Mechanical engineering: Dräger warns: "The chemical industry is quietly dying"

Stefan Dräger, the CEO of Lübeck-based safety technology manufacturer Drägerwerk, has warned of a potential decline in the German chemical industry. In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Dräger expressed his concern, stating that "The chemical industry is dying slowly." His attention is primarily focused on the crisis within the automotive sector, which he deems overstated.

Dräger supplies the chemical industry with measuring devices, warning systems, and respiratory protective equipment. In addition to being a supplier, the company also provides services such as personnel to monitor production processes in chemical plants. Dräger noted that "Many plants are not being refitted and are standing idle," creating a desolate atmosphere on manufacturing sites.

The company has observed a decline in sales within the chemical sector, but asserts that growth in other areas could help offset these losses. According to Dräger, the two main reasons for the chemical industry's difficult situation are high energy prices and bureaucracy. Stefan Dräger, who has been leading the fifth-generation family business founded in 1889 in Lübeck, heads a publicly traded company that employed over 16,000 employees and generated nearly 3.5 billion euros in revenue last year.

The majority of the company's shares are held by the Dräger family. The chemical industry, which is one of the largest industrial sectors in the country, has been in a crisis for years. The industry association VCI recently revealed that production, sales, and investments in the first half of the year had all decreased compared to the previous year.

At the headquarters of the world's largest chemical company, BASF, in Ludwigshafen, the number of full-time positions fell below 30,000 for the first time since 1954 in May.