Austrian injection moulding machinery maker Engel (Schwertberg; www.engelglobal.com) said it expects a sales increase of 7% to EUR 1.6 bn in the year to 31 March 2023. Speaking at a press conference at the K 2022 show in Düsseldorf, Germany, CEO Stefan Engleder announced that this growth can be projected with a fair amount of certainty.

With mounting headwinds from the slowing economy, the situation is less rosy for the coming financial year: Engleder said he expects a decline in incoming orders in the “clear double-digit percent range”. The burning question now, he noted, is where the plastics industry is heading, and the K trade fair could help gauge the mood.

In Central Europe, a market driven strongly by technology, the current “deindustrialisation of Germany” in particular is raising questions, he said. Companies in Germany are struggling with very high energy costs, and sales problems caused by one crisis following another have driven prominent suppliers such as Borgers into insolvency, with the automotive sector particularly affected. Engleder expressed concern over the possibility of further bankruptcies in the industry.

The Engel chief executive noted that the supplier industry in Eastern Europe is also battling various issues, even if the energy costs are not quite as exorbitantly high as they are in Germany. Meanwhile, the Western European market is generally on course for growth, with positive impulses from the packaging sectors especially in France and Italy.

Engel is expecting its North American business activities to remain solid, despite the recession and the high rate of inflation. According to Engleder, reshoring operations, especially in the medical technology and automotive sectors, is leading to rising orders, as is the increasing importance of sustainability initiatives in the packaging industry. However, the lack of trained and untrained labour is having a detrimental effect. In Asia, where Engel has two plants and over 1,000 staff, the inhibitive factor is China’s zero-Covid strategy. Customers in Southeast Asian countries can benefit from these effects.

At the K trade fair, the focus is on solutions to energy efficiency, sustainability, and digitisation. The company showcased how a cup made of PET recyclate is injection-moulded. Such cups have previously mainly been produced through thermoforming or from other materials, Engleder said.