Industry expects growth

Optimism remains at a high level. “In terms of the outlook for the next 24 months, 65% of respondents expect growth in the domestic market. In terms of exports, 58% of our member companies still expect an increase, compared to 68% in the spring survey.

The EU-27 is the most important export region for almost three quarters of member companies, followed by the USA (69%) and European non-EU countries (33%). Heering comments: “We are observing an increasing importance of the USA as an export market. China and other Asian countries are also among the top sales markets, with 10% and 15% of survey participants respectively.”

The most relevant competitors come from China and the USA. 43% of respondents see themselves in competition with Chinese AM providers and 36% with US providers. Dr. Heering notes that competition from China is now clearly noticeable.

Investment restraint intensifies

Despite the expected growth, companies are currently holding back on investments due to the difficult general economic situation. Only 27% intend to increase their investments in the coming year. The most positive effect on the AM business will come from new applications (68%) and new markets (52%). One in five companies also hopes that increased R&D and marketing activities will provide positive impetus in the current year.

“This is where we can start and focus. Our working group brings together a wide variety of players that offer products and services along additive process and value chains,” says Heering. The composition of the member companies is very heterogeneous. Providers of AM systems and their suppliers are represented, as are post-processing specialists. AM service providers and manufacturers of AM components for in-house use are also represented. In addition, there are specialized consultancies, research institutes as well as software and material suppliers. Nevertheless, there is broad agreement on where the AM industry needs to improve.

Joint exchange promotes the further development of AM technologies

“We need to work on the cost level in order to increase AM competitiveness. We also need to find new applications and develop new technologies that focus primarily on series production. Automation will be crucial here. In order to increase market acceptance, we must also continue to work on the stability and reproducibility of AM processes,” summarizes Heering.

The regular exchange between member companies in the VDMA working group is particularly useful for this. It enables an exchange of ideas on challenges, solutions and best practices across all process, material and discipline boundaries and offers valuable suggestions and points of contact.

Manufacturers and users from the metal, plastics and ceramics sectors are represented in the working group. They develop and use both direct and indirect AM processes to manufacture series products, prototypes, assembly aids and much more. “The exchange along the additive process chains, in which all participants share their perspectives, experiences and challenges, leads to a deeper understanding of the tasks at hand and raises awareness of the need for development along the entire chain,” explains the managing director of the working group. The regular exchange of expertise between the players is crucial for the industry to agree on common technological goals and milestones in the industrialization of additive manufacturing.