In total, Kemmann expects a period of restrictive financing which will have negative effects on the industry's business. How long this phase is likely to last, nobody currently knows, according to him. It will largely depend on if, how and when the instruments chosen and implemented by politics to fight the financial crises will be successful. Recession in important construction markets such as the USA, Spain, Great Britain and France are already causing the industry quite a bit of trouble. According to the association's relevant experts, a positive change in the economic situation for the construction equipment and building material machinery industry can be expected in the second half of 2010 at the earliest.
Recruiting qualified staff is difficult for the construction equipment and building material machinery industry which mainly consists of middle-sized companies. Nearly all companies are looking for engineers and by doing so, are competing with other attractive employers, such as the automotive industry, for instance. According to a survey carried out by the association among its 300 members in August/September 2008, most companies see the lack of engineers to have a dampening effect on their relevant company as well as believe that they also missed out on business opportunities due to this.
They also think that the end of the boom, which is now clearly to be seen, will not solve the problem either. According to the survey, innovation and quality awareness are the strenghts of the industry and make for its good market position. The industry needs qualified skilled workers and engineers in order to keep and defend this position in future, particularly against the growing Chinese competition.
Kemmann reports that the association he represents, embedded into some other activities by the German Engineering Federation, started a "Young Staff-Initiative". The aim of this being to show young people the various carreer opportunities this specific industry has to offer as well as promote the industry as an attractive employer.
Product piracy threatens the competitiveness of the construction equipment and building material machinery industry. According to a survey carried out by the German Engineering Federation in April 2008, the enitre industry has suffered a loss in sales of seven billion Euros per year due to counterfeiting and piracy. According to the survey, companies need to implement extensive strategies to fight plagiarism, including legal protection, organisational and technical as well as specific public communication measures.
In this context, the German Engineering Federation will go via its offices in Berlin and Brussels more to make the German government and the European Union act against product piracy more determinedly. The China IPR SME Helpdesk, which the German Engineering Federation had asked for for years, is a big achievement and a success. It was implemented in May 2008 and has been a point of contact for all companies affected by plagiarism in the region. With its campaign "Pro Original", the companies belonging to the machinery industry inform their potential clients to make them appreciate the added value of using original technology and help them to see the risks in using copied products.
