<i>In 2018, the market for aluminum, PVC, and steel profiles machinery grew by 2.0% worldwide. Due to a slowdown in growth in Europe and the NAFTA region, rather moderate growth figures are expected to continue in the upcoming years. According to a new study by Interconnection Consulting, average annual growth is projected to be 1.9% up to 2021.</i>
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<b>Market Overview<b>
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The Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest growth last year, with a plus of 5.5%. The market for profiles machinery enjoyed high growth especially in China. Another growth market is Africa, which was able to increase its market performance by 4.8% last year, even though it remains the smallest submarket with a market volume of EUR 15.9 million. The other emerging markets, such as Latin America (-6.9%) and the Middle East (-5.7%), suffered a decline in foreign investments due to political risks and volatile currencies. Europe, the largest submarket for profiles machinery, managed a growth of 2.2% despite the Brexit crisis. The battered British market was more than compensated by positive developments in Eastern and Southern Europe. The NAFTA states achieved a growth of 2.4% in 2018. Yet in the US, as well, industry is expected to lose some of its momentum over the next few years, which will further curb growth rates.
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<b>Service Is Releasing<b>
With a volume of EUR 398.7 million, profile bar machining centers is the strongest segment on the market, followed by cutting and milling machines. Overall, the machines have a share of 68.2%. Within profiles machinery, the 3-4-axis profile machines account for the lion’s share, with a share of almost 50%. Services are becoming increasingly important, now occupying a market share of 12.1% on the world market. “Machinery maintenance and regular service is mandatory and causing this sector to grow in almost every region worldwide,” states Laszlo Barla, author of the study.
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<b>Eastern Europe on the Upswing <b>
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Aluminium profiles machinery reached a value of EUR 353.1 million in 2018 (+5.0%) and is expected to increase by 3.4% next year as well. The largest markets for aluminum profile machines are Central Europe and NAFTA. In this segment, Eastern Europe is the strongest growing region with an increase of 13.9%. Due to technological advances, Eastern Europe is shifting from simple activities such as cutting and milling to the more profitable profiles technology. The PVC profile processing market grew by 2.9% worldwide last year. The Asia-Pacific region achieved the largest growth, managing a plus of roughly 25%. One driving force is the Chinese window market as PVC windows are getting bigger in demand. The dominant countries in the production of profiles machinery are Germany and Italy. In the aluminum sector, it is chiefly Italian companies that dominate the market, whereas German firms dominate the PVC sector. The top 10 companies worldwide in the aluminum sector have a market share of 76.8%, while in the PVC sector the market concentration is not quite as high (49.5%).
15/04/2019
Copyright: Interconnection, Publication free of charge for coverage regarding the study and InterConnection Consulting.