Many machinery manufacturers are facing significant challenges. The uncomfortable truth is that these can’t be attributed solely to current industrial policy. In many cases, the root cause lies closer to home. Too often, companies cling to what has always worked, assuming the future will resemble the past. It’s an assumption that is increasingly out of touch with reality.
Whether it’s Asian competitors, advances in artificial intelligence or new robotics solutions – the world is changing fundamentally, and the pace of change in mechanical engineering is accelerating. At the same time, media consumption and buying behavior are shifting just as dramatically. And yet many companies continue to rely heavily on trade shows while treating digital sales channels as an afterthought.
Machineseeker Is the New Trade Show
The world’s largest trade show takes place every single day – with over 500,000 buyers daily. It’s the leading platforms of the Machineseeker Group: Machineseeker.com, Maschinensucher.de,
Werktuigen.nl, Gebrauchtmaschinen.de, Used-Machines.com und TruckScout24.com. Any machinery manufacturer or OEM not present there in 2026 is allocating their marketing and sales budgets in a far from optimal way.
No. 1 Through Investment
This year, the Machineseeker Group is investing more than eleven million euros in marketing and reach. The reason is simple: in the platform economy, silver or bronze isn’t good enough. Market leadership is built through consistent investment and an uncompromising commitment to being and staying number one.
Rather than viewing the used machinery business as a burden, manufacturers need to see it as an opportunity. The higher the price of used machinery, the easier it becomes to sell new machines. The automotive industry has demonstrated for years just how closely the two segments are linked: Porsche uses used cars to strategically win new customers.
Winning New Customers Through Machineseeker
A phrase commonly heard in mechanical engineering: “We know all our customers.” In a rapidly changing market, that’s a risky assumption. New buyer groups are emerging, international demand is shifting and decision-making processes are increasingly happening online. The Machineseeker Group’s platforms reach over half a million potential buyers worldwide every day. Using that reach systematically isn’t an optional sales channel, it’s a clear competitive advantage.
Every company should regularly ask itself: what do we need to change? What can we do better? Which past decisions need to be revisited? Former Intel CEO Andy Grove put it best: “Only the paranoid survive.”