29 machinery factories form the Verein deutscher Maschinenbau­ Anstalten, the VDMA, under Dr Hugo Jacobi of Gutehoffnungshütte.

Heinrich Lueg (Haniel & Lueg) is elected president of the VDMA at the organisation’s first annual general meeting.

German companies operating in the machinery manufacturing business send travelling engineers abroad to learn about international sales markets.

A total of 147,000 people are employed in the mechanical engineering sector (by comparison, the textile industry employs 930,000).

The VDMA moves into a new office building in Düsseldorf together with the German Iron and Steel Institute (VDEh).

The growing number of strikes in Germany’s metalworking industry begins to affect the engineering sector too.

At the VDMA’s annual general meeting, its members reject a proposal for the organisation to act as an employers’ federation.

The VDMA campaigns against low import duties for foreign machinery.

The VDMA criticises the Central Association of German In­dustrialists for not representing interests. It sets out its intention to act independently in matters of trade policy.

The directors of the VDMA suggests to its members that they begin recording statistics relating to production.

Economic downturn: one third of engineering companies do not pay a dividend; another third end the year with losses.

A commission is established with the aim of developing general principles for an ‘orderly form of cost calculation’.

The German engineering sector exports 19 per cent of its production.

The members pro­vide enough infor­mation about their production processes for the VDMA to be able to begin compiling meaningful statistics on production.

German machinery exports overtake US machinery exports for the first time.

The AGM discusses the positioning of German machine tools in the global market and models its marketing strategies on US competitors.

Faced with a shortage of skilled workers, the engineering sector implements guiding principles for the vocational training of industrial workers.

Friedrich Fröhlich, a future VDMA executive director, presents statistics showing that engineering is on a par with other major industry groups.

Engineering companies gear up for the wartime economy. As the manufacturers of armaments, they are heavily involved.

The proportion of female employees in the industry rises to 22.45 per cent.

The number of companies that are members of the VDMA rises to 814 (1914: 246). They benefit from the VDMA’s role as a mediator between industry and government.

The VDMA calls on engineering companies outside the occupied Ruhr region not to worsen the situation by increasing the level of competition.

Because of inflation, engineering companies are forced to insert price escalation clauses in contracts.

Alexander Rüstow, later one of the founding fathers of the social market economy, becomes head of the VDMA’s economic policy department.

The revival of the German economy is only short lived. More than two million people become unemployed as a result of the economic crisis.

The Insurance Office for the Engineering Industries (VSMA) is founded.

The VDMA publishes the Statistical Engineering Handbook, the first annual reference work of its kind.

For the first time since the end of the war, machinery exports from Germany surpass those from Britain, which had been losing market share since 1921.

After being set back by the First World War, the proportion of German exports accounted for by machinery rises to 10.6 per cent, breaking the 10 per cent mark for the first time.

The VDMA criticises the Nazis’ economic programme for being harmful to business.

Against a backdrop of mass unemployment, an extensive propaganda campaign opposing the use of machines is launched.

The VDMA calls on the Nazi Party and the German Labour Front to prohibit campaigns opposing the use of machinery.

The Law Restricting the Use of Machines in the Cigar Industry is passed, one of many such enactments.

After Austria is annexed by Germany, all Austrian machinery concerns are assimilated into the VDMA organisation of the time.

The Reich economics minister appoints the VDMA’s executive director, Karl Lange, as representative for machinery production.

The Reich economics minister, Walther Funk, enacts a regulation governing the control and manufacture of machinery and apparatus.

Albert Speer, the Reich minister of armaments, creates self-­governing bodies in the munitions industry, including a central committee for machinery.

Forced labour accounts for almost 35 per cent of people working in machine building.

The Berlin magistrate’s department for economic affairs appoints an administrator for the wartime VDMA organisation.

In industrial concerns, Soviet troops begin to disassemble machinery that remains halfway operational.

The Association for Machine Building is founded for the British sector in occupied Berlin. Similar associations are established in the US zone of West Germany.

The VDMA is reformed as a powerful federation of trade associations in the House of the German States in Königstein im Taunus.

The Allies mandate capacity restrictions for various machinery groups.

The VDMA establishes its own publishing house as well as a company to represent the engineering industry at trade fairs and exhibitions.

The VDMA writes to economics minister, Ludwig Erhard, to raise the issue of iron prices and criticises the fact that free interaction of supply and demand is not working.

As a supplier to the arms industry, the machine­tool sector is able to double production in real terms within two years and more than triple exports.

There is a marked slump in the economy, which in the engineering sector leads to a reduction in overtime and a high incidence of short­time working.

The VDMA publishes a pamphlet called ‘More technology – more engineers’ and a host of other information material promoting the industry as a career choice for skilled workers.

West Germany ousts the UK from second place in the ranking of global machinery exporters and now only trails the USA.

