The Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association (VDMA) is a German association of 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. 'Industry' refers to innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the European Union (EU), and more than 1.2 million in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU and in Germany. In the EU, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 748 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.
