Improving Global Quality of Life

3 Signifi cance of welding and joining
as four times as large as the European market. Therefore, the world market for products relating to the
application of joining technologies may be estimated to have been approximately 80 billion EURO in 2007.
The economic significance of the application of welding and joining technology by the manufacturers
of joined products is substantially greater. It is difficult to estimate this for a national economy because
corresponding statistical data is only rarely available. Similarly, with the cost due to weld failures, poor inservice
performance, repair and maintenance.
One feasible path is to use the value added during the manufacture of the products and the proportion of
welding and joining technology in the production. The data required for this purpose is acquired (amongst
other means) from the number of employees collaborating in the manufacture, broken down according to
the utilised or applied technologies. As an example of this, reference may be made to a calculation for the
German national economy, which was based on a scientifically validated macroeconomic model (see Figure
3.2). The corresponding values for welding only are: 56 Billion EURO for the gross value added for both the
manufacture of goods and services for welding and the application of welding technology, and 1,320,000
employees in both sectors. Since very different structures exist all over the world and statistical data is not
available or has not yet been coordinated, it is not possible to make any conclusions for the world based on
these values from the European economy.
Production Value
(BIL. EURO)
Total Added Value
(BIL. EURO)
Employees
(Man Years)
Equipment
Filler Materials Auxiliary
Materials Health and
Safety Qualification
TOTAL
7.50 12.480 19.980
2.55 4.040 6.590
55,000 68,000 123,000
Figure 3.1 Value added in
2007 in Europe by goods
for joining for companies
manufacturing joined
products (Reproduced
courtesy: DVS, D. von Hofe)
The production of joined goods and services for joining (equipment,
filler materials, auxiliary materials, health and safety as well as
training and education) influence the whole line of added value and
the European political economy.
Total added value:
Employees:
6.6 BIL. EURO
123,000 persons
The use of joining technologies is instrumental
in generating added value in a lot of branches.
86 BIL. EURO
Figure 3.2 Value added
by joining in 2007 in Europe
(Reproduced courtesy: DVS,
D. von Hofe)
Total added value:
Employees:
79.12 BIL. EURO
2,027,000 employees
1,904,000 persons
The overall total added value of 86 BIL. € of joining (manufacturing
of goods for joining and application) corresponds to about 6% of
total added value of all producing trades (including civil building) in
Europe.
Through Optimum Use and Innovation of Welding and Joining Technologies
Improving Global Quality of Life
13