MARKET ANALYSIS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING GERMANY: TOP 100 RANKING
The new market analysis "Mechanical Engineering Germany 2025" by MEYER INDUSTRY RESEARCH, published in November 2025, provides an overview of the 100 leading mechanical engineering companies in Germany, their revenue and employee figures, as well as data on the industry's profitability. The study is available for free download on our website.
Industry diversity – from global players to hidden champions: Whether machine tools, packaging machines, or plastics and rubber processing machines – German machine manufacturers are among the world's leading companies. Our market study of the top 100 machine manufacturers in Germany showcases both well-known global players such as GEA, Voith, and KUKA. At the same time, our ranking of Germany's leading machine manufacturers also includes numerous hidden champions, which employ hundreds or thousands of people and are among the market and technology leaders worldwide within their respective machine categories.
MATTHIAS MEYER, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MEYER INDUSTRY RESEARCH, ON THE MARKET STUDY
“In our market analysis projects, we repeatedly see how diverse the business landscape in mechanical engineering is and how strongly individual market segments are dominated by specialized hidden champions. Recently, numerous international investors have acquired stakes in German mechanical engineering companies. Against this backdrop, we wanted to take a closer look at the high-performing German companies behind these investments and have compiled a ranking of the top 100 German mechanical engineering companies. We believe that our market study on the leading mechanical engineering companies can be a helpful source of information for our clients and prospective clients.”
CHALLENGING TIMES FOR GERMANY'S TOP 100 MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS
Growing sales: The top 100 German mechanical engineering companies grew by 9.1% nominally in 2023. In real terms, growth was 1.9%. Significantly lower growth is expected for 2024, both nominally and in real terms.
Stagnant to declining employment: The number of employees at the top 100 mechanical engineering companies rose by 1.9% to approximately 348,000 in 2023. Compared to 2022, growth slowed significantly, reaching 4.2% the previous year. This trend appears to be continuing, as the number of employees at the top 20 mechanical engineering companies decreased by 3.6% in 2024.
Stagnant profits: The average EBIT margin of the top 100 mechanical engineering companies was 6.1% in 2023. Compared to previous years, this represents a sideways trend in profitability (previous year: 5.9%). A slight increase in the EBIT margin of the top 100 companies is expected for 2024. Profit figures for 2024 are available for approximately one-third of the companies. These achieved an average margin of around 6.7%.
Increased labor productivity: In 2023, the top 100 machine manufacturers increased their labor productivity (revenue per employee) by 6.1% compared to the previous year, reaching approximately €265,000. However, taking into account the inflation rate of 7.2% over the same period, real labor productivity decreased by 1.1%. For 2024, we anticipate that nominal labor productivity will remain stable.
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION: STUTTGART CONFIRMED AS A HOT SPOT OF GERMAN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The heart of mechanical engineering beats in three German states: 82 of the top 100 companies are headquartered in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, or North Rhine-Westphalia. Hesse (5% of companies) and Lower Saxony (4% of companies) are also important locations for German mechanical engineering.
Christian Scherer, Automotive Analyst at MEYER INDUSTRY RESEARCH and co-author of the study, comments: “The hot spot of German mechanical engineering is clearly in the Stuttgart region. Within a 50 km radius of Stuttgart, 25 of Germany’s 100 largest mechanical engineering companies are located. On our map of headquarters, Swabia is densely populated with large mechanical engineering companies.”
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MEYER INDUSTRY RESEARCH specializes in the creation and implementation of market analyses automotive, mechanical engineering, medical technology, energy technology , and electronics sectors, we develop fact-based and reliable decision-making bases with our professional market analyses.
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