Many a mechanical engineering company can be satisfied, as the past year was more positive than economic specialists initially thought. The VDMA revised its forecast for production growth from one percent in real terms to around three percent as early as the middle of the year and was right to do so. In the context of previous years, this is a pleasing upswing that the industry intends to maintain in 2018.

Desirable prospects. At least for those who do not have too many legacy issues to deal with the higher demand. Because the list of necessary investments is getting longer and longer with the advent of digitalization. In addition to the expansion of production capacities - whether in the form of new production halls or by increasing the level of automation - employees must not be forgotten. Investing in or for skilled workers is an item on many agendas that is already gathering dust and yet cannot be ticked off. The shortage of skilled workers will continue and will be exacerbated by the upcoming generational change at management level. The generation that made small companies large and successful must now be followed by a generation that demonstrates creative entrepreneurial drive in the digital transformation.

And that brings us to another task whose "Done" box seems superfluous: digitalization. As Professor Dr. Volker Stich explains in the interview starting on page 10, Germany is already lagging behind here. He sees one reason for this in our inertia. He also looks in the direction of politicians, whose sluggish government decision-making is hampering the allocation of project funding, for example. There are also delays in setting the course for important economic policies or investing in digital infrastructure, as VDMA President Carl Martin Welcker criticizes.

But wait: the year is still young and we shouldn't let ourselves be caught up in inertia. Let's see what we can write on our to-do lists and influence. After all, don't you automatically run in the direction you're looking?

So let's let the New Year feeling take hold of us, carry us along and tackle new things to make 2018 a good start. cs