Another pandemic year , the Ukraine war and global inflation . How did this affect companies in 2022 ? Although the terrible war in Ukraine began at the end of February , we initially had no slumps in orders and sales in either sector . In the case of pumps , we only recorded a real decline in order intake of 3 percent over the year and speak of a price-adjusted decline in sales of around 2 percent . That is moderate . Order intake for compressors , compressed air and vacuum technology grew slightly by 3 percent . In price-adjusted terms , sales in this area even rose by around 9 percent . This is no reason for euphoria , but also not for a mood of crisis . Overall , 2022 went much better than expected .
How have the global crises affected the development of companies ? The majority of our members , regardless of size , are active in markets worldwide . Experience teaches us that sometimes one market or a user industry works better , sometimes another . In this respect , the sectors have a certain resistance to crises . The global outlook : Companies in no region are starting from scratch .
Keyword global supply bottlenecks . How have these developed for companies over the past year ? Like many others , Pumps + Compressors were affected by supply bottlenecks .
While incoming orders grew very well in some cases , sales were not able to keep pace to the same extent . A clear indication of supply bottlenecks . In our survey of VDMA members last December , two-thirds of respondents stated that they felt the impact on supply chains noticeably or severely . Many companies were missing parts that weren ’ t even complex , such as cover panels .
Do you expect the current situation to worsen ? Supply chains have fortunately become more stable again . Our Achilles heel , however , are mostly electronic components such as chips or semiconductors . Here , the surveyed members do not expect relief on the supplier markets until the end of 2023 . Now it is time to reduce the historically high order backlog piece by piece .
Have high energy prices had an impact on industries ? Members , for example , who maintain their own foundry , have been very burdened by this . But the plant business was also affected . All companies that test and approve large units on the test benches together with their customers require a lot of electricity . If several pumps and compressors run in parallel , you quickly get into the megawatt range . In contrast to private customers , the companies have not received a fixed price guarantee from their local energy