Link to press release

Machinery industry calls on the European Parliament to strengthen the Commission proposal for a Regulation on Market Surveillance

The Single Market only works if market surveillance ensures that EU directives and regulations are respected.

Brussels, 22 March 2013 - During a roundtable discussion organized on 20 March 2013 at the European Parliament in Brussels, the European coalition of machinery industry associations, represented by CECE, CECIMO, CEMA, FEM and EUROMAP, called on the European Parliament to fully support and further strengthen the Commission proposal for a new Regulation on Market Surveillance. During the discussions, there was widespread agreement that the legislative package presents a unique opportunity to finally achieve a level playing field in the Single Market and is a landmark initiative to support the EU’s re-industrialization objective.

Whilst generally positive about the proposal, the coalition asked the European Parliament to help make it more ambitious and relevant to the problem of unfair competition that machinery producers are facing on an increasing basis in the Single Market. By ensuring compliance with EU legislation and eliminating unfair competition, more effective market surveillance will help safeguard the long-term competitiveness of the European machinery industry and protect  vital public interests in the areas of health and safety, energy efficiency and environmental protection.

The European Commission, represented by Diego Canga Fano, Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Antonio Tajani and Members of the European Parliament Amalia Sartori, Jürgen Creutzmann, and Andreas Schwab affirmed that market surveillance is a shared responsibility and requires a high level of cooperation between Member States, the European Commission and industry which has a key consultative role to play.  Moreover, it was highlighted that the Commission should assume a stronger role in the coordination of Member States’ market surveillance programmes and the Union administrative cooperation framework. The proposal embeds such principles through a greater use of ICT tools and the creation of the European Market Surveillance Platform – EMSF.

Jan van der Velden, FEM President said: “As good as the EU framework set by the Regulation can and hopefully will be, market surveillance remains the task and competence of Member States.  The system will only be fully effective if Member States are ready to commit the necessary human and financial resources.”
“We strongly believe that unlawful traders placing non-compliant products on the markets should bear the cost of the damage they cause.” said Paul Burger (Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe), CECE Trade Policy Commission chairman.

Jarmo Hyvönen, CECIMO Vice-President, stressing the importance of establishing a Union framework for proportionate and deterrent sanctions, stated: “A certain level of approximation between sanctions in Member States should ensure that those who play unfairly are exposed to a similar level of risk on every spot of the Union’s territories.”

Giles Dryancour, CEMA President: “While the proposal presents a solid legal framework to tackle the specific market surveillance challenges for machinery producers, close cooperation between the authorities and manufacturers will be a key element to ensure we can make this legislation work in practice.”

Highlighting the importance of stopping non-compliant imports at the point of entry, Luciano Anceschi, EUROMAP President stated: “The technical capacity and knowledge of customs authorities should be strengthened to carry out first conformity checks on imports. Moreover, it is of utmost important to establish tighter controls on the activities of notified bodies outside Europe.”

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About CECE, CECIMO, CEMA, FEM and EUROMAP

CECE

The Committee of European Construction Equipment (www.cece.eu) is the recognised organisation representing and promoting the European construction equipment and related industries in order to achieve a fair competitive environment via harmonised standards and regulations. CECE is a European network consisting of a secretariat in Brussels and national association offices in 14 different European countries.The industry behind CECE comprises 1,200 companies. In 2011, these equipment manufacturers had a total turnover of 23 billion € and employed 130,000 people directly. European construction machines represent around 25% of the worldwide production. Manufacturers include large European and multinational companies with production sites in Europe, but the majority of companies are small or medium-sized. Contact: Ralf Wezel, Secretary General, ralf.wezel (AT) cema-agri.org

CECIMO

CECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries. We bring together 15 national Associations of Machine Tool Builders, which represent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises in Europe*, over 80% of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers more than 97% of total Machine Tool production in Europe and more than one third worldwide. It accounts for almost 150,000 employees and a turnover of nearly €21 Billion in 2011. Three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad, whereas more than half of it is exported outside Europe*. For more information visit www.cecimo.eu *Europe = EU + EFTA + Turkey Contact: Filip Geerts, Director General, filip.geerts (AT) cecimo.eu

CEMA

CEMA is the European association representing the agricultural machinery industry. For 50 years CEMA has acted as a network of national associations and provides services, advice and a common European industry view on relevant topics. The industry represented by CEMA includes 4,500 manufacturers of agricultural equipment employing directly 135,000 persons and indirectly in the distribution and service network another 125,000 persons. The companies are mainly small and medium-sized manufacturers according to the EU definition and in 2011 had a total turnover of 26 billion euro. Contact: Ulrich Adam, Secretary General, sg (AT) cema-agri.org

EUROMAP

Europe’ s Association for plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers is a major European industry with almost 3,700 companies which together have an annual turnover of more than 17 billion EURO and about 100,000 employees. EUROMAP covers the plastics and rubber machinery manufacturing industries in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Contact: Thorsten Kühmann, Secretary General, EUROMAP euromap (AT) vdma.org

FEM

Created in 1953, the European Materials Handling Federation  www.fem-eur.com) represents, defends and promotes European manufacturers of materials handling, lifting and storage equipment. FEM speaks for 15 members representing some 1,000 companies (mostly SMEs) employing 160,000 people directly and with an annual turnover of €45 billion (2008). Contact: Olivier Janin, Secretary General, olivier.janin (AT) orgalime.org

Link to press release

CECIMO launches, along with Asian partners, an international machine tool exhibition in Shanghai, China

Brussels, Singapore and Shanghai, 11 March 2013 – The EMTE-EASTPO Machine Tool Exhibition will be held in Shanghai at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 14 to 17 July 2014. The joint exhibition will leverage on the combined strengths and expertise of three partners: CECIMO, EASTPO Culture Development, and MP Organisation.

