivers of the industry of the future. Over 35,000 visitors are expected.
Increasing productivity in the press shop through transfer systems as the leitmotif of a symposium
The latest technological developments in the field of transfer systems offer press shops great opportunities to improve efficiency and save costs in sheet metal forming.
The symposium “Efficient use of transfer systems in the press shop” will take place on April 23 at the Congress Center Böblingen Sindelfingen, and is being organized by Fagor Arrasate, Misati and Ribinerf.
At the conference, the companies will share their knowledge and experience on how to increase productivity and reduce investment costs in sheet metal forming with transfer systems. Strategies for avoiding malfunctions and how to reduce downtimes will also be discussed.
On the part of Fagor Arrasate, specialist speakers Gerald Schulz and Xabi Arrupe will talk about integral transfer punching systems that minimize personnel requirements and increase system availability through automation that covers the entire punching process from feeding to palletizing. Specific applications of the Syncro simulator, which can be used to increase the productivity of equipment, will also be presented.
Juan José Sánchez from Misati will present the latest developments in the automation of transfer presses to achieve performances beyond 35 HpM, such as swivel arm grippers for maximum acceleration, 3-axis solutions for turning parts. He will also discuss services that reduce downtimes when commissioning the press or calculate production figures and envelope curves in advance, thus enabling an initial amortization analysis of projects with transfer automation.
Finally, Xabier Ribalta from Ribinerf will look at the application of 3D vision technology and artificial intelligence to automate part inspection and classification processes in non-deterministic environments and solve tasks that were previously reserved for humans.
Participation is free of charge, but the number of participants is limited. Interested parties can register at this link: https://events-misati.com/de/konferenzen/
Web:
www.afmcluster.com