The executive directorate approves a resolution to build a dedicated office complex in Frankfurt for the VDMA.

The value of German machinery exports has increased almost tenfold compared with 1950 – from DM 1.3 billion to DM 9.3 billion.

At 1.024 million, the number of people employed in engineering breaks the million mark for the first time.

Building work begins on the VDMA headquarters in the Niederrad district of Frankfurt

Before restrictive Bundesbank policies take effect, output in the engineering sector is valued at DM 33.92 billion, generating revenue of DM 35.745 billion.

The VDMA moves out of Königstein im Taunus and begins to host its executive board meetings once again at its own offices in Frankfurt.

For the first time since the end of the war, German engineering companies are making more money from international sales than they do domestically.

A group of around 40 companies join together to form the Plant Engineering Working Committee in order to improve the industrial plant business.

The VDMA calls on the government to implement an economic policy that is able to counteract negative influences.

For a hearing before US Congress, the VDMA formulates arguments against the 10 per cent duty levied on imports to the USA. The protests are successful.

The VDMA sets up a liaison office in Brussels (known as the VDMA European Office from 1999).

High costs and a decline in capital spending lead to a slump in employment, which the mechanical engineering industry counters by restoring profitability.

A statutes commission proposes that the people in charge of the VDMA’s various trade associations and country groups be subordinated to the executive director.

One in six companies in the mechanical engineering industry have integrated microelectronics into their products.

To encourage the use of modern technology in mechanical engineering, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs subsidises R&D labour costs of SMEs.

The VDMA is renamed after a motion is passed at the AGM. It is now called Verband Deutscher Maschinen-­ und Anlagenbau.

The number of students enrolling on mechanical engineering courses rises by 27 per cent at traditional universities and by 23 per cent at universities of applied sciences.

The VDMA’s first international office opens in Tokyo. Further offices follow later in Beijing, Kolkata, Moscow, Mumbai, Noida, São Paulo, Shanghai and Tehran.

The German government funds projects in which industry, software houses and research institutions develop machinery and processes for flexible manufacturing.

The VDMA presents the Bernhard Weiss award to Friedrich A. Hayek, a past winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

The VDMA creates a foundation for an annual prize recognising special achievements in the field of mechanical engineering.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall there is a sense of optimism among companies in East and West Germany as well as a lot of new interest in the VDMA.

The Federation of German Employers’ Associations in the M+E industries imposes its collective wage agreement on eastern Germany, causing financial problems for the engineering companies there.

The VDMA helps privatised firms in East Germany to regain ownership, an important step in smoothing the introduction of a market economy in the east.

The engineering sector endures a period of recession in which employees are laid off – a mistake that is not repeated in later crises.

The VDMA plays a key role in establishing a ‘working time corridor’ as the first step towards introducing flexible working hours.

The networking of documents via the internet is a major step towards the digitalisation of production processes in mechanical engineering.

The German engineering sector benefits significantly from the boom in the Asian markets.

Cross­disciplinary forums are set up to explore matters such as the automation of factories. The VDMA establishes a software trade association.

Engineering companies are increasingly integrating information and communication technologies into their products.

The VDMA opens an office in Germany’s capital, Berlin.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act leads to a surge in orders for engineering companies, the primary suppliers to the wind turbine industry.

The VDMA is one of the key founder members of EUnited, the European Engineering Industries Association.

The internationalisation of Germany’s mechanical engineering sector continues apace. SMEs are increasingly moving production abroad.

The VDMA establishes the OE-­A, the Organic and Printed Electronics Association, in order to accommodate the value chain for organic electronics.

The boom in China ushers in several years of strong growth for the engineering sector. Demand from the BRIC countries is responsible for a sharp increase in the volume of business.

The global financial crisis and the ensuing recession threaten the very existence of the engineering industry. Order books go from being completely full to practically empty.

The VDMA opens up its membership to European engineering companies and internationalises its services.

The economic crash results in production declining by 25 per cent in real terms. Skilled workers are retained, however.

App technology helps companies in the machinery business to connect with branches, suppliers and customers.

The VDMA drives forward the implementation of cyber­-physical production systems. It presses hard for the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Engineering revenues are twice as high as in 2002, with the export rate climbing from 45 per cent to 64 per cent.

The VDMA broadens its work by setting up centres of com­petence for future business, the labour market and fundamental issues of economy policy.

Engineering companies attempt to achieve growth by breaking into new business areas such as electromobility.

The VDMA lends its expertise to negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and champions the cause of free trade.

Despite enduring five successive years without any significant growth, the German engineering industry employs 1 million people and at least generates revenue of approximately €220 billion.

The VDMA celebrates its 125th anniversary. It provides a voice to around 3,200 companies and offers a diverse network.

Industry 4.0 is on everybody’s lips. The digitalisation of production processes is the no. 1 topic in the capital goods industry.