The CEA Members’ Forum may have officially kicked off on 9 July, but the fun began the night before at the Ship Inn, Langstone in Hampshire—a beachside pub transformed into a Hawaiian paradise for the evening. With garlands, cocktails and a luau theme, some members went full Moana. It was a brilliant evening—aside from the BBQ smoke, which, thanks to a mischievous sea breeze, wafted directly inwards, leaving us all blinking and choking like chimney sweeps. Luckily, the wind soon changed and we all tucked into the gorgeous food.
After retreating to the Bear Hotel for the night, we reconvened the next morning at Danfoss in nearby Havant. The temperature was ‘tarmac-meltingly’ hot, and after a surprise furniture removal workout by the whole team (who knew we’d be earning CPD hours in logistics?), we were relocated to a mercifully air-conditioned room. And that’s when we got down to business. Albeit with a few giggles every time the reception PA system ‘bing bonged’ mid-presentation to locate stray Danfoss staff—cue much amusement from the audience.
CEA Members’ Forum: insights, market moves and future thinking
When CEA Chief Executive Viki Bell opened the Members’ Forum, she shared a whirlwind update on what the Association has been working on. From the Make UK Affiliate Partnership to hosting the CECE Congress in 2026, Viki spotlighted how the CEA is gaining momentum across the board. There was also good news for members in the form of a new pathway to IMechE membership—from Apprentice to Fellow—with complimentary enrolment for undergraduates and apprentices, plus mentoring and seminar access included.
A highlight was the Cranfield University collaboration, where postgraduate students under the supervision of Professor Andy Angus are working with the CEA on a live thesis project to deliver fresh look market insights. This skills-focused initiative shows how the Association is building long-term value—and members can also benefit from a 5% discount on Cranfield’s executive education courses.
The focus then shifted to international trade as Claire Shore from Pattern UK introduced the expanded UK Pavilion at bauma Munich 2028. With 400 square metres available (pitching for more) and space for 30 plus exhibitors, Claire encouraged members to secure their stands early—especially with hotel prices already rising. With strong B2B potential across global hotspots like China and India, bauma remains a key opportunity for exporters looking to break into new markets or strengthen existing ones. Claire’s advice? Speak to Beth now to express an interest in exhibiting on the pavilion.
Trelleborg Antivibration Solutions were welcomed as a new CEA member, and their presentation, led by Adrian Williams and Patrick Zenker, gave the audience a snapshot of what the business offers. With roots in Sweden and now 210 staff across the UK, Trelleborg provides specialist polymer-based anti-vibration solutions to sectors including marine, rail and off-highway. Their “MountFinder Pro” app was a standout—an innovative mobile tool that scans for the optimal mount based on equipment vibration, without needing the user to input complex frequency data. CEA Director Nick Ground noted that the company was underselling itself—he even joked that he’d quite fancy a job in the testing department.
Paul Lyons CEA Market Insights Consultant, gave a UK market update, noting a 1.5% rise in construction output over the last four months, primarily driven by new work and repair & maintenance. While the CPA (Construction Product Association) has downgraded its 2025 forecast slightly to 1.9%, the outlook for 2026 is more promising with a projected 3.7% growth. UK construction equipment sales were strong early in the year after poor weather-hit 2024 sales, with excavators taking the lead over telehandlers, which had previously topped the charts. However, wheel loader sales have been notably weak so far, even falling behind other lower-volume equipment types.
Sales of electric machines continue to lag, having declined more than overall equipment sales in 2024 and still well below 2022 and 2023 levels. High costs—often triple that of diesel equivalents—and lack of infrastructure are key barriers.
On the import front, Chinese equipment exports fell in tonnage, although excavators continued to dominate
the tables, making up 40% of sales. EU imports showed growth in the first quarter, with the Netherlands leading the charge, while US exports dropped 20% compared to 2022.
Chris Sleight, Managing Director of Off-Highway Research, brought his usual no-nonsense style to the global market update, delivering a sharp overview of the highs, lows, and head-scratchers in equipment sales worldwide.
China topped the charts with a headline 9% growth in 2024, fuelled by a pre-buying rush ahead of tighter emissions rules. Despite the strong figure, the reality across the Chinese market is more complicated—ongoing debt issues, economic slowdown, and heavy reliance on state-led investment mean underlying demand is weak. Equipment volumes remain low for a country of that scale, with demand mainly focused on sectors like mining and quarrying, where China’s unique wide-bodied trucks (up to 100 tonnes) dominate.
