As the engine of global economic growth, China is striving to replace traditional manufacturing with advanced manufacturing. At the European Machine Tool Show (EMO) in Hannover 2013, “Made in China” is expected to become a bright spot.
As a world-class metal processing and trade fair, EMO will be held from September 16 to 21, 2013. According to the organizers, as of the end of November, 32 Chinese exhibitors have signed up for the exhibition.
Wilfried Scharer, general manager of the German Machine Tool Manufacturers Association (VDW), sees this change as a process of “strive for the upper reaches” in China's manufacturing industry.
The data shows that the international machine tool market has more than doubled in 20 years, reaching about $86 billion in 2011. In the past 12 years, machine tool consumption has increased by an average of 10% per year, and the main driver of growth is from the Asian region represented by China. In 2011, three-fifths of the international machine tool production flowed into the region.
Dr. Fisher said that China's “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” focuses on sustainable development, efficient production structures and processes, and modernization. Machine tools play a vital role in all three aspects. Forecasts show that Chinese users' investment in machine tools will increase by 16% in 2013, and the increase in 2014 may be even greater. These customers are mainly concentrated in the mechanical engineering, electrical industry, metal processing, automotive manufacturing and other transportation construction industries.
Some business analysts also expect that investment in large infrastructure in 2013 will boost China's economic growth, especially for national high-speed rail, urban rail transit, airports and power grid expansion. The pace of modernization of China's industrial infrastructure is accelerating, and the demand for efficient modern manufacturing technology is increasing. Machine tool purchases will therefore rise nearly 12% in 2013 to reach $38.1 billion.
China has become the world's largest machine tool manufacturing country and machine tool market, and its total export volume ranks eighth in the world. This position is expected to gradually increase. “For Chinese companies, participating in the EMO exhibition and interacting with metal processing companies from all over the world is undoubtedly a good opportunity to showcase their strength and find business opportunities,” said Dr. Fisher.