The Industrieverband Blechumformung (IBU), the Industrieverband Massivumformung (IMU) and the Deutsche Schraubenverband (DSV) agree: In addition to material costs, energy costs must now also become a topic in negotiations with customers. "The increases are hopelessly overtaxing the beleaguered steel and metal processors," says IBU Managing Director Bernhard Jacobs. The potential savings have long since been exhausted, he says, and the EEG surcharge has been squandered by the increases in electricity prices.
Hans Führlbeck, managing director of the German Screw Association, calls for fast, consistent action to keep energy-intensively produced products in Germany. "If suppliers are left to sit on the price increases, supply chains will break. And with it, products important for automotive and industrial production will fall out of the market. This can only be prevented by dealing with the crisis fairly and together." "The VDA's new principles on cooperation between automakers and their partners must now be followed by action," adds IMU Managing Director Tobias Hain. Politicians are also called upon, he adds: An electricity price cap is necessary and possible, he says.