The GKV took stock of plastics processing in Germany for 2020 at its annual business press conference on 17 February. Last year, industry sales fell by 5.6 per cent to €61.5bn.
GKV
Plastics processors draw mixed results for 2020
GKV President Roland Roth and the new managing director Julia Große-Wilde
A total of 14.2 million tonnes of plastics were processed in Germany last year. The number of employees fell by 4.1 per cent to 322,000.
The ambivalence between confidence and uncertainty among companies, which was already established for 2019, has intensified under the impact of the corona pandemic. Despite the sharp drop in sales in 2020, around half of the entrepreneurs surveyed in the GKV survey are expecting sales to rise again in 2021, but profits to fall.
While demand for the packaging industry and in the vehicle and transport sector picked up again in the last quarter of 2020, the lack of raw material availability and increased raw material prices in these areas will ensure that the development will remain fragile in the coming months.
Since plastic is proving to be an important pillar of our supply, especially in the corona crisis, the valuable material plastic is enjoying increasing, well-deserved appreciation of its performance. It will now be important that the recognition of science and facts is sustainable in public and political opinion-making - even after Corona - and that the public also recognizes the plastics industry's commitment to the success of the circular economy.
GKV President Roland Roth said: “The GKV and thus the plastics processing industry are not only approaching the challenge of the circular economy as a necessity, but also as an opportunity for innovation. In addition, we are pooling our strengths in public relations not only to illustrate the great benefits of plastic products in many areas of the economy and everyday life, but also to show the industry's contribution to a resource-saving circular economy and climate protection."
