The Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA), officially known as the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, is the largest and most influential industrial association in Europe, representing the interests of Germany’s capital goods industry, particularly its dominant medium-sized enterprises (Mittelstand).
Basic Profile
- Establishment & Headquarters: Founded in 1892 in Cologne (later relocated to Frankfurt am Main), VDMA celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2017. Its current headquarters is located at Lyoner Straße 18, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany, with additional offices across major German cities (Stuttgart, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Berlin) and international branches in Brussels, Vienna, São Paulo, Beijing, Kolkata, Tokyo, Warsaw, and Bologna.
- Membership Scale: As of 2026, VDMA has over 3,600 member companies, accounting for more than 90% of the total revenue of Germany’s machinery and plant engineering sector, which is the country’s largest industrial employer. The industry employs over 1.2 million people in Germany alone, and around 3 million across the EU-27, with an estimated EU-wide turnover of 870 billion euros.
- Leadership: The current President is Bertram Kawlath (Managing Partner of Schubert & Salzer GmbH), supported by a three-member Presidium (including Vice Presidents Karl Haeusgen of HAWE Hydraulik and Henrik Schunk of SCHUNK) and a management team led by Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann.
Core Operational Focus
VDMA structures its work around 8 key thematic areas to serve members and shape industry development:
- Markets & Development: Provides members with in-depth international market analysis and export support, leveraging partnerships with overseas industry associations and participation in global trade fairs such as automatica and the Beijing International Industrial Automation Exhibition. It also operates 36 specialized trade associations covering the full value chain from components to complete plant systems.
- Research & Production: Builds industry-academia-research networks to explore manufacturing trends, operating under the framework of Industrial Collective Research (IGF). It has been a core driver of the Industry 4.0 initiative, co-founding the national “Plattform Industrie 4.0” in 2013 and launching the German Industry 4.0 Readiness Model in 2015.
- Energy & Environment: Promotes energy-efficient technologies as both a supplier and user, advocating for ambitious implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive and coordinating related policy activities via the VDMA Forum Energy.
- Social & Economic Policy: Lobbies for favorable policies on labor markets, foreign trade, energy, R&D, taxation, and environmental regulations. It has been vocal in opposing protectionist trade measures, including criticizing U.S. tariff threats in 2025-2026 and warning the EU about supply chain disruptions from the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
- Vocational Education & Training: Works to reduce dropout rates among mechanical engineering and electrical engineering students in German universities, operates the talent recruitment portal Talentmachine.de, and supports industry-specific training programs.
- Corporate Management: Advises members on strategic operations, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable business practices.
- Legal & Tax Affairs: Advocates for investment-friendly regulatory frameworks in Germany, including deregulation, reduced bureaucracy, and sustainable public finance policies.
- Standards & Technology Policy: Coordinates with the DIN German Institute for Standardization’s Mechanical Engineering Standards Committee (NAM) to develop national and international technical standards, and participates in Chinese standardization committees such as TC328 (construction machinery) and TC71 (rubber and plastic machinery).
Key Industry Events & China Engagement
- Industry Conferences: Hosts annual flagship events including the VDMA Industry Conference (focused on topics like AI’s impact on production in 2024) and the SURFEX biennial exhibition for surface coatings, organized via its subsidiary SURFEX LTD.
- China Operations: Established its Beijing representative office in 2004 and Shanghai office in 2006, followed by the founding of Dezhong VDMA Business Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd. in 2011. It has held multiple “Future-Oriented” industry conferences in Kunshan and Zhangpu, and the 14th VDMA China Machinery Summit in 2025 attracted a delegation of German executives to visit member enterprises in Taicang.
Recent Industry Advocacy (2025-2026)
In 2025, VDMA President Bertram Kawlath highlighted that U.S. tariff policies created significant uncertainty for German mechanical engineering, noting that the sector is more exposed to U.S. trade barriers than other industries due to high steel and aluminum tariffs.
In January 2026, VDMA publicly criticized U.S. threats to impose punitive tariffs on European countries to pressure Denmark over Greenland, calling the move “extortion” and warning that EU concessions would only invite further unreasonable demands.
