Germany's small and medium-sized enterprises, including Arburg, are facing a severe economic crisis marked by a 15% drop in turnover. Armin Schmiedeberg, from Arburg, calls on politicians for strategic solutions to boost manufacturing, especially given market uncertainties like falling demand from China. Friedrich Merz, the recent election winner, pledges to implement measures to revitalize the economy while managing a coalition government. Rising threats like US tariffs complicate matters further, forcing firms like Arburg to consider relocating some production to avoid additional costs and sales limitations.
"We are feeling the effects of the crisis - our turnover fell by around 15 percent last year," said Armin Schmiedeberg, chairman of the advisory board of the company located in Lossburg in the southwest. He urged German leaders to swiftly come up with new ways to help business, saying: "There are few recognisable advantages here for manufacturing companies and no strategic approach from politicians."
Merz, whose conservatives won Sunday's election, has vowed a barrage of measures to revive the recession-ravaged economy, although he first faces the tricky task of forming a working coalition.
"Tariffs would result in additional costs that the customer in the United States would have to bear," he said. "This would, of course, also limit our sales opportunities."
Faced with declining sales, Arburg, has had to cut the hours of some of its staff.
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