The market crisis at the end of 2008 caught dealers in used machines unprepared. Hans-Jürgen Geiger, former President of the European EAMTM Association and his European colleagues are happy to have survived 2009. They are now hoping for an upturn in business at Resale.
Dr. Rolf Langbein
Herr Geiger, what do you and your colleagues from EAMTM think about the past year?
I think we are all happy to have survived. This crisis has affected the whole world and it is that which has caused us so many problems. Earlier, if there was a crisis in Germany, we simply drove to Italy or Switzerland and sold our machines there. This time the crisis is not just in Europe but throughout the world, and this could not be anticipated. In October 2008 somebody turned off the switch, pulled out the key and went. Many people continued to buy machines because they thought that the circumstances then still prevailing would continue.
And how is business now?
Now we are buying machines under completely different conditions. The whole sector is suffering because prior to and during 2008 we bought a lot of machines at inflated prices. It was subsequently in many cases necessary to sell valuable and unusual machines at prices less than we had paid for them, simply in order to have any turnover at all.
There are more and more insolvencies and more and more machines are coming onto the market. What effect does this have on prices?
Market prices are collapsing and this makes our business so difficult.
What is happening on the German market?
From time to time we sell something in Germany, but very little. This is true of all market segments.
Are there countries or regions in which business is better?
Yes, in Asia. We also hope that there will be an upturn in Eastern Europe and in Russia. Industrial manufacturers there keep a very close eye on production in Germany and know exactly what machines we are using, for example in gear cutting. When they then discover what the price for new high-quality German or Swiss machines would be, this is way beyond their budget and would make production unprofitable. This brings them inevitably to reliable used machines. We have sold quite a few machines in the East, in Poland and the Czech Republic. This demand tends to come in waves and fluctuates between being stronger or weaker.
What is now the role played by Resale for the members of the EAMTM?
A useful role, because they can look forward and show presence. There will be expert trade visitors from all over the world who have a great interest in machines. I am not saying that they are necessarily all purchasers, but they want to have an overview of the market. As a member of the Fair Committee, I am very much in favour of the exhibitors bringing their machines to the Fair. This makes the Fair more lively and interesting. Visitors want to see machines, want to turn wheels or see spindles moving and, in the best of cases, to buy immediately. And they don’t want to do this on computers, because they could do that equally well at home.
Does it make sense to show used machines on fairs specialising in new machines?
If we are talking about fairs such as the METAV or the AMB, these are visited primarily by people who are interested in new machines. And as opposed to Resale, which attracts visitors from all over the world interested in used machines, the fairs for new machines tend to attract visitors from specific regions. We however also want to sell machines to customers in Stuttgart or Heilbronn, so it is a good thing if potential customers discover machines which they had previously not considered and are able to see a demonstration of the quality of these machines. We can also stress the quick availability of a used machine to fill a gap in the production until a new machine is available and see this as an important selling argument.
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