Machinery survey 2025: Trending up

It would perhaps be overly dramatic to describe 2024 as a landmark year for the machinery sector, but there were certainly some key indicators of movement and change, many of which were confirmed by our 2025 annual survey.

A fair amount of that moving and shaking came from the Milan region, where two strategic deals adjusted the machinery landscape: Saip Advanced Polyurethane Equipment acquired a majority interest in Linden Polyurethane, and Cannon Group purchased Polytec EMC Engineering from its previous owners PUR Holding. It might be glaringly obvious to describe deals as strategic, but for both companies it represented portfolio and geographic expansion. Future acquisitions and expansions – not least in the US – are certainly on the table for Saip following its acquisition of Linden. And a similar picture was evident across our survey, which was reflected in the UTMechIndex.

Last year, survey recipients alluded first and foremost to expansion plans on the horizon, which created a generally optimistic industry view, although tempered slightly by the low participant involvement. This year provided an interesting evolution for the industry, with most participants expecting to either expand or upgrade (or both), but with consolidation rearing its head on the feedback form on more than one occasion. 

Having enlisted the help of former editor Simon Robinson to understand the magic formula behind our UTMechIndex, it became abundantly clear that after last year’s peak positivity, industry sentiment has dropped back down to near-average levels – or at least around pre-Covid levels – albeit there seems to be renewed confidence overall. This all contributed to a UTMechIndex figure of 5.12, above the average of 4.61 seen between 2009 and 2024.

“The business forecast for 2025 is better,” confirmed Saip’s commercial director, Luca Ceresa, who pointed to more potential for large-scale projects and burgeoning opportunities in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “The trend nowadays is more tailor-made turnkey machines and lines, and this is the strong feature of our group,” he added.

US-based polyurethane processing equipment manufacturer MPE Global also has reason for positivity, which is presented by Ilya Kravtchouk, president and CEO since the start of this year. He suggested 2024 shaped up positively compared with the previous year, with stronger demand fuelling the company’s outlook for sustained innovation and growth.

“Under the new ownership, we have been investing and building out our capabilities both from a system and a people standpoint, adding more control engineers and technical field reps,” he said. “This allows us to continue serving our growing customer base and optimise internal operations. We also have plans to invest in our capital equipment soon.”

Of interest is MPE Global’s slight shift away from its historical stance as a builder of only custom machines to more standardised solutions that address common PU processing demands. Kravtchouk calls this an opportunity to “leverage our expertise”.

Albrecht Bäumer, which produces machinery for PU foam, is also focused on standardisation and modular design to reduce parts diversity and generate what director of sales and service Sascha Otten calls “increased service level” thanks to faster response times and lower spare part costs.

By contrast, Covestro’s global head of marketing, Bruno Savarino, pointed to increasing demand for more customised machines and sees good opportunities across Western Europe and North America: “Our business is increasing, and the outlook seems to be on the same trend.”

He continued: “We are expanding some chemical production sites in France, where most of the machines are produced. Regarding the machine workshop, we have plans but nothing to communicate yet as no decision was made.”

Philip Hindson, managing director of UK-based AutoRim, has also seen a lot of interest from North America in recent months and, as a result, is “considering offering 
local support”. In addition, he has witnessed the UK market “beginning to move”.

Producing more machines in 2024 than 2023, Ukrainian company OSV said its internal procedures have become more stable, the company has supplied to new countries, and it has improved technical support for existing customers.

“PU elastomer processing and compact dosing solutions for R&D and lab applications are our best opportunities for 2025,” said Yuriy Shafran, marketing director and co-founder. “We are going to invest in 3D printing technologies, in 
developing our R&D and lab facilities, and in developing our warehouse.”

The building and construction sector lost its crown this year in our survey of fastest-growing application areas by sales. Respondents highlighted general industry as the leading sector by far, followed by furniture and bedding, building and construction, and other. The “other” category was varied, with companies including prototyping, 3D printing, PU recovery, technical foams, and defence.

“We are seeing strong demand from the defence industry and for abrasive wire CNC on the foam fabrication side of our business,” explained Rick Hungerford, Edge-Sweets’ president and CEO.

What was noticeable in this year’s survey is a wider spread of the types of machinery sold by respondents, with machinery for processing slabstock foam slipping from first place last year to fourth place this. Ahead of it was machinery for rigid panel foam and elastomer mixing and dispensing equipment, with the latter heading the field. 

Other equipment also came out above it, and that included machinery for vacuum infusion and gluing, rigid pour-in-place pipe insulation, rebonding equipment, and equipment for PU elastomers and raw material handling.

With that in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that elastomer mixing and dispensing equipment came out top of projected unit sales in 2025 (22%), just from the larger number of units likely to be sold. Similarly high numbers of projected unit sales were foreseen in storage and handling equipment (19%) and “other”, which includes laboratory scale dispensers and rebonding plants. While half of survey respondents were solely PU machinery manufacturers, the rest included companies that also distribute or produce PU raw materials, catalysts and additives; those that manufacture epoxy resin and phenolic resin; and companies that provide polyurea systems and CASE solutions.

