VDMA: German rubber & plastics machinery makers grow in China

Frankfurt, Germany – German rubber & plastics machinery makers in China have continued to record robust staff growth, according to the latest survey by trade association VDMA.

Survey participants reported “a more mature and independent business in China”, and the majority of companies said they had recovered well from the 2019 crisis, said VDMA in a 7 July report.

Staff turnover stood at under 8% (senior staff) last year, performing better than participants in Germany, the personnel and salary survey 2021 has found.

“With an average employee affiliation of six years, member companies also manage to retain production knowledge better than their competitors,” it added. 

VDMA noted that proficiency in English has become “less of a problem” in the companies, but said the biggest challenges in human resources remained the recruitment of qualified staff and rising labour costs. 

In terms of the Covid-19 impacts, participating companies said the absence of visits from headquarters led to “a severe lack of technical and management support.”

"Surprisingly, many recruiting plans were still implemented across borders despite the lack of face-to-face meetings with candidates," said Thaddaeus Mueller, executive search director at survey conductor Fiducia. 

This, he said, was because companies had realised that 'they needed to react urgently in order to access the growth opportunities of the market in 2020 and 2021.'

The survey also found that there is a lack of awareness about the upcoming tax changes on individual income tax for foreigners working in China. 

"One of VDMA's main tasks is to share information and prepare our member companies for changes in their business environment," said VDMA's Florian Mikulasch. 

"This is crucial in a country like China, which continues to develop much more dynamically than many of our member companies' home countries."