Growth market: revenue of SMEs in the field of mechanical engineering doubled
From 2021 to 2025, small and medium—sized businesses operating in the mechanical engineering industry were able to almost double their total revenue to the level of 4.6 trillion rubles, the press service of the SME Corporation reported. Izvestia investigated what risks and challenges remain for SMEs in the engineering industry in the coming years, as well as whether such a high growth rate can be maintained.
Impact on the economy
The strategy for the development of the machine tool industry of the Russian Federation until 2035 captures the key challenges of the industry: a shortage of qualified personnel, a lack of investment and advanced technologies, limited opportunities to meet customer needs and products that do not meet their expectations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia.
To overcome these problems, the Ministry is already implementing support measures within the framework of the national project "Means of Production and Automation": it stimulates the development and production of domestic solutions in machine tool industry, increases demand for Russian products and develops a training system for specialists in updated secondary and higher education programs, taking into account the needs of industry enterprises.
In 2024, the machine-building industry provided the Russian economy with approximately 17 trillion rubles, which is equivalent to 9% of gross domestic product. Previously, the figures were lower: in 2023, the volume was about 14.4 trillion rubles, in 2022 - about 11.3 trillion, and in 2021 — about 10.7 trillion.
The financial results of small and medium-sized businesses in mechanical engineering are developing at a pace close to the dynamics of the country's overall industrial production, Alexander Isaevich, CEO of the SME Corporation, told Izvestia. In this regard, forecasts are made about the possibility of maintaining a positive trend in the further growth of the industry. At the same time, as in many other segments of the economy, there remains the possibility of fluctuations in the market situation. However, in recent years, small-scale entrepreneurs have proven their ability to quickly adapt to external and internal changes, as well as quickly rebuild production processes, taking into account new needs.
— Currently, the growth of the machine-building industry in Russia is taking place in different directions, including the development of not only the domestic market, but also exports. Among such suppliers, there are many small businesses that produce, for example, electrical measuring equipment, products for energy engineering, components for special and construction machinery," the source said.
According to him, the development of cooperation in mechanical engineering and, consequently, the growth of the segment is facilitated by the possibility of finding customers using digital tools.
— Thus, with the assistance of the SME Corporation, Russian SME entities have concluded more than 300 transactions with Russian private and foreign companies, including using the "Production Cooperation and Sales" service of the SME.RF digital platform. One fifth of all concluded transactions relate to metalworking services, 9% accounted for the production of automotive components, 7% — for the production of industrial equipment, 5% — for the production of hardware and components, — said Alexander Isaevich.
Supply and demand
The almost twofold increase in incomes of small and medium-sized enterprises in the machine-building sector in the period from 2021 to 2025 is largely due to the peculiarities of the domestic market, Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. The main source of such a rise is domestic demand, driven by import substitution policies and the need to modernize equipment in strategically important segments of the economy. Russian companies of this level are increasingly becoming part of supply chains for the agricultural sector, the transport system, the construction industry and the extractive industry, where demand for machinery and components of domestic production is growing.
— Export supplies also strengthen the position of companies. According to the REC, in recent years there has been an increase in external demand for Russian engineering products, especially from the CIS countries, the EAEU, as well as countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The share of small and medium—sized businesses in these supplies is also gradually increasing," he stressed. — However, a number of challenges remain.
The issues of access to finance and technological renewal are critically important for SMEs, Sergey Katyrin recalled. There is a separate problem of staffing — mechanical engineering traditionally experiences a shortage of qualified specialists. In addition, logistics and integration into international supply chains remain difficult in the context of sanctions.
— Going forward, it looks realistic to achieve steady but moderate growth. In this case, SMEs will be able to consolidate their positions in the industry," the CCI President believes.
The increase in incomes of small and medium-sized enterprises in the machine-building sector in recent years has been due to a combination of reasons, Oleg Filippov, director of programs at the RANEPA Institute of Management, confirmed in an interview with Izvestia. Among the key factors are the opportunities that have emerged after the departure of foreign manufacturers, which has led to an increase in interest in Russian products due to the lack of alternatives or the too high cost of imported goods. Government support measures aimed at SME development have made a significant contribution.
— Domestic demand remains the main driver of growth. The resources of SMEs — human and financial — are usually insufficient to reach the international level, the expert is convinced. — Companies most often operate in narrow segments within the industry. At the same time, there is still a trend towards export development. According to the Center for Economic Geography and Regionalism of the Presidential Academy, the share of SMEs engaged in the supply of products for export has increased to 4.5%. The CIS countries remain the main sales markets.
When analyzing the situation, it is necessary to take into account possible threats. Starting in 2022, a significant share of the recovery in the real sector, including small and medium-sized businesses, was associated with the military-industrial complex. Large engineering corporations received government contracts and transferred part of the orders to contractors, among whom there were SMEs. In this regard, reducing the volume of government orders in the defense industry can further slow down the pace of development.
Earlier, the Ministry of Economic Development reported that in the updated forecast for 2025, the ministry raised the estimate of industrial production growth to 2.6% instead of the previously expected 2.0%, but at the same time lowered the forecast for fixed asset investments to 1.7% against 2.1% in the previous version.
At the same time, the ministry stressed that despite the decrease in investment estimates, their growth still remains positive against the background of a high base in 2024, when the indicator increased by 7.4%. The reasons for the adjustments are the structure of demand, the dynamics of production capacity and current market conditions.
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