VDMA: Plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers on Brexit

German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers note with regretthe British decision to leave the EU.
“Great Britain is an important market for us,” stressed Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association. “In 2015, as in the previous year, the United Kingdom was ranked seventh among the most important countries buying German plant and machinery. At 152 million euro, our exports were 6.6 per cent higher compared with 2014. The first quarter of 2016 saw another sharp increase in deliveries to the island, up 25.9 per cent, putting the UK fifth among the most important customer countries in that period.”
“The industry has traditionally had close ties with the British plastics and rubber industry,” added Thorsten Kühmann, the Association’s Managing Director. “Many of our members have branches in the UK. These close ties between our UK partners and the continent will not change.”
Plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers do however fear that Brexit will have an impact on investment decisions and hope that the period of uncertainty will be as short as possible.
The important thing is that the British Plastics Federation should continue to be a member and partner of the European umbrella organisation EUROMAP