Koldo Arandia, AFM’s President, says: “After an extremely tough year and a half, we are convinced that one of the keys to industrial competitiveness is to equip ourselves with modern production resources. We have a firm faith in the national market and we wish to help our customers to create value and compete with the very best. It is clear to us that the sustainable economy means developing industrial capacities in this country, and we are the most vital aspect of this.”

The definitive end-of-year data for 2009 reveal a huge drop in all the sector’s parameters. The drop in demand on all the markets has meant that the machine tool industry has needed to make profound adjustments.

“The crisis has produced a snowball effect that began with domestic demand, going on to industrial demand and then even more markedly to investment in high-value capital goods. This has led to months of a genuine standstill in purchases worldwide.

Fortunately the worst is over, and the markets are showing rather more activity. Recovery is still insufficient, however, and we are expecting 2010 to be the same or even worse than 2009, as we are starting the year with portfolios that have frankly been weakened”, Koldo Arandia said.

The final data show that in 2009, machine tool production in Spain yielded a total of 745.1 million euros. This figure represents a drop in production of 29.5% with respect to the amount obtained in 2008. It can therefore be confirmed that we are facing the lowest figures attained by the sector in the last ten years.

The final export figure for 2009, 551.9 million euros, also represents a major drop of 25% compared to the 736 million euros the sector exported in 2008. However, in general, sales abroad have performed somewhat better, yielding a spectacular import/export coverage ratio of 267%. Almost 75% of machine tool production was destined for export in 2009.

In the ranking by countries, Germany remains in the lead as the main destination for our exports, receiving 24% of the same. France is next, dislodging Italy as the second country in the ranking with 8.2%. China is in third place, in the highest position the Asian giant has ever held, with 7.7%. Italy is fourth, with 7.5%, having undergone a sharp decline in its quota after the 20% it reached in 2008, and another BRIC country is in fifth place: India, with a percentage of 7.1%. The next five countries, completing the top ten Spanish export destinations, are Russia, Portugal, the UK, Mexico and the USA.

The progress of the BRIC countries over the last five years - China (3rd), India (4th), Russia (6th) and Brazil (11th) – is certainly of particular note.

Arandia: “Compared with the slow recovery of the European and North American markets, the BRIC countries have not only withstood the reduction in demand much better (China and India specifically, whose performance with respect to our 2009 sales was similar to that of 2008), but they are also already showing signs of a major increase in consumption this financial year.

It is vitally important for us to take a firm stance on these markets, and AFM is working on this aspect.”

In addition to the international environment in which we plan to continue competing at the highest level, the national market, recently fairly depressed, is of vital importance for the sector. The 26th BIEMH comes at a time of gradual improvement and the Spanish machine tool manufacturers are making a strong contribution to the country’s industrial competitiveness. With a month to go before the trade fair, 1030 exhibiting companies, of which 40% are foreign firms, have confirmed their participation, and over 44,000 visitors from 54 different countries have pre-registered to attend the event.

Koldo Arandia: “This is a difficult time for all of us, but we think there is light at the end of the tunnel if we can put our faith in industrial productivity and competitiveness. The machine tool manufacturers will be making a great effort and presenting our new developments to the market, providing value and knowledge.

I would like to call on all the industrial sectors to attend the BIEMH and join us in our bid for a brighter future.”