The building valves industry recorded only modest revenue growth in the first half of 2025. Neither the change of government nor the so-called “construction turbo” initiative have led to a sustained recovery so far. For the full year, the VDMA expects a revenue increase of 3%.
The conclusion for the first half of 2025 is mixed for the German building valves industry. After a good start to the year –fuelled by the change of government and the announced “construction turbo”– the hoped-for sustainable turnaround has not yet materialized. Domestic sales rose by 3% in nominal terms, while foreign sales rose by 4%. Overall, industry sales rose by 4%, but adjusted for price changes, this corresponded to an increase of only 1%.
«Although we can report an improvement compared to the weak previous year, there is no cause for euphoria. Residential construction remains in crisis and demand remains weak,» emphasizes Lubert Winnecken, Chairman of the VDMA Building Valves Division and CEO of Keuco GmbH & Co. KG. (pictured above). «After months of stagnation, our industry has still not regained its footing in the first half of the year. Consumers and investors are cautious in the face of great uncertainty. The federal government must urgently provide more planning security in order to create confidence in a sustainable recovery of the construction industry.»
- Positive momentum despite difficult conditions. «Our members provide crucial solutions for the future – from clean drinking water and energy efficiency to the circular economy. Building valves are key components of the energy transition,» explains Dr. Laura Dorfer, Managing Director of VDMA Valves (main photo). «We see good prospects in the long term. Above all, we are hoping for impetus from the German government’s investment package.»
- Sanitary and heating stable, technical building valves weak. Development within the sub-sectors was uneven in the first half of the year: sanitary valves achieved a 6% increase in sales, while heating valves grew by 5%. Technical building valves, on the other hand, suffered a decline of 3%. Order intake suggests a cautiously positive development for the second half of the year.
- Export business: USA gains, France and China lose. Demand on international markets fell short of expectations. Exports of building valves fell slightly by 0.2% to 1.8 billion EUR by the end of June 2025. While deliveries to the USA rose by 18% to 195.9 million EUR, making the US the largest export market for the first time, exports to France (down 18.2% to 164 million EUR) and China (down 17.1% to 163.4 million EUR) slumped significantly.
- Moderate increase expected. Against the backdrop of current developments, the VDMA Valves expects only a moderate increase in sales of 3% for 2025. For 2026, the trade association anticipates noticeably stronger momentum—provided that the political framework conditions improve.
The VDMA represents 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 870 billion EUR. Around 80% of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.