Mr Filip Geerts, director general of CECIMO, the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries, says: “Our purpose is to meet the need of European machine tool builders to have another machine tool exhibition at the right place: Shanghai and time: on even years to meet their potential customers. This exhibition should respond to our quality standards for exhibitors and visitors.”

The global machine tool market is marked by an enormous market shift towards Asia, more especially towards China, which makes it the place to be for European machine tool builders. Asia’s share in global consumption amounted to just under 67 per cent. Demand in Asia shows dynamic growth. Most machine tools worldwide were purchased in China (for €28.1 billion) and with a share of 45 per cent in world consumption.  China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and India collectively account for 65 per cent of the global consumption for machine tools, and they are looking to buy European machine tools.

By holding a machine tool exhibition in the heart of Asia, CECIMO’s national associations hope to establish a stronger footing in Asia for their member companies to sustain their business and, potentially, capture a bigger market share in these emerging economies. After all, that is what CECIMO is all about: promoting the European machine tool industry worldwide.

This European Machine Tool Exhibition (EMTE) must respond to our European quality standards for exhibitors and visitors. Therefore, a CECIMO-EMTE Organising Team composed of people experienced in organizing national and international machine tool exhibitions, as well as national pavilions worldwide, has been created.  As this initiative is founded and driven by the associations representing the machine tool builders in Europe, they have a perfect understanding of the market needs. However, this expertise must be complemented by good local partners who have experience organizing international exhibitions, particularly of machine tools, in Asia and specifically in Shanghai.

CECIMO had the great opportunity to partner with EASTPO and MP to jointly organize a large-scale machine tool trade exhibition in Shanghai for the Asian market. It gave CECIMO the opportunity to graft itself to one of the three largest machine tool exhibitions in China and the region, namely the Shanghai International Machine Tool Fair, better known as EASTPO. The collaboration agreement was signed by the partners in Singapore on 19 February 2013.

Responsible for securing the bid against strong European contenders, Ms Sylvia Phua, CEO of MP lnternational, said: “We are deeply honoured to be selected by CECIMO as their partner in this venture. This is yet another endorsement of MP’s capabilities as an international exhibition organiser.

“Having successfully organised ITMA and ITMA Asia, we are familiar with the organisation of mega exhibitions of a global scale, and are able to value-add to bridge the business practices and cultures of east and west. Our team is ready to work hard to make the inaugural EMTE-EASTPO exhibition a success.”

Mr Eric Zhong, EASTPO managing director, added: “With the combined strengths of all three partners, we are confident that the first joint exhibition will have the support of both machine tool makers and users, and grow in stature with each presentation.”

A joint exhibition of international quality and standard The first EMTE-EASTPO exhibition is expected to be a high quality showcase of innovative technology and practical solutions presented by leading names from around the world. CECIMO’s Mr Geerts explained, “It will be the only CECIMO-backed exhibition in Shanghai, and the organising team has a strong track record of organising machine tool exhibitions and related shows.”

Following the strong tradition of major exhibitions in Europe, EMTE-EASTPO has in place strict exhibitor admission rules. We will also ensure that the intellectual property rights of manufacturers are not infringed, and that there will be live demonstrations of exhibits presented according to product sectors.

EMTE-EASTPO 2014 will showcase the best from the machine tool industry from around the world. EASTPO alone covered 80,000 square meters of gross exhibition space in 2012, and the addition of EMTE is expected to add quite many square meters to the area covered by the four-day exhibition.

The wide array of exhibits will be displayed in sectors that include machine tools, precision tools, parts, components, accessories, manufacturing and process automation, metrology and quality assurance, and services.

For more information, please visit www.emte-eastpo.com or contact MP Organisation (email: emte-eastpo@mpinetwork.com, tel: +65 63930224).

Note to the editor

The collaboration agreement was signed by the partners in Singapore on 19 February 2013. Photo of signing ceremony (attached)

Caption:

Seated: Mr Filip Geerts, director general of CECIMO and Mr James Chia, chairman of MP International

Standing: Ms Cindy Pei, GM of EASTPO; Ms Sylvia Phua, CEO of MP International; and Mr Eric Zhong, managing director of EASTPO

About CECIMO

Since its creation in 1950, CECIMO has committed itself to the promotion of the machine tool industry worldwide and a European Machine Tools Exhibition was created for this reason in 1951. It was organised for the first time under the name of EMO® in 1975 in Paris. EMO® is a registered trademark by CECIMO. It receives the support of its 15 CECIMO member associations which represent and promote the interest of 1,450 European companies, accountable for 97% of the European production of machine tools and 32% of the world production of machine tools. More than three quarters of CECIMO’s production is shipped abroad, whereas half of it is exported outside Europe. For more information visit www.cecimo.eu.

