Brussels – Orders and sales of the German manufacturers of Textile Care,
Fabric and Leather Technologies are still on a growth course: in the period from October 2021 to
September 2022, incoming orders increased by 37 percent in real terms and sales are also positive
for the technology manufacturers with a growth of 14 percent compared to the previous year. Only
exports in the sewing and garment technology sector weakened slightly in the first eight months of
2022 and fell by 5 percent to 265 million euros.
Poland still the most important export market
The most important export market from a German perspective was Poland, followed by Italy and
France. German suppliers of shoe and leather technology were again able to increase their exports
by 8 percent to 34 million euros in the period from January to August 2022. Here, the main customer
countries were the USA, Mexico and Italy. Exports of German laundry and dry-cleaning technology
also increased in the first eight months of 2022 by 17 percent to 272 million euros. As last year, the
most important export markets were Poland, the USA and Turkey.
“The mood among manufacturers of Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies is largely
positive,” said Elgar Straub, Managing Director of VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather
Technologies at the trade association’s industry meeting in Brussels. “Despite the enormous increase
in energy costs, the still existing problems in the supply chains and the still unforeseeable
consequences of the war, the industry representatives report well-filled order books.”
Industry meeting in Brussels
The VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies industry meeting was held in Brussels for
the first time. The focus was on topics such as the EU’s Green Deal initiative and its consequences
for SMEs, as well as current EU trade policy issues. In particular, the relationship with the United
States was discussed and the participants had the opportunity to exchange views with
representatives of the European Commission.
