Mining equipment secures Germany as a high-tech location
The Mining Industry Meeting takes place annually at the Zeche Zollverein
© Jochen Tack, Stiftung Zollverein
The mining industry is doing well at the moment, benefiting from a high order backlog. 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 minus 26 %. The industry hopes that the excellent mood and response at the bauma trade fair will be able to close the gap in incoming orders by spring and is counting on its technical expertise, especially in digitalisation.
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. The VDMA Mining estimates that the industry will end the year 2022 with a 15 % increase in turnover. The number of employees remains stable at 12 200.
Climate crisis requires social rethinking
The importance of modern mining technology for Germany as an industrial location has increased with the energy transition. Raw materials of all kinds, such as rare earths, are indispensable to enable electrification and digitalisation. At the same time, raw materials must be extracted worldwide in a way that conserves resources and is sustainable and as safe as possible. Manufacturers are relying on digitalised and, where already possible, autonomous extraction and production processes – also in their own companies. 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.
“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,” emphasised Dr Michael Schulte Strathaus, Chairman of the VDMA Mining Executive Board, at the Mining Industry Meeting in Essen on 17 November 2022. “Modern mining equipment secures our supply of raw materials and is therefore indispensable.”
