In December, Flender welcomed Paul Höller, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, at the headquarters in Bocholt. The focus of the discussion with Flender CEO Andreas Evertz was on how machinery and plant manufacturers in NRW can benefit from the growing defense sector and what support the state government provides in this regard. The exchange underscores the strategic importance of collaboration between business and politics for strengthening the regional security industry.
Building a stronger security and defense architecture
The security situation in Europe requires a significant ramp-up of defense and security capabilities. According to the European Defence Agency, EU defense spending grew from 251 billion euros (2021) to an estimated 381 billion euros (2025). For Germany, the budget for the Bundeswehr (including special assets) provides for expenditures of around 86.4 billion euros in 2025. Trend is rising. The machinery and plant engineering sector plays an essential role as an indispensable supplier in building these necessary production capacities for the security and defense industry. Together, we must tackle this challenge.
Andreas Evertz, CEO of the Flender Group, was recently elected as the chairman of the newly founded VDMA Forum Security & Defence Industry (SDI). In this role, he presented to State Secretary Höller the initiative aimed at representing the interests of machine and plant manufacturers and contributing to the establishment of a stronger security and defense architecture. 'Maximizing these opportunities – along with the responsibility to contribute to building a stronger security and defense architecture – is supported by VDMA with its network and cross-industry production knowledge,' emphasized Evertz after the election.
Flender intensifies its focus on the security sector
Flender has been increasingly focusing on solutions for the security sector for some time. The company, recognized for decades for gearbox and coupling technology as well as complete drive systems, is specifically expanding its expertise for the security industry. The focus is on four areas: ship propulsion construction for the navy, gearbox construction for military vehicles, coupling construction for safety-relevant applications, and component manufacturing as additional capacity for certified manufacturers.
'We see significant growth potential in the defense sector and want to become more visible in this area,' explained Andreas Evertz. 'Our many years of experience in manufacturing highly precise mechanical components and our manufacturing competencies are exactly what the security industry needs. We aim to significantly expand our activities in this field.'
Economic State Secretary Paul Höller emphasized the importance of collaboration between the state government and industry: 'North Rhine-Westphalia is an important industrial location and has a broad base of innovative companies in machinery and plant engineering. The state government supports the expansion of the security and defense industry in NRW in this strategically significant future field. With the platform defence.nrw, complemented by the Round Table Defence, we bundle our activities and connect companies, science, and politics.'
State-of-the-art production facilities for defense applications
Following the discussion, State Secretary Höller visited Flender's parts manufacturing in Bocholt, including the hardening shop. There, he was able to get an impression of the state-of-the-art production facilities and the quality standards that Flender meets for safety-relevant applications.
The aim of the meeting was to strengthen networking and collaboration between VDMA companies like Flender and the state government, thereby promoting regional growth in the defense sector. The state of NRW bundles its activities in and for the security and defense industry on the platform www.defence.nrw.
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