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Crisis-Mode in Die Casting: When Will Investments Return to Germany? What a Medium-Sized Company Expects from Politics

An Interview with Ralf Ahnert, Managing Director of bub-DRUCKGUSS GMBH, Solingen

Press Release | Reading time: min | Bildquelle: bub-DRUCKGUSS GMBH
Thomas Fritsch, Chief Editor
Ralf Ahnert

The European foundry industry is currently grappling with significant challenges, but the situation in Germany seems particularly severe. The country has not experienced economic growth in two years and continues to fall further behind its European counterparts. Investments are stagnant, impacting not only the automotive industry but also the construction sector, as infrastructure investments are continuously deferred. The government, responsible for setting the framework, seems half-heartedly engaged but struggles with effective action.

Today, we speak with Ralf Ahnert, Managing Director of bub-DRUCKGUSS GMBH, a medium-sized company based in Solingen, a city renowned for its cutlery production. Mr. Ahnert recently discussed the hardships facing his industry during an appearance on the ARD-Tagesthemen newscast.

FP: Mr. Ahnert, have you encountered a similarly dire situation during your career? How are you managing the current downturn?

Ralf Ahnert: Yes, the financial crisis in 2009–2010 was extremely challenging, as was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when immediate action was required. The measures we're implementing now are quite similar. In the short term, we try to cut costs, delay investments, or reduce spending.
At the same time, we’re focusing more than ever on optimizing production processes. We’ve begun to manage production so that machines are either running at full capacity or completely switched off. This way, we can consolidate production and reduce idle times. This is particularly critical for us as an energy-intensive company.
In such situations, flexibility is key—employees must be willing to work overtime or take vacation days at short notice. Fortunately, our team is aligned with management on this front. Additionally, we only fill vacant positions when absolutely necessary.
In past crises, we’ve had to resort to short-time work. That option is certainly on the table again, and might even be our only choice. Special times call for special measures, as we’ve seen time and again.­

“When urgent action is needed, it seems to happen particularly slowly. Politicians often don’t understand our needs.”

FP: Energy prices, taxes, bureaucracy—do you feel sufficiently understood by politicians as an SME?

Ralf Ahnert: Absolutely not. SMEs like ours form the backbone of the economy, yet we face disadvantages in taxation and bureaucratic hurdles in far too many areas. When things need to move quickly, they tend to drag on. Everyone is struggling with high energy costs, and it’s clear that politicians could intervene more “energetically” and, most importantly, more sustainably. When you hear about the tax optimization strategies employed by global corporations, it’s hard not to feel that SMEs are at a disadvantage.

FP: Beyond the current economic slowdown, what political measures would you like to see implemented to support your company?

Ralf Ahnert: One step would be long-term funding programs for SMEs—not just crisis support. While some funding is available, and it can be helpful, it’s still challenging to make investment decisions when financial resources are scarce. The required contribution from companies is often too high, depending on the scale of the investment.

Politics Shouldn’t Be Just a “Fire Extinguisher”

FP: What is your opinion of the Ministry of Economics' “Germany Fund” proposal? And what advice would you give to the EU Commission in Brussels?

Ralf Ahnert: The concept of the Germany Fund is solid, but like many emergency measures, it was hastily introduced. What we need are preventive, long-term, and sustainable solutions for SMEs to ensure competitiveness. This is an issue not just in Germany, but across the EU. I’ve recently spoken with Italian partners, and they’re facing similar economic challenges.
It’s critical that politicians move away from being reactive “firefighters” and focus on preventing crises in the first place. I recently saw a TV report that described the Germany Fund and Minister Habeck as being in “election campaign mode.” Unfortunately, the closer we get to September 2025, the more election rhetoric we’ll hear, with less focus on substantial, credible action. For us as a company, this means pushing ahead full throttle without paying too much attention to politically motivated messaging.

Thank you for the interview, and Glückauf! | The interview was conducted by Thomas Fritsch, Editor-in-Chief, Foundry-Planet GmbH.


About bub-DRUCKGUSS GmbH, Solingen

The production is designed for the manufacture of small and medium-sized castings. For high-quality surface parts in hand casting or for technical components in a fully automated process, die cast parts including mechanical processing are manufactured

- Zinc die casting with hot chamber die casting machines

- Aluminum die casting with cold chamber die casting machines

- Mechanical processing, assembly and toolmaking

- Hybrid die casting

- Surface coating / processing

- Construction

- Quality management

 

Source: www.bub-druckguss.de 

Company Info

bub-DRUCKGUSS GmbH

Alte Ziegelei 1a
42653 Solingen
Germany

Telephone: +49 212 22260-0

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