About EASTPO

Shanghai EASTPO Culture Development Co., Ltd is a leading exhibition company in China, specialising in providing quality platforms for trade and information exchange for the mechanical industries. It is the organiser of the Shanghai International Machine Tool Fair (EASTPO) since 1999. The show is well-known among machinery industry exhibitors and buyers. For more information please visit www.eastpo.net.

About MP Organisation & MP International MP Organisation Pte Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of the MP International group. Established in 1987, MP specialises in organising exhibitions, conferences and special events. The group has organised and managed over 1,000 national, regional and international events, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2009 Leaders’ Week. It is a leading international organiser of trade exhibitions, including ITMA and ITMA ASIA. A member of the Pico group, MP is headquartered in Singapore with a global footprint across Asia and Europe. For more information visit www.mpinetwork.com.

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Issued by CECIMO, EASTPO & MP Organisation

For more information please contact:

CECIMO

Maude Choquette

Tel: +32 2 502 70 90

Email: maude.choquette@cecimo.eu

MP Organisation

Daphne Poon

Tel: +65 6393 0238

Email: daphnepoon@mpinetwork.com

EASTPO

Jane Gao

Tel: +86 21 5239 6345

Email: janegao@eastpo.net

Link to the press release

CECIMO becomes member of the new High Level Group on Key Enabling Technologies (KETs)

Brussels, 27 February 2013 – A new High Level Group (HLG) on KETs was launched today to assist the European Commission in the implementation of the European strategy to boost the industrial production of KETs-based products in Europe.  The Group was inaugurated by European Commission Vice-Presidents Antonio Tajani and Neelie Kroes, alongside with Commissioners Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and Johannes Hahn, reflecting the cross cutting influences on KETs of industrial policy, the digital agenda, research, innovation and science, and regional policy. CECIMO was invited by the Commission to become a member of the group as representative of the advanced manufacturing technologies sector. Mr Javier Eguren, former CECIMO President, is appointed as member of the HLG and he will be assisted in this work by Mr. Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General in his capacity as Sherpa.

The High Level Group will advise the Commission on the implementation of the strategy to boost the development of KETs and the industrial production of KETs based products in Europe. KETs cover nanotechnology, micro-/nanoelectronics, industrial biotechnology, advanced materials, photonics and advanced manufacturing systems, and they play an essential role in enhancing competitiveness of a wide range of sectors including, among others, automotive, aerospace, energy and health in Europe. A first HLG on KETs, in which CECIMO played an active role, had a mandate of one year and delivered in June 2011 a report setting out a shared long-term strategy for the deployment of KETs in Europe. The report constitutes the basis of the European Commission’s strategy on KETs, adopted in June 2012. The major objective of this strategy is to reverse the declining position of Europe in industrial production in the world by tapping into the potential of key enabling technologies to boost productivity, innovation and, thus, competitiveness of the European manufacturing base.

The scope of issues to be discussed by the High Level Group is broad and covers research and innovation, financing, trade and competition, skill and regional policies. Many measures have already been put in place by the Commission to implement the KETs strategy. On the occasion of the inauguration, a Memorandum of understanding was signed between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) that will pave the way for improved access to finance for investments in key enabling technologies. European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, underlined that the agreement signed with the EIB was a strong signal to Europe. Key Enabling Technologies are a priority investment area in Europe.

Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General comments: “The Key Enabling Technologies initiative is a complementary action to the EU Flagship initiative on industrial policy. It aims to develop the right framework conditions in Europe to enable the manufacturing industry to build its competitiveness on the cutting-edge technologies which will shape the future production processes and products.” Highlighting that the European Commission identified KETs and KETs-based industrial production as a major contributor to creating sustainable growth and high-value jobs, and to tackling societal challenges, he stated: “To be able to produce the products of the future you first need to produce the means to manufacture them. Europe will be a game-changer in world manufacturing as long as it maintains its leading position in production technologies.” He affirmed that CECIMO, as representative of the European machine tool industry, is committed to help achieve this goal and will assume an active role in the High Level Group.

About CECIMO

CECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries. We bring together 15 national Associations of Machine Tool Builders, which represent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises in Europe*, over 80% of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers more than 97% of total Machine Tool production in Europe and about one third worldwide. It accounts for almost 150,000 employees and a turnover of nearly €21 Billion in 2011. More than three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad, whereas half of it is exported outside Europe*. For more information visit www.cecimo.eu*Europe = EU + EFTA + Turkey

# # #

For further media enquiries:

Contact person: Filip Geerts, Director General

Tel +32 2 502 70 90 / Fax +32 2 502 60 82

filip.geerts ( AT ) cecimo.eu

Link to the press release

February 14, 2013

EU-US trade agreement can boost transatlantic machine tool trade

The removal of barriers to trade, by lowering procurement costs of high-tech production equipment, can make a significant contribution to the manufacturing renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic.

