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7/8/2024
Markets & Industries
Interview
Clemens Küpper: "We are certain that only with us can technical progress be shaped in a meaningful way."
Clemens Küpper, CEO of the Baumgarte iron foundry, is the old and new President of the Federal Association of the German Foundry Industry (BDG). The newly elected presidium confirmed him in office for a further three years in Düsseldorf. EUROGUSS 365 spoke to Küpper about the upcoming challenges of the association's work.
Mr Küpper, you said: "I stood for re-election even though I knew what to expect." What can you expect?
Clemens Küpper: Compared to the last election, the situation in our country has become so acute that more and more personal commitment is required to be successful in the association's work. Representing the interests of an industry that contributes so much to the circular economy, offers good jobs and produces state-of-the-art technological solutions actually seems easy. But representing these interests in the face of a lack of interest or at least a lack of information on the part of some politicians is a new and extremely demanding challenge. Working together with all colleagues from the association and from the ranks of the members against the feeling of powerlessness that we experience time and again and not letting up is something we will continue to face. Until it is recognised that our performance and the performance of all metalworkers creates the great competitive advantage in our country and perhaps even represents the DNA of our industrial country.
What projects would you like to focus on during your new term of office?
Clemens Küpper: BDGuss is a member organisation. Here, no one person makes decisions alone, but the members contribute their ideas via committees, executive boards and the presidium. These tasks and strategies are then taken over from Düsseldorf, from the House of the Foundry Industry with its main management and almost 40 employees, and serve as the basis for our work. The main tasks will include always having our finger on the pulse and maintaining a constant overview of technical and political developments. An extremely important part of this will be participating in EU committees and helping to shape the things that come from there. Another focus will be lobbying and explanatory work at federal and state level. To this end, the association is increasingly active directly and also offers all members a wide range of support. Recruiting young talent will continue to be an important issue for the industry. Here we are focussing strongly on continuing projects that have already been launched.
How do you intend to keep up the pressure on politicians for a better industrial policy in the face of falling energy prices? What can the BDG learn from the farmers?
Clemens Küpper: It's not easy to describe all the information on the subject of energy if you don't deal with it on a daily basis. A foundry that melts with gas is currently struggling with continuing high gas prices. And by struggling, we mean passing these costs on to the customer, as they are so enormously higher than before the war that a company cannot bear them alone. The price of gas is currently still significantly higher than it used to be. Companies that melt with electricity are noticing the same thing. According to the Merrit Order principle, the most expensive supplier is the one who sets the price. This is currently leading to electricity prices that are two to three times higher than pre-crisis levels and will probably continue to do so in the future. In Germany, this is compounded by the grid fees, which are currently around five cents. This means that electricity costs are still significantly higher than those of our competitors. Of course, we melt our metals with maximum scrap content, which in itself saves a huge amount of resources and energy, but the casting temperature simply has to be reached and this requires a lot of energy. For our iron foundry, the energy share is 15-20 per cent and therefore represents a massive cost block in the profit and loss account.
Clemens Küpper: Compared to the last election, the situation in our country has become so acute that more and more personal commitment is required to be successful in the association's work. Representing the interests of an industry that contributes so much to the circular economy, offers good jobs and produces state-of-the-art technological solutions actually seems easy. But representing these interests in the face of a lack of interest or at least a lack of information on the part of some politicians is a new and extremely demanding challenge. Working together with all colleagues from the association and from the ranks of the members against the feeling of powerlessness that we experience time and again and not letting up is something we will continue to face. Until it is recognised that our performance and the performance of all metalworkers creates the great competitive advantage in our country and perhaps even represents the DNA of our industrial country.
What projects would you like to focus on during your new term of office?
