Converters have pulled out of recession, but credit bank still sees insolvency risk/ Sales back at 2007 level next year/ Automotive industry recovers /Consolidation seen in packaging and semi-finished goods sectors

摘要

German plastics and rubber converters have emerged from the, slump and are riding high, although there is still a danger of some companies becommg insolvent-; a study by IKB Deutsche Industriebank (Dusseldorf/Germany; www.ikb. de), concludes. Analysing the 2009 performance of 110 of its small and medium-sized plastics industry customers, the corporate lending specialist says converters -who account for the largest share of the German industry segment's sales - saw their revenues decline by 14-15% in 2D09, compared with 17% for the industry as a whole It attributes the comparatively positive performance of converters to the distribution of their customer base across several industry sectors and markets. Last year's slump in the packaging industry, for example, was not as severe as in automotive and E&E.