Mechanical Engineering Industry Association

Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.
Abbreviation VDMA
Formation 1892
Purpose Professional Society
Location
Region served
Germany
President
 Reinhold Festge
Website www.vdma.org

The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau – VDMA) has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and represents around 3,200 members, making it the largest industry association in Europe. The Association represents the interests of the predominantly medium-sized companies in the mechanical engineering industry towards policymakers and society, as well as towards business, the scientific community, public authorities and the media. With more than one million employees[1] and a turnover of around EUR 218 billion (2015), mechanical and plant engineering is Germany’s largest employer in the industrial sector. German machinery production is valued at EUR 201 billion (2015) and Germany’s mechanical and plant engineering sector is extremely export-oriented (with an export rate of 77.4 percent; 2015).[2] In addition, VDMA sees itself as a platform that provides its member companies with various networks where they can discuss technological challenges, interdisciplinary issues and many other topics. The association was founded in 1892 and will celebrate its 125-year anniversary in 2017.

Core topics

VDMA concentrates its efforts on eight key topics:

Markets and economy – A firm understanding of international markets and their conditions is crucially important for a highly export-oriented industry such as mechanical and plant engineering. VDMA provides its members with comprehensive country-specific and economic data, which they can then use as a planning basis for their business decisions.

Research and production – Innovative strength and top quality are the trademarks of German mechanical and plant engineering. To achieve this, VDMA provides its member companies with a comprehensive network, where new trends and technologies in production can be discussed so that they can forge new paths as part of Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (industrial collective research, IGF). One of many examples here is Industrie 4.0.

Energy and environment – VDMA essentially supports the German federal government's energy and climate protection goals and promotes an ambitious implementation of the European Union's Energy Efficiency Directive. German mechanical and plant engineering makes an important contribution to this by providing and using energy efficient technologies. VDMA combines the topic areas of technology, research and energy policy in various formats such as the VDMA Forum Energy, where VDMA pools the energy policy-related activities of the associations and the sector’s expertise on energy. The Forum Energy also acts as a voice for the investment goods industry and represents the interests of mechanical and plant engineering towards policymakers and the public.

Social and economic policy – Mechanical and plant engineering is the largest industrial employer in Germany, with more than one million employees. VDMA's core activities therefore include analysis, commenting and discussion of social and economic policy issues. The Association publishes its joint positions on economic policies regarding the following topics on an annual basis: labor market and wage policy, foreign trade policy, education policy, securing a skilled workforce, energy policy, Europe policy, research policy, social security, tax policy, technology policy, environmental policy and a sustainable state.

Profession and training – German mechanical and plant engineering companies enjoy worldwide esteem for their ability to use their technological knowledge and expertise to produce high-quality and innovative products. But this could not be achieved without highly-trained employees. VDMA is therefore greatly involved in activities relating to apprenticeships, degree programs and professional qualifications. VDMA’s Education department is the main contact in this field.

Companies and management – Acting in the best interests of a business requires an awareness of a broad spectrum of action fields. These include strategic positioning, operative management, human resource development, corporate social responsibility and many others. Against this backdrop, the Management Services department at VDMA is the first point of contact regarding management issues; its consultants are available to all member companies and obliged to maintain confidentiality.

Law and taxes - Law and taxes are important topics for German mechanical and plant engineering companies. They play a key role in Germany’s appeal as a location for companies. VDMA's team of economic lawyers specialized in the investment goods industry work on the topics of law and taxes. Members of the VDMA benefit from individual and quick advice.

Standardization and technology policy Standardization and technology policy facilitate technological and economical collaboration on a national, European and international level. VDMA supports the competitiveness of mechanical engineering via the DIN Standards Committee Mechanical Engineering (NAM). Furthermore, the Standardization department coordinates activities regarding the creation of VDMA Specifications – the standardization process for mechanical engineering.

Campaigns

Campaigns highlight VDMA’s activities and focus on topics that are particularly important from VDMA’s point of view.

"Arbeit 4.0" – Everything remains different Industrie 4.0 will not only make economic processes and production process more efficient, but also help to change the world of work. Mechanical and plant engineering plays an important role here as both a provider and a user of Industrie 4.0 technologies. www.allesbleibt-anders.net

TTIP – One machine, two markets The USA is the second most important export market and the main location for foreign investment for German mechanical engineering companies. Mechanical engineering sees the TTIP free trade agreement as a tool for providing easier access to the US market for small and medium-sized companies, making it simpler for them to sell their products there. For this reason, VDMA has supported TTIP from the very start.

Blue Competence – The sustainability platform The mechanical and plant engineering industry shows that sustainability increases profitability. This realization also holds true for other sectors and other parts of the world. The idea behind Blue Competence is to show that sustainable business can be a great help to both customers and producers in mechanical engineering.

"Talentmaschine" – The mechanical engineering portal for the next generation VDMA uses the online portal Talentmaschine.de to reach out to school and university students who are interested in technology and looking for an apprenticeship, internship or traineeship. The portal offers a nationwide overview of job listings in mechanical engineering, and gives the around 3,200 VDMA members a handy tool that helps them find new talent.