Clemens Küpper: BDGuss is a member organisation. Here, no one person makes decisions alone, but the members contribute their ideas via committees, executive boards and the presidium. These tasks and strategies are then taken over from Düsseldorf, from the House of the Foundry Industry with its main management and almost 40 employees, and serve as the basis for our work. The main tasks will include always having our finger on the pulse and maintaining a constant overview of technical and political developments. An extremely important part of this will be participating in EU committees and helping to shape the things that come from there. Another focus will be lobbying and explanatory work at federal and state level. To this end, the association is increasingly active directly and also offers all members a wide range of support. Recruiting young talent will continue to be an important issue for the industry. Here we are focussing strongly on continuing projects that have already been launched.
How do you intend to keep up the pressure on politicians for a better industrial policy in the face of falling energy prices? What can the BDG learn from the farmers?
Clemens Küpper: It's not easy to describe all the information on the subject of energy if you don't deal with it on a daily basis. A foundry that melts with gas is currently struggling with continuing high gas prices. And by struggling, we mean passing these costs on to the customer, as they are so enormously higher than before the war that a company cannot bear them alone. The price of gas is currently still significantly higher than it used to be. Companies that melt with electricity are noticing the same thing. According to the Merrit Order principle, the most expensive supplier is the one who sets the price. This is currently leading to electricity prices that are two to three times higher than pre-crisis levels and will probably continue to do so in the future. In Germany, this is compounded by the grid fees, which are currently around five cents. This means that electricity costs are still significantly higher than those of our competitors. Of course, we melt our metals with maximum scrap content, which in itself saves a huge amount of resources and energy, but the casting temperature simply has to be reached and this requires a lot of energy. For our iron foundry, the energy share is 15-20 per cent and therefore represents a massive cost block in the profit and loss account.
Clemens Küpper at the Foundry Industry DayTo your keyword, the farmers: We are of the opinion that a similar slogan applied to our industry ("If the foundryman is ruined, your iron will be imported") would not have been very effective. We also didn't consider gluing campaigns or anything similar. The image of a farmer is very different to that of medium-sized industry. We are much less successful at generating socially relevant pressure on politicians than the farmers just mentioned or perhaps the carers. There are certainly many reasons for this. Among other things, the importance of the German foundry industry for tax revenue, employment and industrial export leadership is not sufficiently recognised everywhere. We can also see this in how relaxed many decision-makers in politics take company relocations, closures and insolvencies. Perhaps they take them seriously, but this is not reflected to us at the highest level.
The automotive sector is the foundry industry's biggest customer. How do you assess the impact of increased import duties for e-cars from China on your industry?
Clemens Küpper: The impact of the tariff increase for Chinese e-cars on the German foundry industry is difficult to assess at present. Much depends on any countermeasures taken by the Chinese side.
As an industry whose components are used in all other branches of industry in addition to the automotive industry, we are fundamentally in favour of open markets and participation in rule-based and free global trade. This is essential for the export-orientated customers of our companies and for ourselves. A trade war cannot be in the interests of the German foundry industry. A few years ago, we Europeans strongly criticised former and possibly future US President Donald Trump for his tariff policy. And yet the USA has a fundamentally different industrial trade structure to us, as we have closer links with China on both the import and export side as an economy.
Nevertheless, it is important to create a level playing field. And if the EU Commission has identified systematic competition-distorting measures on the Chinese side that unilaterally abuse our economic principles, we need to take action. Otherwise the rules will not be worth much. We also have reservations about any Chinese countermeasures cited by German car manufacturers. However, this somewhat obscures the fact that these manufacturers themselves import vehicles from their Chinese plants into the EU and would be affected by the EU Commission's measures in some areas due to their shareholdings in Chinese companies.
If, as initial studies suggest, the production of e-vehicles within Europe increases as a result of the tariff increase, this may help to strengthen the German supplier industry. Many of our companies are currently suffering from the fact that the production of e-vehicles is being ramped up too slowly and manufacturers have sent the wrong signals in the past. This is detrimental to the investment planning of German foundries. By focussing production within Europe, we are therefore also seeing a trend towards elements of planning security for countless medium-sized companies, which are important for industrial value creation.
However, it remains important that the political channels of dialogue remain open and that these are well-founded, rule-based processes that do not end in a wild customs battle.
