- The forecast is for a rise in turnover of about 20% for 2011 due to the increase in orders coming in

- Production in 2010 fell by 15% compared to the previous year

- Exports fell slightly less, posting a figure 12% down on 2009

"The clear improvement in orders won from foreign markets during the last four months of 2010 makes us a bit more optimistic and leads us to believe that the recovery that we all want so much will be consolidated in the course of the year. Although production is at its lowest level for the last fifteen years, due to the really big fall in demand we suffered in 2008 and 2009, the figures for orders coming in confirm sustained growth in foreign demand. As in previous periods of difficulty, the sector has benefitted from its high level of internationalisation”, stated Koldo Arandia, the Chairman of the AFM.

Information note and dossier on AFM’s General Assembly.(PDF)

The final figures for the end of 2010 show that with €631.9m Spanish machine tool production fell by 15% compared to the figure of €745.14m posted in 2009. This fall was bigger in the chip removal subsector, which has seen a decline of practically 18% compared to the figures for 2009. It was a better year for the forming subsector, which fell less, around 10%.

This trend is also evident in the winning of orders, which has clearly improved, reflecting strong growth in the forming subsector and incipient although continuous improvement in the chip removal subsector.

Exports also fell, but more moderately. The figure for 2010, €484.2m, shows a 12% drop compared to 2009, a year in which the total achieved was €551.93m. Maintaining the trend of recent years, the export-import cover ratio was 231%. In 2010, 76.6% of Spanish production was for export.

In terms of geographical areas, if we focus on new orders, Asia, and especially China and India, is the new driving force behind the sector. Germany is recovering and NAFTA is becoming more dynamic. In any case, due to the long lead times in 2010, Germany continues to be the leading market for Spanish machine tools, accounting for 17% of our sales abroad. It is followed by China, which accounts for 11.1%, Brazil, with 7.4%, India and Italy, 6.8 and 5.3% respectively. Next come France (5.2%), Mexico (4.8%), Portugal (4.8%), USA (4.5%) and Russia (3.6%). 70.5% of our exports go to these ten countries.

"Germany continues to be a basic market for our machines. The relatively quick and, above all, strong reactivation of the German economy has been a key factor for our companies, together with stable growth in the Chinese and Indian markets. The prospects are also good in the American markets. After a number of years of relative stagnation, there has been a renewal in demand from Brazil, Mexico and USA”, explained the AFM chairman.

An analysis of imports points to a slight increase of 0.7% compared to the figure for 2009, having gone from €208.24m to €209.70m. Apparent consumption, which we calculate by adding together production and imports and subtracting exports, fell by 10.9%. The fall in sales in the domestic market was even sharper with a drop of 23.5%.

"In spite of Government plans to encourage demand, the domestic market is in a worrying state. As suppliers of competitiveness for industry, we must express our deep concern about the undercapitalisation of industry that is taking place in our country. It is a proven fact that economies with a strong industrial sector have been able to overcome the economic fluctuations of recent times more quickly”, asserted Mr Arandia.

"Together we have to demand a policy to enable industry to increase its weight in Spain’s GDP as a source of wealth. Industry promotes advanced services, generates trained people and helps develop towards a truly sustainable economy”, added the AFM Chairman.

The challenges are even more focused on internationalisation, with special importance placed on activities that involve taking positions in Asian markets where most of the increase in demand is concentrated. “China consumes 41% of the machines manufactured in the world and we have to take advantage of that”, stated Mr Arandia.

Innovation focusing on the specific application adapted to the requirements of each sector and having people prepared to tackle such challenges complete the shortlist of the sector’s challenges.

On the eve of the Annual General Meeting in which the AFM celebrates its 65th anniversary, and after presenting the final figures for 2010, Koldo Arandia explained one of the biggest projects that is being tackled by the association at the moment: the eventual integration with the AMT (Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Accessories, Component Parts and Tools for Machine Tools): “Last year, with the authorisation of our respective Annual General Meetings, we started a process to forge closer relations between the AFM (Spanish of Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association) and the AMT (Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Accessories, Component Parts and Tools for Machine Tools). This process has helped to generate a new integration project with the aim of building a single, stronger association, with greater capacity for representation and service. The culmination of the project will lead us to bring together our human resources and our companies. It is a path we started down with excitement, in the trust that in the future new opportunities will open up for work and cooperation".