On February 13, 2013 the United States of America and the European Union announced the initialisation of the internal procedures necessary to launch negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. CECIMO welcomes the initiative and supports mutually beneficial agreement that facilitates trade and liberalises investment. Good commercial relations with the United States played a crucial role in the recovery of European machine tool industry from the 2009 crisis. The exports grew almost 70% in 2011 and one tenth of the machine tool exports is shipped to the United States.

CECIMO supports the removal of bilateral barriers to trade between the United States and the European Union. CECIMO also realises the difficulty to achieve further integration between two trade partners. The international trade agreements in force have minimised the role of tariffs in bilateral trade of industrial goods. Therefore, the free trade agreement will have to tackle the remaining non-tariff barriers.

“The focal point of these trade negotiations should lie in regulatory and standardisation issues. European machine tools builders are concentrated on advanced technologies, where conflicts in product and trade standards may constitute a serious impediment to entering the US market. Removing those obstacles to trade can generate noticeable revenue increase at company as well as at national level,” adds Martin Kapp, the president of CECIMO.

Machine tools are key for skyrocketing productivity in industrial production and for processing new materials applied in a huge spectrum of products, which can provide the manufacturing industry with a competitive edge. “Fewer barriers to trade mean lower procurement costs. The EU-US agreement could boost productive investments in end-user sectors, contributing to the manufacturing renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic. A more integrated transatlantic marketplace could also trigger closer innovation cooperation between EU and US manufacturers. The impact on the overall industrial development would be significant.” concludes Martin Kapp.

About CECIMO

CECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries. We bring together 15 nationalAssociations of Machine Tool Builders, which represent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises inEurope*, over 80% of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers more than 97% of total Machine Tool production in Europe and about one third worldwide. It accounts for almost 150,000 employees and a turnover of nearly €21 Billion in 2011. More than three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad, whereas half of it is exported outside Europe*. For more information visit www.cecimo.eu

Link to the press release

Safety & Market Surveillance Package: a milestone to machinery compliance?

Brussels, 13th February 2013

As a long-time promoter of effective and efficient market surveillance, the European machinery industry warmly welcomes the European Commission’s Package  presented today, yet calls for more ambitious measures in order to tackle the challenge of non-compliant machinery in the Internal Market. “The European machinery industry, represented by CECE, CECIMO, CEMA, FEM and EUROMAP, warmly welcomes the proposal from the Commission, as it reflects many of the suggestions that our industry has made during the past months. Whilst we fully support the positive aspects of this package, we also call on the European Parliament and Council to come up with additional amendments to improve the overall effectiveness of the proposed scheme” says Luciano Anceschi, President of EUROMAP.

The proposal for a Regulation on market surveillance includes some important improvements.

ONE SINGLE REGULATION FOR ALL PRODUCTS, A DIFFERENT CONCEPT OF RISK

The new Regulation on Market Surveillance addresses both the non-harmonized consumer and harmonized non-consumer products. Current market surveillance rules are scattered across a number of legislations, namely the GPSD (2001/95/EC), Regulation 765/2008 and a range of sector-specific legislation. The Package now brings these rules together in one single instrument and aims at establishing uniform rules for market surveillance activities across the EU.

The Regulation introduces a broader definition of risk, which places all public interests on the same level of importance.  Whilst in the past, risk for public interest was mainly interpreted as risk for safety and health, now it is extended so as to safeguard also environmental protection and energy efficiency regulated by EU harmonized legislation. Therefore, any non-compliance with sector-specific EU legal requirements is going to be considered as a risk against public interests.  Moreover, the document also indicates the specific measures should be taken in case of serious risk, which include destroying, preventing from placing on the market, recalling and withdrawing the respective products.

This implies also that when authorities identify product for instance not correctly labelled or not accompanied by correct documentation they shall consider that product as a possible “risk” against public interests and they have to take action. Martin Kapp, President of CECIMO comments: “This is very important for our manufacturers who have been asking for a long time for rapid and effective actions to prevent non-compliant machines from creating unfair competition in the Internal Market.”

OBLIGATIONS ON MEMBER STATES CLARIFIED

While the New Legislative Framework had foreseen a role for the EC to monitor the implementation of  Regulation 765/2008 this had failed to achieve the expected results. The new package goes further as it will require Member States to inform and report about their national sector-specific programmes as well as the financial means they wish to allocate, and by establishing the obligation for market surveillance authorities to follow up complaints from interested parties.The Regulation also pushes Members States to provide better financing of market surveillance activities and obliges customs authorities of the Member States to implement border-to-border early alerts.

ENHANCED COOPERATION AT EU LEVEL

As market surveillance cannot be achieved at Member States level alone, more and greater EU coordination is foreseen by the legislation. For this purpose, the rapid exchange information alert system (RAPEX) has been extended to harmonised non-consumer products, and a European database for notifications and statistics has been placed under the Commission’s control (ICSMS). The Commission also has the possibility of directly intervening in a number of cases through Implementing Acts. Finally, the Regulation also establishes a European Market Surveillance Forum (EMSF) with sectorial subgroups.

“We welcome this initiative which should help to coordinate the activities of all the national authorities and directly spot a sectoral market surveillance problem” says Jan van der Velden, President of FEM “However, the role of the industry in that Forum should go beyond that of a mere observer so that our technical expertise can be fully used.”

