German valve factories set their sights on sales in Poland

While fixtures sales in Germany continue to decline, as does the country's construction industry, Poland is doing relatively better and has become a more attractive market for some German sellers.

Valves factories in East Germany, in particular mainly Italian ones, see better business in Poland than in their home market. “You get better prices there. I spoke with the management of Feralpi Stahl; they said this is the first time they have sold east to Poland,” said one buyer.
The Feralpi group does not hide this event in its official statements. Although revenues generated in Italy and Germany fell in 2023, “the trading performance of the Polish market has improved significantly,” the group wrote in its latest report.

In the German market, base prices from domestic mills have trended steadily below €360/t ($403) over the summer, which plus a fixed size premium of €265 gives a delivery price of €625/t – or less. Although some sources have seen a recent increase in offer prices to €650/t delivered, this has not been widely confirmed in transactions.

However, while the stronger Polish construction economy brings some benefits to East German factories, overall it has a detrimental effect on the German valve business. This is because it encourages Polish immigrant workers in Germany to return home.

“For Polish workers, the journey to Germany hardly pays off, and the wages there are slightly higher, so they prefer to look for work in their homeland,” says one manager at a German reinforcement bending plant. A manager at Atterer in southern Germany agrees and describes the problem in a letter to clients. “We continue to lose employees for financial and family reasons, although they value us as an employer. And it is difficult to attract new qualified workers,” Atterer writes, describing the dilemma.

The company notes that the Polish zloty has risen 10% against the euro since last year. For Polish workers in Germany, this means their salaries have 10% less purchasing power when they go home. This, coupled with the high cost of living and fuel, makes working in Germany unattractive for them.