Top Ten Mechanical Engineering: Largest German mechanical engineering companies and plant engineering companies

Published on: June 28, 2021 / Updated on: October 26, 2022 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Mechanical and plant engineering in Germany

Germany is one of the most important mechanical engineering countries on the international market. Only China and the USA recently generated higher sales in the sector. After a decline during the financial crisis of 2008/2009, sales in the German mechanical engineering sector have increased steadily again – most recently reaching around 229 billion euros.

Within the mechanical engineering sector, the most important sectors are machine tools, drive technology and conveyor systems, measured by annual turnover.

Regarding developments in international trade, the mechanical engineering sector is strongly export-oriented. Germany's export ratio has fluctuated between 74 and 80 percent in recent years. Among the most important countries for German machinery exports are the USA, China, and France.

 
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The mechanical and plant engineering sector in Germany is among the highest-grossing and most innovative industries. Since 2011, the sector's revenues have consistently exceeded €200 billion. Over one million people are employed in the German mechanical engineering industry. The export value of German mechanical engineering products far surpasses the import value. Germany's most important export markets include the USA, China, France, and Italy.

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The global market

Global sales in the mechanical engineering sector are trending upward. China is the region with the highest share of global mechanical engineering sales, followed by Europe and Asia (excluding China). China is not only one of Germany's most important countries for machinery exports, but also ranks among the most important countries for imports of mechanical engineering products into Germany.

Largest German mechanical and plant engineering companies by revenue

In 2019, Siemens was the largest German mechanical and plant engineering company, with a revenue of €49.5 billion. The publicly listed Siemens AG employed over 385,000 people worldwide in eight business areas that same year and was also the market leader in global automation technology .

Mechanical engineering/plant engineering – Key companies in Germany

• Siemens – 49.50 billion euros
• KION – 8.81 billion euros
• Bosch – 7.49 billion euros
• ThyssenKrupp – 6.52 billion euros
• GEA – 4.88 billion euros
• Enercon – 4.51 billion euros
• Voith – 4.28 billion euros
• Jungheinrich – 4.07 billion euros
• MAN Power Engineering – 4 billion euros
• Krones – 3.96 billion euros
• Dürr – 3.92 billion euros
• CLAAS – 3.90 billion euros
• Exyte (formerly M+W) – 3.89 billion euros
• Trumpf – 3.78 billion euros
• Zeiss – 3.38 billion euros
• Sew-Eurodrive – 3.30 billion euros
• Nordex – 3.28 billion euros
• KUKA – 3.19 billion euros
• Festo – 3.07 billion euros
• ZF Friedrichshafen – 2.99 billion euros

Mechanical engineering & plant engineering: Worldwide machinery sales

Global machinery sales in the field of mechanical engineering & plant engineering

• 2006: 1.425 billion euros
• 2007: 1.55 trillion euros
• 2008: 1.68 trillion euros
• 2009: 1.48 trillion euros
• 2010: 1.815 billion euros
• 2011: 2.060 billion euros
• 2012: 2.14 trillion euros
• 2013: 2.1 trillion euros
• 2014: 2.18 trillion euros
• 2015: 2.38 trillion euros
• 2016: 2.365 billion euros
• 2017: 2.5 trillion euros
• 2018: 2.6 trillion euros
• 2019: 2.665 billion euros

Key countries worldwide for German machinery exports by export value

This statistic shows the most important countries worldwide for German machinery exports by export value from 2017 to 2019. In 2019, Germany exported machinery worth approximately 8.2 billion euros to Italy. The figures for 2017 and 2018 are taken from the previous year's publications.

German mechanical engineering – Most important export countries worldwide 2019

• USA – 20.10 billion euros
• China – 18.80 billion euros
• France – 12.40 billion euros
• Italy – 8.20 billion euros
• Netherlands – 7.50 billion euros
• United Kingdom – 7.40 billion euros
• Poland – 7.30 billion euros
• Austria – 7.10 billion euros
• Czech Republic – 5.60 billion euros
• Switzerland – 5.50 billion euros

Most important export countries for German mechanical engineering worldwide in 2018

• USA – 19.20 billion euros
• China – 19.10 billion euros
• France – 11.60 billion euros
• Italy – 8.30 billion euros
• Netherlands – 7.40 billion euros
• United Kingdom – 7.70 billion euros
• Poland – 7.20 billion euros
• Austria – 7 billion euros
• Czech Republic – 5.50 billion euros

Mechanical engineering – Share of global revenue by region

This statistic shows the share of global machinery sales by region in 2019. Global machinery sales in 2019 were estimated at approximately €2.7 trillion, with 33 percent of that generated in China. The total revenue of the global machinery industry in 2019 is estimated at €2.7 trillion. Percentages exceeding 100 percent are due to rounding.

Global machinery sales by region in 2019

• China – 33%
• Europe – 32%
• Asia (excluding China) – 18%
• North America – 14%
• Other – 3%

Companies and investments in the industry

The German mechanical engineering sector comprises nearly 6,700 companies. In total, over one million people are employed in the German mechanical engineering industry. Most of these workers are employed in the areas of machine tools, drive technology, and material handling equipment.

Investments in mechanical engineering in Germany have increased significantly in recent years. Around €8.3 billion was invested in the sector in 2019. A large portion of these investments flows annually into research and development, including the further development of innovative mechanical engineering solutions.

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• KION Group – Statistics and Facts
• Jungheinrich – Statistics and Facts

Mechanical engineering in Germany

Mechanical engineering is undergoing a transformation. Digital transformation, IoT, Industry 4.0 and AI towards the Smart Factory are changing our perception of gear-driven and oil-smeared mechanical engineering.

More about it here:

• Mechanical engineering in Germany – statistics and facts

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Xpert.Digital – Konrad Wolfenstein

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