European manufacturers satisfied with order intake in 2021

Almost all manufacturers of brick technology were able to put the pandemic situation behind them last year. The only concerns are the high raw material prices and delivery delays.

Frankfurt am Main, 1 February 2022 – In terms of order intake, most companies seem to have reached pre-pandemic levels. Many ECTS members are affected by high and further increasing raw material prices as well as long delivery times. Prices have doubled in some cases and delivery times have extended from four weeks to four months in some cases. Some suppliers of machine components have run out of stock and cannot give delivery dates. Such a situation makes it difficult to prepare quotations because raw materials are only purchased after orders have been received. Therefore, some manufacturers include price indices in their offers instead of monetary values.

In terms of order intake, it is mainly spare parts and modernisation projects that are stimulating business. Only a few greenfield projects are planned for 2022. Central Europe remains the strongest market for ceramics technology. The US market continues to be promising.

A lasting positive effect of the pandemic, according to the unanimous opinion of ECTS members, is that travel costs have dropped by about 40 per cent due to new virtual communication experiences during the lockdown. Many companies are increasingly establishing remote services. In this sense, the pandemic has been a driver for digitalisation. In addition to remote services, ECTS members have also shifted parts of their sales activities to the virtual world. For the heavy clay sector, the big topic for the future is decarbonisation. This applies to all areas along the production chain.

Ceramitec in Munich

The next port of call for the ceramics industry and to learn more about the latest technologies is ceramitec in Munich. From 21 to 24 June 2022, more than 600 exhibitors from all over the world will present their entire portfolio at the ceramics trade fair: Machines, equipment, plants, processes and raw materials. From classical ceramics to industrial ceramics, ceramics technology to technical ceramics and powder metallurgy, all areas of the industry will be represented. In the ceramitec Forum, trade fair guests will receive information on product developments, trends and market analyses on all days of the trade fair. ECTS is organising the all-day programmes in the heavy ceramics section with presentations, panel discussions and lectures. More information at www.ceramitec.com.

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ECTS stands for European Ceramic Technology Suppliers. It is a working group of European suppliers of machinery, materials and technical services for the production of ceramics, powder metallurgy and related technologies. Ceramics here includes all types of raw materials as well as plant and machinery for the production of refractory materials, bricks, tiles, sanitary ceramics, tableware and advanced ceramics. ECTS networks and promotes its members and fosters cooperation at all levels. The headquarters of ECTS is located in Frankfurt am Main.

ects.vdma.org

Do you have any questions? Christoph Danner, ECTS, telephone 069 6603-1254, Christoph.danner@vdma.org, will be happy to answer them.