For the study “Strategies for the German Food Processing Machinery Industry 2035“, the management consultancy Munich Strategy and the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association analysed how the segment will change by 2035 and how machinery manufacturers can adapt to it. The study is the second part of the VDMA Future Business Study “German Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Industry 2035 – Industry Futures for the Machinery and Plant Engineering Sector“ published in May 2020. The new study is based on the four future visions elaborated in the study and, using them as a starting point, outlines six strategic thrusts that areintended to make food machinery manufacturers successful in 2035.

The four equally important future visions for the industry are: 1. “Plan beats market“ – the leading role goes to China; 2. “Nobody wants to lose“ – demarcation and return to ­bilateral economic agreements; 3. “Consumers put ­pressure“ – especially on the issue of sustainability; 4. “Hand in hand“ – globally uniform framework conditions, but with pluralistic characteristics.

The study lists six overarching strategic thrusts with which machine manufacturers can adapt to the new framework conditions and the demands of their customers: 1. Operator Models: development from machine supplier to solution provider; 2. New Forms of Regionality: opening up new ways to be local and close to the customer; 3. Digitalization as Part of the Business Model: concepts for the intelligent processing and use of data; 4. Support and Services: actively offering and marketing services; 5. Flexibility through Modularity: building up an intelligent product portfolio of flexible and scalable machines; 6. Core Competence “Application Know-how“: building up process technology know-how and advising the ­customer based on this.

”Anticipating what the food machinery industry of the future will look like is the first step,” explains Richard Clemens, Managing Director of VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery. “For entrepreneurs, the most ­important thing is to align their own actions with clear strategic initiatives and thus work out the path to 2035.”