What currently gives you hope when you think about the future of the German foundry industry?
Clemens Küpper: Hope is not a strategy - we are certain that the best technological development in the casting sector can only be created here with us. We are direct partners to our customers and deliver a great deal of innovation for state-of-the-art technology. From sophisticated lightweight construction in cars to flow-optimised heating pumps and stable machine components, we can supply the entire chain of the industry that is so successful with us. We are certain that only with us can technical progress be shaped in a meaningful way. It also makes no sense to drive or ship components thousands of kilometres back and forth with poorer environmental balances in other countries. It definitely makes sense to produce parts for the future here with good work and in an ecologically sound manner. Parts that are needed for machines and systems that work immediately and well, run reliably and continue to deliver optimum performance for years to come.
Thank you very much for the interview!
About the person
Clemens Küpper learnt the profession of foundry mechanic and completed his studies in Duisburg and Bielefeld as a foundry engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) and industrial engineer (Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing.). He is spokesman for the management of the Baumgarte iron foundry in Bielefeld-Brackwede and Managing Director of Karlshütte in Bünde. Clemens Küpper was born in 1967 in Bielefeld, is married and has three children.
Clemens Küpper: The impact of the tariff increase for Chinese e-cars on the German foundry industry is difficult to assess at present. Much depends on any countermeasures taken by the Chinese side.
As an industry whose components are used in all other branches of industry in addition to the automotive industry, we are fundamentally in favour of open markets and participation in rule-based and free global trade. This is essential for the export-orientated customers of our companies and for ourselves. A trade war cannot be in the interests of the German foundry industry. A few years ago, we Europeans strongly criticised former and possibly future US President Donald Trump for his tariff policy. And yet the USA has a fundamentally different industrial trade structure to us, as we have closer links with China on both the import and export side as an economy.
Nevertheless, it is important to create a level playing field. And if the EU Commission has identified systematic competition-distorting measures on the Chinese side that unilaterally abuse our economic principles, we need to take action. Otherwise the rules will not be worth much. We also have reservations about any Chinese countermeasures cited by German car manufacturers. However, this somewhat obscures the fact that these manufacturers themselves import vehicles from their Chinese plants into the EU and would be affected by the EU Commission's measures in some areas due to their shareholdings in Chinese companies.
If, as initial studies suggest, the production of e-vehicles within Europe increases as a result of the tariff increase, this may help to strengthen the German supplier industry. Many of our companies are currently suffering from the fact that the production of e-vehicles is being ramped up too slowly and manufacturers have sent the wrong signals in the past. This is detrimental to the investment planning of German foundries. By focussing production within Europe, we are therefore also seeing a trend towards elements of planning security for countless medium-sized companies, which are important for industrial value creation.
However, it remains important that the political channels of dialogue remain open and that these are well-founded, rule-based processes that do not end in a wild customs battle.
What currently gives you hope when you think about the future of the German foundry industry?
Clemens Küpper: Hope is not a strategy - we are certain that the best technological development in the casting sector can only be created here with us. We are direct partners to our customers and deliver a great deal of innovation for state-of-the-art technology. From sophisticated lightweight construction in cars to flow-optimised heating pumps and stable machine components, we can supply the entire chain of the industry that is so successful with us. We are certain that only with us can technical progress be shaped in a meaningful way. It also makes no sense to drive or ship components thousands of kilometres back and forth with poorer environmental balances in other countries. It definitely makes sense to produce parts for the future here with good work and in an ecologically sound manner. Parts that are needed for machines and systems that work immediately and well, run reliably and continue to deliver optimum performance for years to come.
Thank you very much for the interview!
About the person
Clemens Küpper learnt the profession of foundry mechanic and completed his studies in Duisburg and Bielefeld as a foundry engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) and industrial engineer (Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing.). He is spokesman for the management of the Baumgarte iron foundry in Bielefeld-Brackwede and Managing Director of Karlshütte in Bünde. Clemens Küpper was born in 1967 in Bielefeld, is married and has three children.
