Viet Nam was the fourth biggest market among ASEAN countries for German machine tool manufacturers, following Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, according to the German Machine Tool Builders Association (VDW).

Christoph Miller, head of the trade fair department at VDW, said: “For German manufacturers, ASEAN is a major customer region with a highly dynamic character. More and more production is being generated in the ASEAN region or being relocated from other markets into the ASEAN region. For the most part, these trends are emerging from the automotive and automotive supply industries, electronics, shipbuilding and general machinery construction.”

The overall potential of the ASEAN region shows that after the strong years from 2012 to 2015, current machine tool consumption has stabilised at a level of about three billion euros (US$3.4 billion), based on total imports to each country. Drivers here are Thailand and Viet Nam, he said.

Among export markets for the German machine tool industry, ASEAN as a whole region is ranked seventh. The two biggest markets in the region – Viet Nam and Thailand – are also major export markets for the German automotive industry, ranking 14th and 16th, respectively.

Overall, it is clear that Asia – with China as the biggest export market, followed by Japan, South Korea and ASEAN – is a major export region for the German machine tool industry, he said.

VDW, together with major machine manufacturers and control system manufacturers, has launched a project to define a universal interface based on the OPC Unified Architecture format (a machine to machine communication protocol for industrial automation developed by the OPC Foundation), he said.

According to VDW, Germany will debut high technologies and new solutions in metalworking at METALEX 2019, which will be transffered to countries in the ASEAN region.

Germany is eyeing the ASEAN market due to the region’s dynamic and strong development. In addition, the Industry 4.0 trend will provide opportunities for German companies to launch high technologies and new solutions in metalworking, together with know-how, to ASEAN and Viet Nam in particular, it said.

According to the Viet Nam Customs, Viet Nam’s machinery and equipment imports were worth $24.58 billion in the first nine months of the year, accounting for 14.2 per cent of the country’s total import revenue.

China, South Korea, Japan and Germany were the biggest suppliers of machinery and equipment to Viet Nam.

According to experts, more and more firms have invested in machinery and equipment to increase productivity and efficiency to improve their competitiveness in the global market. — VNS