“The outlook is strong for the Middle East and Far East but seems to be much weaker in central Europe,” explained Kai Klockemann, managing director of German company Nitroil Polyurea. “Some niche markets, such as for isocyanate-free two-component foam systems – especially for packaging and mining applications – or to process recycling-based PU systems, seem to grow strongly, from a very low level.”

With the global construction industry set to soar from $13 trillion of spending in 2023 to $22tr in 2040, according to management consultancy McKinsey & Company, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everything in the garden is rosy, but the industry continues to suffer from stagnation caused by a variety of factors, including a lack of capable workers and labour productivity. Any progress that has been made has largely come from developing economies. 

Klockemann acknowledges that this is an issue in Europe: “As the German industry and especially the construction sector is struggling, the main markets in terms of machine sales are India, the Indo-Pacific and Arabic region. Meanwhile, desalination units, sewage systems and treatment facilities or constructions starting for the 2034 FIFA World Cup are the business drivers for PU spray equipment there.”

Lack of skilled labour is not exclusive to the construction industry, however, and is felt across the board. It’s a point not lost on Klockemann, who sees it as a significant ongoing challenge.

Likewise, AutoRim’s Hindson admits the availability of new employees familiar with PU processing is a challenge for his company’s expansion, but it has taken on three young trainees recently whom he says are showing great aptitude.

“Regulation is a challenge in general for our business, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations vary a lot in detail between different markets, which can be an issue in some cases,” continued Klockemann. “We are generally facing more regulation but less skilled workers [in mentioned markets]. This leads to more requests for alerts and warning settings in the machine layout.”

It also might explain continued interest in standardised machines, with Klockemann adding customers mainly want those for maintenance and trouble-shooting purposes. “In Europe, we find a lot of interest in our machines for pre-industrial prototyping, and these often request mixing of additional components, the addition of fibre choppers for structural reinforcement, spraying granules along with PU or polyurea elastomers for higher skid-resistance,” he said. “Often, such options are also retrofitted to existing equipment.”

Having seen an increase in machinery requests in previous years, Saip has noticed a more recent trend for specialised or complex machinery and foresees a reinforcement of this in 2025. The company continues to diversify its casting process through reinforced automation.

 

The PU machinery sector is still feeling the long-term effects of Covid-19, when huge demand for consumer goods led to strong demand for machinery. Now, explains ESCO’s Hungerford, there is over-capacity in the foam fabrication space with lower consumer demand.

The main challenges faced by industry as outlined by survey respondents are increasing tariffs and volatile energy costs. Covestro’s Savarino admitted: “The increasing tension around importation fees in different countries might impact our decisions according to their scope and level.”

Likewise, MPE Global’s Kravtchouk is feeling the pressure from those avenues but adds that his company remains ready to adapt through strategic sourcing and operational efficiencies.

OSV’s Shafran warns that US import taxes could hurt the dosing machine segment in the EU. He is also concerned about the risk to his company’s foaming solutions of a potential ban on the use of HFC foaming agents. This, he says, would lead to an increase in the price of dosing equipment due to the addition of pentane-based foaming metering lines.

From big challenges to big data, machinery companies are seeing growing interest in data collection and evaluation, although Nitroil’s Klockemann acknowledged contractors, especially in the construction sector, seem to make only very limited use of the data provided. In the appliance and automotive sectors, these are often fully integrated into the quality control process, but, he said, “in these sectors, our machines are rather used for prototyping, small series and repair than production lines.”

Other companies are utilising artificial intelligence and automation across their portfolios, with ESCO feeling it mainly in software development; Covestro developing digital tools and services; OSV now more flexible in developing software for its dosing solutions; and MPE Global integrating advanced automation, AI and soft`ware platforms to streamline production, enhance precision, and anticipate maintenance needs, an evolution from more manual processes in the past. “This is a trend we are seeing more from our customers, and the ability to integrate into a full automated process is more important than ever,” said MPE Global’s Kravtchouk.

Digitalisation is driving Bäumer forward too, adds Otten. “That is why we are also working flat out to develop modern software solutions to provide our customers with solutions to meet their needs with monitoring, data-transparency, and data-driven decisions,” he said.

Saip’s sister company Enlive Automation recently developed digitalisation technology called Butterfly, based on AI, that Saip has exclusive rights for in the production of insulation panels. It is designed to improve the usability, security, and management of data and information throughout the production process.

The consensus is that business conditions are generally improving, with a strong comeback early this year from the insulation sector and increased activity in offshore and alternative energy areas of the market. There are green shoots of optimism, albeit tempered by challenges outside the control of machinery manufacturers. It all makes for interesting times ahead.