GENERAL NEWS
Supply bottlenecks affect machine tool production
According to VDW analysis , orders received by the German machine tool industry in the third quarter of 2021 were 69 per cent up on the previous year ’ s figure . Orders from Germany rose by 67 per cent . Overseas orders were 71 per cent higher than in the previous year . Orders received by German manufacturers increased by 61 per cent in the first three quarters of the year . Domestic orders were 47 per cent higher than in the same period in 2020 ( overseas orders were at 69 per cent ).
“ The levels of orders on hand are good . However , supply bottlenecks and sharp rises in the price of raw materials and components are increasingly holding back business ,” said Dr . Wilfried Schäfer , executive director of the VDW ( German Machine Tool Builders ’ Association ), commenting on the result .
“ Orders are expected to continue rising in the coming months . They are being driven by catch-up effects that will continue for quite some time ,” he added . However , it might not always be possible to translate orders into sales as desired , as machines ‘ can only be delivered with delays due to a lack of parts , especially electronic components .’ “ And that is why we are having to scale 2021 ’ s summer forecast of eight per cent growth down to five per cent ,” Schäfer conceded . Double-digit growth is expected , by contrast , in the coming year .
Orders are also slowly catching up in relation to the figures posted in 2019 , the year before the pandemic , which is generally thought to provide a more meaningful evaluation of the
German Machine Tool Industry Good order situation continues
Total orders ( index , nominal ) 160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
current situation . The figures for the first nine months are four per cent higher than for the same period in 2019 . However , the German domestic market is still 12 per cent below 2019 levels .
“ The all-important automotive industry is suffering , particularly from the chip shortage in Germany , and is therefore cutting back on investment ,” explained Schäfer . The main driving force is overseas orders , where an increase of 13 per cent was posted . Of the top 15 machine tool customers , two-thirds are back above the 2019 mark , especially Austria and Italy . The exceptions are Poland , France and the UK , which have not yet returned to their pre-crisis levels .
“ The strong demand is resulting in a
12 months moving average original values
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Order bookings in the German machine tool industry .
Order intake , % change to previous year
3Q 2021 1-3Q 2021 Total + 69 + 61 Domestic + 67 + 47 Foreign + 71 + 69
Note : Index basis shipments 2015 = 100 , data until September 2021 , Sources : VDMA , VDW
VDW | Order charts | 17.11.2021
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noticeable increase in capacity utilisation . This was 86 per cent in October 2021 compared to 71 per cent as the average for 2020 . Employment , a delayed indicator of economic development , has not yet bottomed out . In September 2021 , it was 8.5 per cent below 2020 ’ s figure of 63,300 employees . At the same time , 46 per cent of companies reported a considerable shortage of skilled workers in a recent VDMA survey . There is currently a shift in demand towards more electronics-based skills ,” added the VDW .
“ All in all , our industry considers itself well on the way towards overcoming the crisis . We expect supply chains to stabilise again in 2022 . Our industry will then be able to continue its recovery ,” concluded Schäfer . n
Polished pipes for ‘ world ’ s largest solar park ’
In 2020 , renewable generating capacity grew by 261 gigawatt hours ( up 10.3 %), according to a new study by the International Renewable Energy Agency ( IRENA ). Solar energy continues to lead this expansion with growth of 127GW , up 22 %. German pipe producer , BUTTING , currently supplies polished receiver pipes for ‘ the world ’ s largest Concentrated Solar Power ( CSP ) project .’
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest solar park in the world , with a planned capacity of 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030 . To support this , ACWA Power ’ s Noor Energy 1 project is being built in Dubai , making it the largest CSP power plant in the world , according to the company . It will have a capacity of 700MW and is expected to save 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually .
To obtain the order for part of the project , BUTTING had to go through a stringent qualification programme and firstly produce an initial batch , which was closely inspected and analysed on-site . The family-owned company was then commissioned to deliver polished pipes .
The solar receiver pipes in TP 321 material comprise fixed lengths of 4.06m and are produced in dimensions of 88.9 x 2.3mm . The pipes are produced from cold-rolled strip ( according to DIN EN 10217-7 / TC1 ) as well as customer specifications . The required roughness values of Ra < 0.25 µ m are achieved on two grinding machines running in parallel . n
Pipe stock at a BUTTING facility .
ISMR December 2021 / January 2022 | sheetmetalplus . com | 7