The VDMA, which represents around 3,500 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies, says Germany’s mining equipment sector continues to recover from the COVID-19-related downturn, with turnover for the first nine months of the year up by 18% to €3.75 billion ($3.9 billion).

“The mining industry is doing well at the moment, benefiting from a high order backlog,” the organisation said in its latest report. “In 2021, the manufacturers of technology for the extraction of raw materials achieved a total turnover of €3.18 billion in Germany as a production location.

“From January to September 2022, turnover of €3.75 billion increased by 18% compared to the same period last year. In the first three quarters, however, incoming orders declined by 26%.”

The industry hopes that the excellent mood and response at the bauma trade fair, in Munich, Germany, will be able to close the gap in incoming orders by spring and is counting on its technical expertise, especially in digitalisation, the VDMA noted.

Exports by mining equipment manufacturers in the period from January to August 2022 were 25% up on the previous year at just under €1.24 billion. VDMA Mining estimates that the industry will end the current year with a 15% increase in turnover.

The importance of modern mining technology for Germany as an industrial location has increased with the energy transition, according to the organisation.

Manufactburers are relying on digitalised and, where already possible, autonomous extraction and production processes – also in their own companies.

VDMA Mining added: “The bureaucratic obstacles, such as the German Supply Chain Act, which is ahead of the future EU law and can hardly be implemented, a shortage of skilled workers and the negative attitude towards mining are challenges that must be overcome in order for Germany to have a future as a high-tech location.”

Dr Michael Schulte Strathaus, Chairman of the VDMA Mining Executive Board, said at the Mining Industry Meeting in Essen, Germany, on November 17: “In addition to all the political and economic uncertainties we are currently facing, we must not lose sight of the fact that a sustainable industrial location in Germany is also a guarantor of social stability and our democratic system. Modern mining equipment secures our supply of raw materials and is, therefore, indispensable.”