With unity against the looming crisis

"The overall economic and political situation has the potential to be a 'perfect storm'", president Stefan Jungk outlined the current situation of the German brick and tile industry at the 2023 annual conference in Weimar.

"Order declines of up to 40 per cent, production stops and the threat of short-time work throughout the industry characterise the first half of 2023. After the crisis had not yet fully hit the industry in 2022 and even allowed production growth of up to 15 per cent, the mixed situation of order declines, record inflation, high energy costs, political funding chaos and collapsing construction activity presents us with considerable challenges."

Politically, Jungk said, there finally needs to be a commitment to solving the social question. Affordable housing and a climate-neutral building stock will not be achieved without considerable investment from the public sector. Building owners, builders and, not least, the building materials industry need reliability and planning security.

Focus on sustainability

"As an association, we face the situation with unity. We have been resolutely doing our homework on the way to climate-neutral production for many years. In addition, we have launched numerous research projects with the new budget. Our partners, i.e. architects, planners and fabricators, can rely on high-quality products and services. To this end, we are working on tools such as the thermal bridge catalogue and the sound insulation calculator," says president Jungk.

The mega-topic of sustainability is at the centre of political and social communication. As a natural, regional building material with short distances and excellent recycling potential, the brick fulfils the requirements of sustainability like hardly any other building material.

"We have to make this even clearer, especially to the political representatives. We are very pleased that so many politicians have already accepted our invitations, but we will never tire of calling on politicians to commit to openness in terms of technology. We firmly reject any form of one-sided political preference for a building material", emphasised Stefan Jungk.

New presidium elected

The executive board and presidium received a strong signal of support. The team around Stefan Jungk was unanimously confirmed in office. After more than 40 years of commitment, the long-time president and executive board member Helmuth Jacobi, Jacobi Tonwerke GmbH, made his office available to the younger generation. He is succeeded in the presidium by Dr. Sebastian Dresse, Creaton GmbH. In recognition of his decades of service, Helmuth Jacobi was unanimously elected honorary president.