THE ROLE OF INDUSTRY SHOULD BE CLARIFIED AND ENHANCED

Market surveillance is an activity confined to governmental bodies. However, regulations are complex, and products are technical and difficult to check. Therefore, input from industry is important to make the system work. “This is the reason why Trade Associations should be taken on board to cooperate with the Authorities of the Member States to set up technical procedures for the inspection of the machines” continues Mr van der Velden.

SANCTIONS SHOULD BE HARMONISED and EARMARKED TO MARKET SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES

There is no way to ensure an effective market surveillance system in the Single Market if different penalties apply. Harmonisation is crucial to ensure that rogue traders will incur the same risks regardless of where or when they place their product on the EU market. “Everybody knows that resources are scarce “ says Johann Sailer, President of CECE “and that is the reason why I believe this point is important to motivate the authorities to abide by their obligations: if the fees collected are not reallocated to enhance the controls, no real virtuous cycle can be initiated. We therefore propose minimum thresholds or ceilings to harmonise sanctions, PLUS an obligation for Member States to at least partially earmark the penalties collected to refinance market surveillance and customs controls.”
“Market surveillance is an essential pillar of the internal market;” said Gilles Dryancour, President of CEMA “without appropriate controls on compliance, requirements are of no value. The internal market will only be completed when rules are respected, not when they are just in place.”

About CECE, CECIMO, CEMA, FEM and EUROMAP

CECE

The Committee of European Construction Equipment (www.cece.eu) is the recognised organisation representing and promoting the European construction equipment and related industries in order to achieve a fair competitive environment via harmonised standards and regulations. CECE is a European network consisting of a secretariat in Brussels and national association offices in 14 different European countries. The industry behind CECE comprises 1,200 companies. In 2011, these equipment manufacturers had a total turnover of 23 billion € and employed 130,000 people directly.

CECIMO

CECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries (www.cecimo.eu). We bring together 15 national Associations of Machine Tool Builders, which represent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises in Europe*, over 80% of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers more than 97% of total Machine Tool production in Europe and about one third worldwide. It accounts for almost 150,000 employees and a turnover of nearly €21 Billion in 2011. More than three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad, whereas half of it is exported outside Europe.

CEMA

CEMA is the European association representing the agricultural machinery industry. The industry represented by CEMA includes 4,500 manufacturers of agricultural equipment employing directly 135,000 persons and indirectly in the distribution and service network another 125,000 persons. The companies are mainly small and medium-sized manufacturers according to the EU definition and in 2011 had a total turnover of 26 billion euro.

FEM

Created in 1953, the European Materials Handling Federation  www.fem-eur.com) represents, defends and promotes European manufacturers of materials handling, lifting and storage equipment. FEM speaks for 15 members representing some 1,000 companies (mostly SMEs) employing 160,000 people directly and with an annual turnover of €45 billion (2008).

EUROMAP

Europe’ s Association for plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers is a major European industry with almost 3,700 companies which together have an annual turnover of more than 17 billion EURO and about 100,000 employees. EUROMAP covers the plastics and rubber machinery manufacturing industries in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Link to the press release

Exports Drive Growth in Europe’s Machine Tool Industry

Ongoing Global Economic Slowdown Might Curb the Positive Trend

BRUSSELS, 26 November 2012 – During the General Assembly that took place in Izmir 24 of November 2012, CECIMO’s Economic Committee confirmed:

• The production of machine tools is expected to reach 22 billion euros in 2012, increasing by over 6% from the year before;
• The weak European domestic demand is compensated by good export performances. Future growth will depend on foreign order intakes, new order income however was weak in recent quarters;
• The EU Industrial Policy identifies advanced manufacturing technology as a priority area: the ambitious plans need to be followed by action.

The output of the European machine tool producers showed strong growth in 2011, increasing to 20.8 billion euros, which is over one fourth higher than the level of 2010. During the first quarter of 2012, the orders’ intake for the European machine tools continued to increase. Despite weaker order income results from the following quarters and based on a solid high backlog, the machine tool production is nevertheless expected to grow by more than 6% in 2012.

Low machine tool consumption reflects the cautiousness of European businesses as well as the low production activity, mostly in Southern-Europe. Coupled with the scepticism spreading among the managers of manufacturing companies, European machine tool consumption is estimated to contract by about 77 million euros in 2012 compared to previous year.

 
The exports of CECIMO reached 16.7 billion euros in 2011, which is close to the record established in 2008. The forecasted stable production in 2012 originates from a solid growth in exports, and the successful export performance confirms the competitiveness of European machine tools. “Due to the weak domestic markets, the European machine tool industry’s near future growth prospects are based on high foreign orders’ intake and strong demand in Asian, North- and South-American markets,” comments Martin Kapp, the President of CECIMO.

 
Over the last months, several global economies recorded a contraction of their industrial production, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated a high risk of serious global slowdown. Combined with weak European demand, the ongoing deterioration of economic conditions across the world may jeopardise the export volumes and the growth prospects of the machine tool production.