"Maschinenhaus" – The VDMA initiative for student success Increasing student success in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering at all German universities is an important objective for VDMA. The aim is to lower high drop-out rates and help make more engineers available on the labor market.

"Wir unternehmen was" – CSR is an important topic in mechanical engineering Many mechanical engineering companies in Germany not only develop sustainable products and processes, but also make a contribution to society with great commitment and responsibility. This commitment is as varied as the companies themselves.

Organization

VDMA is a registered association based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and comprises six regional subsidiaries, seven representative offices in foreign countries and 37 trade associations. VDMA was founded in 1892 and will celebrate its 125-year anniversary in 2017. The strategic positioning and operative leadership of VDMA are the responsibility of the Executive Directorate. The Association is headed by a Board of Chairmen comprising three elected company representatives. The President is elected every three years and cannot be re-elected. A Restricted Board and a Main Board with company representatives from mechanical and plant engineering act as advisory committees for the Board of Chairmen.[3]

VDMA Board of Chairmen:

VDMA Executive Directorate

History

The Verein deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten (VDMA) was founded in Cologne in 1892 with the objective of protecting the economic interests of all German mechanical engineering companies. It has its origin in the Verein Rheinisch-Westfälischer Maschinenbauanstalten, which was founded two years earlier and aimed to improve delivery and price conditions for mining and plant machinery in particular. Its first office was in Düsseldorf. Several trade associations joined VDMA over the years that followed, one of them being the Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association, VDW), which joined in 1916. In 1918, VDMA moved from Düsseldorf to Berlin.[4]

In 1934, a year after the Nazis seized power, the new government adopted the “Gesetz zur Vorbereitung des organischen Aufbaus der deutschen Wirtschaft” (Law detailing the organic construction of the German economy). As part of this process, all business associations were united under one central management system and answerable to the Reich’s Minister of Economic Affairs. VDMA became part of the newly founded the Wirtschaftsgruppe Maschinenbau (mechanical engineering economic group), membership of which was also compulsory for all companies that had not previously been part of an association. This group was led by Karl Lange, the Executive Director of VDMA.

At the end of the war, the Wirtschaftsvereinigung Maschinenbau (business association for mechanical engineering, WVMA) was founded. A year later, the Verein Bayerischer Maschinenbau-Anstalten (association of Bavarian mechanical engineering institutes, VBMA), the Wirtschaftsvereinigung der Maschinenbau-Anstalten in Groß-Hessen (business association for mechanical engineering institutes in Greater Hesse, WVMH) and the Wirtschaftsverband Maschinenbau in Berlin (business association for mechanical engineering in Berlin) were founded. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Verbände der Deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten (working group of the associations of German mechanical engineering institutes, AVDMA) was the first supra-regional association to be founded, in 1947. In 1949, the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) was re-established in Königstein im Taunus.

Shortly after that – in 1950 – VDMA established a liaison office in the German capital, Bonn. A year later, the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Maschinen- und Anlagenbaus mbH (society for the promotion of mechanical and plant engineering, GzF) and the Maschinenbau Verlag GmbH (later VDMA Verlag) were founded. In 1954, VDMA took part in founding the Europe Liaison Group of the European Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic and Metalworking Industries (Orgalime) in Brussels, Belgium.

In 1966, VDMA's headquarters moved to Niederrad, a district of Frankfurt. A number of sub-organizations were founded over the following years: Forschungskuratorium Maschinenbau e.V. (research association for the mechanical engineering industry, FKM) in 1968, Dokumentation Maschinenbau e.V. (DOMA) and the Deutsche Maschinenbau-Institut (German mechanical engineering institute, DMI) now Maschinenbau-Institut GmbH (MBI) in 1972, the Fachinformationszentrum Technik (technology information center) in 1979.

During the next few years, political contacts were established and intensified on a national and international scale. VDMA established a liaison office in Brussels in 1972; another followed in Tokyo in 1984. In 1980, the Association changed its German name from Verein Deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten to Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau. The abbreviation, VDMA, remained the same. VDMA’s Impuls Foundation was founded in 1992, followed by VDMA Gesellschaft zur Förderung und Innovation GmbH (society for funding and innovation, VFI) in 1998. That same year, VDMA’s Berlin office was inaugurated.

Presidents

Verein Deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten

Wirtschaftsgruppe Maschinenbau

Wirtschaftsverband Maschinenbau Düsseldorf

Wirtschaftsvereinigung Maschinenbau in Hessen

Vereinigung der Maschinenbau-Anstalten von Württemberg-Baden

Verein Bayerischer Maschinenbau-Anstalten e.V.

Verein Deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten e.V.

Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.

References

  1. ↑ Bundesanstalt fuer Arbeit. Statistik. Beschaeftigung nach Wirtschaftszweigen 2015
  2. ↑ VDMA: Maschinenbau in Zahl und Bild 2016
  3. ↑ Zechlin, Jans-Jürgen: Verbandsmanagement im Strukturwandel: Analysen - Kommentare - Erfahrungen, Fossil-Verlag, Köln, 2000
  4. ↑ Hans Pohl, Johannes Markner: VDMA – 100 Jahre im Dienste des Maschinenbaus. MaschinenbauVerlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, 1992
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