Strength of place - know it and use it
21 October, 2011
In these days of uncertain global economics those of us in business and in manufacturing surely owe it to each another to keep our feet firmly on the ground and to search out and communicate all the positives wherever they can be found. 
In my view the Fakuma exhibition in Friederichshafen, Germany this week provides some timely material in this vein: Fakuma is the annual domestic trade fair for Germany's plastics manufacturing industries. From Day One, visitor attendance was high; buyer interest was keen and most machinery based exhibitors reported another year of record sales growth. In part, of course, this may be due to worldwide manufacturing industry restocking and recovering from the credit crunch of 2008/09. Regardless of that, however, the recent facts are impressive. Euromap, the organisation which represents plastics machinery companies and which is dominated by German-speaking producers, now reports that European plastics machinery production volumes increased by 27.3% to 9.78 billion Euros in 2010 - and are also set for 10% further growth in 2011. Germany is by far the world's biggest exporter of plastics machinery to all the nations of the world with a healthy 23.7% of global market share - nearly double that of its nearest rival, Japan. 
Ceramicx - helped in Germany by our good friends at Friedr Freek - is doing its bit to support and stay with this expansion in plastics machinery. We continue to aim to increase our share of the market; specifically by supplying quality infrared panel heaters, heaters for industrial processing, infrared heating systems for thermoforming, blow moulding and other parts of the plastics sector. 
And since Ceramicx business is truly worldwide, we find much to applaud and appreciate in the way that Germany engineering companies continue to create new markets; reaching further into Eastern Europe for example and Russia. It all makes quite a contrast to the main headlines in Western Europe where political leaders fumble with the Euro and fiddle with the money supply. Aside from reaffirming some business confidence and intelligence, this week's Fakuma reminds me of three things: a) always moderate your diet of mainstream media with some first-hand news from somewhere real. b) some good business is always happening somewhere b) never underestimate the particular powers of place On that last point - and here you might see me signing off here with a small commercial - Ceramicx believes that our own West Cork location continues to offer manufacturers a truly positive environment for creativity, technology and manufacturing. Several trends point to a continuing investment and growth in manufacturing technology here - and not least from ourselves. Our latest HeatWorks magazine contains articles on these opportunities in detail. Please don't hesitate to contact myself directly to chat about any ins and outs at first hand. Many thanks again.
21 October, 2011
In these days of uncertain global economics those of us in business and in manufacturing surely owe it to each another to keep our feet firmly on the ground and to search out and communicate all the positives wherever they can be found. In my view the Fakuma exhibition in Friederichshafen, Germany this week provides some timely material in this vein: Fakuma is the annual domestic trade fair for Germany's plastics manufacturing industries. From Day One, visitor attendance was high; buyer interest was keen and most machinery based exhibitors reported another year of record sales growth. In part, of course, this may be due to worldwide manufacturing industry restocking and recovering from the credit crunch of 2008/09. Regardless of that, however, the recent facts are impressive. Euromap, the organisation which represents plastics machinery companies and which is dominated by German-speaking producers, now reports that European plastics machinery production volumes increased by 27.3% to 9.78 billion Euros in 2010 - and are also set for 10% further growth in 2011. Germany is by far the world's biggest exporter of plastics machinery to all the nations of the world with a healthy 23.7% of global market share - nearly double that of its nearest rival, Japan. Ceramicx - helped in Germany by our good friends at Friedr Freek - is doing its bit to support and stay with this expansion in plastics machinery. We continue to aim to increase our share of the market; specifically by supplying quality infrared panel heaters, heaters for industrial processing, infrared heating systems for thermoforming, blow moulding and other parts of the plastics sector. And since Ceramicx business is truly worldwide, we find much to applaud and appreciate in the way that Germany engineering companies continue to create new markets; reaching further into Eastern Europe for example and Russia. It all makes quite a contrast to the main headlines in Western Europe where political leaders fumble with the Euro and fiddle with the money supply. Aside from reaffirming some business confidence and intelligence, this week's Fakuma reminds me of three things: a) always moderate your diet of mainstream media with some first-hand news from somewhere real. b) some good business is always happening somewhere b) never underestimate the particular powers of place On that last point - and here you might see me signing off here with a small commercial - Ceramicx believes that our own West Cork location continues to offer manufacturers a truly positive environment for creativity, technology and manufacturing. Several trends point to a continuing investment and growth in manufacturing technology here - and not least from ourselves. Our latest HeatWorks magazine contains articles on these opportunities in detail. Please don't hesitate to contact myself directly to chat about any ins and outs at first hand. Many thanks again.
