Mechanical Engineering in Eastern Europe: Orders Rise by More Than a Quarter

After a slow start to the year, the East German machinery and plant engineering sector is once again on the rise. New orders in the East German machinery and plant engineering sector were 27 percent higher in the second quarter of this year than in the same period last year, according to the industry association VDMA Ost. Domestic business grew by 19 percent, while international orders rose by 30 percent.

Significantly Increased Demand from the Eurozone

According to the report, demand from the eurozone grew particularly strongly, up 55 percent, while orders from non-eurozone countries rose by 20 percent. In the first quarter of 2026, the East German machinery and plant engineering sector still lagged behind the national average, with a 15 percent decline in orders in real terms.

“The current figures provide a positive snapshot, but they do nothing to change the structural challenges facing companies,” emphasized Oliver Köhn, managing director of VDMA Ost. This makes further reforms in the areas of bureaucracy, energy prices, corporate taxation, and infrastructure all the more important now. Companies need planning certainty so that investments are no longer postponed.

According to its own figures, the VDMA Regional Association East comprises approximately 350 companies, plants, and branches in the machinery and plant engineering sector in Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In 2025, the industry employed an annual average of 78,200 people. However, this figure only includes companies with at least 50 employees.