The industrial valves sector performed well in 2023 despite adverse conditions. After a pleasing start to the year, however, the outlook became increasingly gloomy over the course of 2023. Overall, a nominal increase in turnover of 3% was achieved. Domestic business improved by 4%. In contrast, foreign sales only increased by 1%. Adjusted for price effects, the 3% growth in turnover corresponds to a decline of 6% compared to the previous year.
"As in the previous year, sales growth in 2023 is primarily due to inflation. Against the backdrop of the continued sluggish economy in Germany and Europe, industrial valve manufacturers are facing a variety of challenges," says Dr. Laura Dorfer, Managing Director of the VDMA Valves Association, explaining the current situation. "While order books were still full at the beginning of 2023, the number of orders fell towards the end of the year. Our members are also suffering from an excess of regulation and bureaucratic obstacles. The lack of qualified specialist personnel is also becoming increasingly noticeable."
Despite these challenges, the coming months also offer opportunities. There are many indications that inflation will continue to weaken over the course of the current year, which should lead to an improved mood in the industry and give the general economy a boost again.
"The valve industry is fundamentally well positioned and offers the right solutions for future topics such as the energy transition, hydrogen, clean water and the circular economy. In the coming months, companies in the industry will use the leading international trade fairs IFAT, ACHEMA and Valve World Expo in Germany, among others, to draw attention to their promising product portfolio. Against this backdrop, we expect a weak first half of the year in terms of turnover, but are counting on an improvement in the second half of 2024. We are currently forecasting stagnation for 2024 as a whole," predicts the trade association's managing director.
Safety and monitoring valves lead the way
Safety and monitoring valves again performed best in 2023 with a nominal increase in sales of 6%. Shut-off valves recorded a 4% increase in sales. Control valves, on the other hand, which had posted good results in previous years, recorded a slight decline of 1%. While domestic business was better than international business for shut-off and control valves, safety and monitoring valves performed better abroad. The outlook for shut-off and safety and monitoring valves is better than for control valves. According to VDMA figures, incoming orders were 4% down on the previous year in real terms.
In nominal terms, exports by German valve manufacturers increased again in 2023. In total, industrial valves worth around 5.1 billion euros were exported abroad. This corresponds to a nominal increase of 5.2% compared to 2022. However, adjusted for price, this equates to stagnation at the previous year's level.
Exports to China, the most important customer country, have fallen again. Following a decline of 6.8% in 2022, they fell by a further 1.5% to 567.9 million euros in 2023. The export business with the second most important trading partner, the USA, continued the success of the previous year and climbed again by a strong 11.6%. Exports thus amounted to 537.3 million euros. At the same time, exports to France increased by 7.1 percent. The country remained the third most important sales market with a sales volume of 313.0 million euros. With an impressive increase of 25.5% to 180.4 million euros, the Czech Republic was the 10th most important customer.