 
In response to this situation, pro-active government policies are needed to stimulate manufacturing growth, and the EU trade policy has a crucial role to play. CECIMO exports to non-European countries represented almost 50% of its total exports in 2011 and this share is growing, and free and fair trade is needed to maintain this momentum. The delay in the conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and India creates a competitive disadvantage for European machine tool builders, since states such as Korea and Japan have already signed agreements with this country. CECIMO expects the EU to make every effort to finalize the agreement with India in the near future.

 
Also, the future growth of the machine tool industry depends on the availability of the necessary skills on the job market. However, while record-high unemployment rates are observed in the EU, European machine tool builders struggle in staffing vacant positions. CECIMO welcomes the European Commission’s recent Industrial Policy Communication, which sets out an ambitious plan to stimulate investments, innovation, as well as the development of human capital in the manufacturing industry. The Communication announces concrete initiatives to anticipate skills needs in specific sectors and to better match education with available positions. In this spirit, it was decided by CECIMO that its next General Assembly should focus on the broader skills challenge.

 
Commenting on the Industrial Policy Communication, Mr Kapp declares: “The Commission’s target to increase the GDP’s share of manufacturing in the EU from 16% to 20% by 2020 is a quantitative expression of Europe’s reindustrialisation goal. It underlines a long-term commitment to help prepare Europe’s manufacturing base for the future.” CECIMO encourages the EU and its Member States to put into effect the measures required for implementing the new industrial strategy in a coordinated manner. They should work in a spirit of solidarity and in full partnership with the industry towards the achievement of common industrial policy objectives.

 
Statements relating to the future:

This press release contains statements relating to the future, which are based on current evaluations of the management regarding future developments. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties relating to factors that are beyond CECIMO’s ability to control or estimate precisely, such as the future market environment and economic conditions. Should these conditions or other unforeseeable event occur, or should the assumptions on which these statements are based prove incorrect, the actual results may differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by, these statements. CECIMO disclaims any intention or special obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in events or developments occurring after the reporting period. Forward-looking statements must not be understood as a guarantee or assurance of future developments or events contained therein.

About CECIMO

CECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries. We bring together 15 national Associations of Machine Tool Builders, which represent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises in Europe*, over 80% of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers more than 97% of total Machine Tool production in Europe and about one third worldwide. It accounts for almost 150,000 employees and a turnover of nearly €21 Billion in 2011. More than three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad, whereas half of it is exported outside Europe*. For more information visit www.cecimo.eu

*Europe = EU + EFTA + Turkey

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For further media enquiries:

Contact person: Filip Geerts, Director General

Tel +32 2 502 70 90 / Fax +32 2 502 60 82

 filip.geerts at cecimo.eu

Link to press release

Joint Press Release

10 October 2012, Brussels

BRUSSELS, 10 October 2012 – CECE, CECIMO, CEMA, EUROMAP and FEM welcome the European Commission’s acknowledgement, in its Communication on Industrial Policy, of the importance of an effective market surveillance to support a competitive EU machinery industry(1). Whereas EU mechanical engineering is one of the most important providers of workplaces within the EU and significantly contributes to a sound current account balance, it is vital to protect its competitiveness.

The president of CECIMO, Mr Martin Kapp, welcomed the reference to market surveillance into the European Commission Communication: “The EU mechanical engineering has recently been described as one of the most shining examples of performance of EU economy”, said Mr Kapp. “EU institutions and Member States have a duty in allowing European manufacturers to maintain such a position.”(2)

In the past few years, the EU machinery industry has been alerting decision-makers on the negative impact of ineffective market surveillance on the sector and the entire EU economy. The resulting proliferation of non-compliant equipment on the internal market generates safety and environmental risks, creates unfair competition and hampers the competitiveness of European companies, ultimately threatening the hundreds of thousands of jobs they provide. The industry, on its end, has taken a proactive approach to address the issue, notably by providing technical assistance to competent authorities through the online Market Surveillance Support Platform launched on the initiative of industry in 2011.(3)

CECE, CECIMO, CEMA, EUROMAP and FEM now hope that this strong message in the Industrial Policy Flagship will guide the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament in their efforts for drawing up a common framework for market surveillance in the upcoming Safety Package. There is an undeniable link between market surveillance and competitiveness, innovation, growth and jobs. Therefore, besides traditional product safety aspects, industrial policy and competitiveness objectives should be fully taken into account and incorporated into the new legislation.

“We hope that the new framework for market surveillance will, in a focused manner, address the problems of machinery industries which have been neglected so far”, said Olivier Janin, Secretary General of FEM. “The new legislative package  should  enable more targeted, coordinated and effective market surveillance across the EU with the involvement of market surveillance, customs authorities and industry.”

CECE, FEM, EUROMAP, CECIMO and CEMA are requesting DG Enterprise to have the lead and be ambitious in its proposal(4).A mere merging of General Product Safety Directive and regulation 765/2008 in a unique document would be an academic exercise which would not bring any benefit to the industry. On the contrary, there is recently acknowledged need to ensure fair competition and a level-playing field for all market operators: the Commission, and then the Parliament and Member States need to ensure that only compliant machines are sold in Europe.

CECE President Johann Sailer concluded: “I call the legislator for not taking safety as the unique parameter in this exercise. Safety of users and workers is crucial, but compliance is, and should remain, our priority. A compliant product is necessarily a safe one, while the contrary is not necessarily true.”

