European Machinery Manufacturers Gain More Market Share

Manufacturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery based in Western Europe increased sales by 2.9%, to 9.4 billion Euros in 2002. This growth put European manufacturers ahead of worldwide growth in plastics processing machinery, which climbed 2.5% in 2002 to a total value of 17 billion Euros.

European manufacturers also increased their share of total global exports for plastics machinery to 57% or 6.7 billion Euros, corresponding to an export quota of 71.3%, according to the European Committee of Machinery Manufacturers for Plastics and Rubber Industries (EUROMAP). The organization represents manufacturers based in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

EUROMAP says the main impetus for export-driven machinery growth in 2002 was markets in the Far East, especially China.