The surface finishing industry is basically optimistic and reports figures that give cause for hope: Capacity utilization and sales development are increasing at many companies compared to the previous year, and incoming orders are also rising. This assessment is supported by a survey conducted by the VOA among its member companies. In the first year of the pandemic, i.e. 2020, around 60 percent of the companies participating in the survey reported that capacity utilization was too low. By January 2021, however, capacity utilization had already increased to around 82 percent and had risen further to 90 percent by the end of 2021. Expectations in the run-up were significantly more negative. For sales development, 67 percent of members expected a reduction at the beginning of 2021. At the end of the year, this forecast was confirmed for only 11 percent of the companies; for 61 percent, sales development remained the same, and for 28 percent it even increased. Whereas in January 2021 55 percent of companies reported a decline in orders, in the latest survey 61 percent of companies were pleased to report an increase of around 18 percent. Hopefully, this encouraging upswing will not falter despite the increasing shortage of materials and raw materials.
Another key problem for companies in the surface finishing sector is the high cost burden caused by energy prices, which have risen enormously in some cases, especially for gas and electricity. This is a cause for concern: "Our current survey shows that the high energy costs are already having a significant impact on more than 70 percent of surface finishing companies," explains Dr. Alexa Becker, managing director of the VOA. In view of the implementation of the Paris climate targets and the "European Green Deal", the conversion to an industry that is as CO2-free as possible can only succeed without endangering Germany and Europe as a business location in the long term if guaranteed supplies of electricity and other energy sources are guaranteed at permanently competitive prices in view of globalized markets. In this context, policymakers are urgently called upon to set the right course.
Overall, despite some difficulties and challenges, there are increasing signs that 2022 could be a comparatively successful year for larger parts of the economy and also for the surface industry.