(1) European Commission Communication: A Stronger European Industry for Growth and Economic Recovery ((COM(2012) 582) /3), p.17  http://bit.ly/RdWSgQ

(2) Mechanical Engineering Industry – A large, successful and heterogeneous sector, European Commission Press release, 22 March 2012

(3) http://machinery-surveillance.eu/

(4) http://www.cece.eu/publicationsDetail.php?id=752&mem=0

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About CECE

The Committee of European Construction Equipment (www.cece.eu) is the recognised organisation representing and promoting the European construction equipment and related industries in order to achieve a fair competitive environment via harmonised standards and regulations. CECE is a European network consisting of a secretariat in Brussels and national association offices in 14 different European countries.

The industry behind CECE comprises 1,200 companies. In 2011, these equipment manufacturers had a total turnover of 23 billion € and employed 130,000 people directly. European construction machines represent around 25% of the worldwide production. Manufacturers include large European and multinational companies with production sites in Europe, but the majority of companies are small or medium-sized.

Contact person: Valentina Mauri, Public Affairs Manager, valentina.mauri@cece.eu

About CECIMO

CECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries. We bring together 15 national Associations of Machine Tool Builders, which represent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises in Europe*, over 80% of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers more than 97% of total Machine Tool production in Europe and more than one third worldwide. It accounts for almost 150,000 employees and a turnover of nearly €21 Billion in 2011. Three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad, whereas more than half of it is exported outside Europe*. For more information visit www.cecimo.eu

*Europe = EU + EFTA + Turkey

Contact person: Filip Geerts, Director General, filip.geerts@cecimo.eu

About CEMA

CEMA is the European association representing the agricultural machinery industry. For 50 years CEMA has acted as a network of national associations and provides services, advice and a common European industry view on relevant topics.

The industry represented by CEMA includes 4,500 manufacturers of agricultural equipment employing directly 135,000 persons and indirectly in the distribution and service network another 125,000 persons. The companies are mainly small and medium-sized manufacturers according to the EU definition and in 2011 had a total turnover of 26 billion euro.

Contact person: Ralf Wezel, Secretary General, ralf.wezel@cema-agri.org

About FEM

Created in 1953, the European Materials Handling Federation (www.fem-eur.com) represents, defends and promotes European manufacturers of materials handling, lifting and storage equipment. FEM speaks for 15 members representing some 1,000 companies (mostly SMEs) employing 160,000 people directly and with an annual turnover of €45 billion (2008).

Contact person: Olivier Janin, Secretary General, olivier.janin@orgalime.org

About EUROMAP

EUROMAP is the umbrella organisation for the powerful European plastics and rubber machinery industry which accounts for some 50% of worldwide production and export volumes. Member associations are located in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. EUROMAP has been the stakeholder for the European plastics and rubber machinery industry since 1964. It promotes the industry’s business activities and serves as a hub for its partners abroad. EUROMAP provides information and assistance for the whole plastics and rubber industry and the media worldwide.

EUROMAP represents more than 3,400 companies manufacturing equipment for the plastics and rubber industry in the field of core machinery (pre-processing, converting, postprocessing), moulds and dies, peripheral equipment and flexographic printing machines for plastics film. Together, they employ a total of 91,000 staff and generate annual sales amounting to almost 16 billion EURO.

Contact person: Thorsten Kühmann, Secretary General, euromap@vdma.org

A long term and visionary ‘European manufacturing strategy’ should set common goals and it should help mobilize public-private resources for the revival of the manufacturing industry.

CECIMO answered to European Commission’s online consultation on the 2012 review of the industrial policy flagship initiative and published a position paper recommending on priorities to help boost the EU’s manufacturing base.

CECIMO’s position paper highlights the key challenges to the EU’s machine tool industry and the manufacturing base in general and sets out key action priorities which can bring European manufacturing on a sustainable growth track.

CECIMO’s position paper underlines the main challenges to the machine tool industry and to European manufacturing as follows:

• The euro zone crisis and its negative impact on market confidence and access to finance hampering manufacturing investments in Europe (weak demand)

• Low investment rate in production machinery in Europe affecting innovation, industrial modernisation and the competitiveness of European manufacturing

• Uncertainties about the global economy and eventual negative consequences for European exports

• Obstacles to the internationalisation of SMEs and their expansion in international markets to tap into growth opportunities in emerging markets

• System competition and the impact of industrial policies which are implemented by non-European  countries on the manufacturing industry (unfair competition & market access barriers)

• Government budgets in the grip of the austerity crisis squeezing R&D funds required for innovation in manufacturing

• Instability in EU regulatory framework owing to frequent changes in technical regulations and a lack of effective assessments about the impact of regulations on industry

• The absence of highly skilled workforce in Europe to meet the present and future needs of the manufacturing industry

• A lack of political commitment to the development of manufacturing in Europe and the absence of a clear strategy and vision on manufacturing

CECIMO calls for a European manufacturing strategy

Against this background, CECIMO calls on the EU to develop a European Manufacturing Strategy which addresses the afore-mentioned challenges in a holistic manner and ensures an effective implementation of measures in full solidarity with member states. An EU Manufacturing Strategy is a pre-requisite to set out a vision for the European manufacturing industry and to create an effective framework for the revival of manufacturing investments.

