In spite of the current political climate with regard to Russia, the company is sticking with its marketing activities and targets for 2014/15. Although economists anticipate a 6% contraction of the machine tool market "We have always taken a long-term view of this business", says Herbert Klewenhagen, who has just returned from Metalloobrabotka, the most important metalworking trade fair in Moscow. "We were there both on the VDW joint stand, and on the stand of a Russian distributor. In the latter case we even exhibited a UniSpeed 5", declared Klewenhagen to underline this point.
"We hope for a rapid political solution in the Ukraine, so that business can return to normal", added Anton Müller.
The company expects to receive orders to a value of 40.0 million euros, and for that "we need a healthy mix of countries and technologies", Christian Hühn emphasised what had already been said. At the moment the valves and fittings business for the chemical and petrochemical industries, and for power generation and plant engineering is booming. Shut-off and regulating butterfly elements are essential components of these valves and fittings. These have to withstand enormously high pressures, up to 150 bar, and temperatures of 1,300° C. "And it is for just these key components that we have developed solutions which revolutionise the production process and offer our customers efficiency increases of up to 50%" added Martin Rathgeb, the company's Technical Director. "In the sector one talks of out-of-round and eccentric turning", adds Anton Müller. From September this year the company will hold seminars on this subject as part of the activities of the newly-founded SHW Akademie.