Manufacturing can provide solutions for societal challenges, stimulate the creation of new industries, boost competitiveness (through R&D investments which increase labour productivity), and drive economic growth and jobs creation.

A long term and visionary European strategy for manufacturing, comprising concrete targets and goals, which announces political commitment and support for manufacturing in Europe is needed to engage all public and private actors to mobilise their resources for the revival and reinforcement of the manufacturing industry in Europe.

You can download CECIMO’s answer to the public consultation and the CECIMO’s position paper on the EU industrial policy by clicking here.

Background: the EU Industrial Policy Flagship and the 2012 review

The EU industrial policy flagship is one of the seven flagship initiatives mentioned in the Europe 2020 Strategy which are devised to foster smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU.

The flagship initiative was launched in 2010 with the Commission Communication “An integrated industrial policy for the globalisation era” adopted by the European Commission on 28th October 2010. The flagship sets out a strategy to boost growth and jobs by maintaining and supporting a strong, diversified and competitive industrial base in Europe.

Currently, the Commission is preparing the 2012 review of the industrial policy communication, which is due September 2012. The Commission states that the new communication will focus on a limited number of new initiatives capable of delivering results to tackle the economic crisis in the short to medium term and on streamlining the implementation of the industrial policy strategy by tackling eventual shortfalls.

CECIMO Press Release

22 March 2012

BRUSSELS, 22 March 2012 – The European Association of the Machine Tool industries, CECIMO, launched its ‘Study on the Competitiveness of the European Machine Tool Industry’ with a roundtable meeting at the European Parliament on 21 March, which brought together industry and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Prepared by a voluntary group of industrialists coordinated by CECIMO, the study provides a comprehensive snapshot of the European machine tool industry in the post-crisis era.

The event[1] was titled: “Made in Europe? Challenges facing the EU’s machine tool industry”. The findings of the CECIMO study reveal that the share of European machine tool production has been in decline over the last decade, owing mainly to the shift of markets to Asia. “Driven by the rise of China, Asia has become truly ‘the factory of the world’ over the past decade. Today, Asia consumes more 66% of the world’s machine tool production and China alone absorbs 50% of this. The share of European consumption in world consumption has dropped from 40% to one fifth over the last decade, the share which was obviously lost to Asia” explained Michael Hauser, Vice-President of CECIMO, CEO of Tornos S.A. to MEPs present in the meeting.

Machine tools are the basic building blocks of the industrialisation of a country. Emerging countries increasingly invest in production systems provided largely by the European machine tool industry to build up their manufacturing base. “This is good news for our companies as their exports to China and Asia are booming. However, the bad news is that our customers relocate outside Europe and we are forced to follow them to other markets. Expanding to Asian markets is almost ‘a mission impossible’ for an SME employing a hundred people”, the CECIMO Vice-President stated. The CECIMO study also highlights that machine tool companies need to stay close to their customer base to embark on joint innovation projects with them and to set up effective channels for sales, distribution and business services (e.g. maintenance and repair). SMEs, which cover more than 80% of European machine tool companies, are lacking the human and financial resources to expand internationally, but also they are deprived from management competences to cope with risks in unpredictable markets in emerging countries.

In many growing countries, the level playing field is severely distorted by political practices comprising market access barriers, intellectual property rights risks, indigenous innovation policies and activities of large state-owned companies. The market access for European imports is being restricted as soon as they can supply the imported technology domestically. It is likely that this trend will continue. Such practices risk, firstly, condemning European suppliers to a small niche market of high-end products and secondly, they risk gradually disconnecting them from customers which relocate in these markets. “Cutting off the ties between a machine tool builder and its customers means not only crippling sales, but also cutting off the lifeblood of innovation of that company”, stated Mr. Hauser.

Mr. Filip Geerts, CECIMO’s Director General, states: “Losing the machine tool industry, a key enabling sector, would mean losing the capability of making ‘next generation products’ and building the future European economy. If Europe became dependent on production technology and know-how import, this would be the final blow to European manufacturing, leading to the total de-industrialisation of Europe”. The CECIMO study stresses that Europe needs to keep the manufacturing know-how generated by the machine tool industry by keeping manufacturing in Europe. This is a pre-requisite to master industrial innovation and to benefit from first-mover advantages to produce fuel efficient cars and airplanes, renewable energy generation equipment, medical equipment for an aging society and all other value-added products in Europe. Europe is in fierce competition with emerging countries for leadership in these industries.

CECIMO Director General calls on all the involved authorities at both Member State and EU level to commit themselves to the development and implementation of a long-term common European manufacturing strategy which is adjusted to the globalisation era. He says: “Such a strategy should support the internationalisation of SMEs by providing assistance for capacity building, information on market access and more favourable conditions for export finances, which will allow them to expand to emerging markets and to benefit from economies of scale. Meanwhile, Europe should focus on measures to boost innovation and productivity which will enhance the competitiveness of manufacturers in the global marketplace”. Mr. Geerts stresses that manufacturing can help tackle the current economic challenges Europe is facing today including slow growth and unemployment, reminding that manufacturing is a source of innovation, competitiveness and jobs.