In Europe, sales dropped sharply by 17% in 2024, with Ireland the only country to buck the trend. A slow recovery is expected in 2025. India continues to expand as a low-cost manufacturing base, Japan is in a predictable cyclical dip, and South America is seeing a modest slowdown. Elsewhere, demand remains steady thanks to firm commodity prices.
North America, understandably, then dominated the discussion. Chris described its outlook as “a perfectly avoidable downturn”, with market volumes expected to fall 2% in 2025. Tariffs introduced from the Trump administration continue to bite—finished equipment makes up 20–25% of the market, and new tariffs on components and foreign-sourced content are raising costs across the board.
Turning to electric equipment, Chris offered a global snapshot that revealed sharp regional contrasts. Around 78,000 electric machines were sold in 2024—a 20% increase year-on-year—but 56,000 of those were in China. Thanks to state incentives, vertically integrated OEMs, and direct machine ownership, electric kit there is around 50% more expensive than diesel—not the 3x commonly assumed. That makes adoption far more feasible. LiuGong and XCMG were highlighted for leading the charge, especially in compact machinery.
Europe sold 11,000 units and North America 5,000, with slower uptake elsewhere. But Chris made it clear that the UK is struggling to keep pace. As Paul Lyons had also noted, UK electric machinery sales fell in 2023 and are now behind 2022 and 2021 levels. High costs, limited charging infrastructure, and the hire-based business model all make electric adoption more difficult.
Chris reminded us that we’re partway through a classic 7–10 year CE cycle: after the 2024 trough, modest recoveries are already underway in 2025, with much stronger growth forecast from 2026 and a peak pencilled in for the early 2030s. He cautioned, though, that persistent U.S. tariff turmoil could knock that rebound off schedule – watch this space.
And, fittingly, he closed with: “The world is a turbulent place at the moment.”
Laurence Price of new member company, SME Technologies then showcased a fully electric piling rig. With an 800kWh battery capable of eight hours of continuous use and multiple charging options—including direct from the grid—the machine is delivering up to 70% savings in fuel costs, while outperforming its diesel counterparts. It’s not just greener—it’s cheaper too. What’s not to like?
Technical and regulatory updates came next, delivered by Dale Camsell. Attendees heard how DBT will implement the EU Annex III noise-test amendment into UK law via the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill—ensuring continued alignment on outdoor equipment noise testing. They learned that UK road-circulation rules were amended on 29 April 2025 to allow hydrogen-fuelled non-road machinery. Dale then outlined the forthcoming EU Machinery Regulation, effective 20 January 2027, highlighting CEA’s input on resilience to cyber-attack, supervisory controls for autonomous machines, AI/self-evolving behaviour, and digital documentation (operator manuals and Declarations of Conformity). Throughout, he provided clear timelines and practical reassurance that the CEA is pressing for sensible, proportionate implementation.
To round off the day, Viki Bell returned to the front of the room—this time with reinforcements. David Waine MD Conmech Engineers and Alex Woodrow, MD KGP joined her for the afternoon strategy session, which thanks to their input, became one of the most interactive parts of the day. The group explored priorities for the CEA and the wider industry from 2025 to 2030, with members feeding in ideas that will help shape future activities, support tools and industry direction.
Discussions ranged from what more the CEA can do on advocacy, trade, and technical guidance, to growing the member insight offer, which continues to be one of the most valued services. Viki also confirmed that at the next Forum, Dale will run a longer session on regulatory harmonisation, and there’ll be a proper overview of everything the CEA is involved with through CECE—there’s a lot going on there, and it deserves more airtime.
A particular highlight of the afternoon was the much-anticipated “£10 exercise”, where members were invited to imagine how they would spend a hypothetical tenner to maximise member value. Some may have treated it like a Dragon’s Den pitch, others more like a pub quiz—either way, the results will be shared soon and will help shape future priorities.
Before wrapping up, Viki challenged all attendees to take ownership of the “more young people in the room” conversation by bringing a Rising Star along to the next Forum. The message was simple: you are the members, so bring the change. Judging by the number of nods and smiles, the idea landed well—and it’s now officially ON YOU.
“A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the July Members’ Forum—your energy and input made it one of our most engaging events yet. We’re especially grateful to our sponsors Cabcare and Hemisphere Freight for supporting the Forum itself, and to Knibb Gormezano & Partners for treating us to the evening social. And a big thank you to our fantastic hosts at Danfoss for the warm welcome, excellent lunch and much-needed air con. It’s brilliant to see our members coming together like this—we don’t take it for granted.” — Viki Bell, CEO, Construction Equipment Association
With the BBQ smoke and Bing Bongs behind us, the takeaway from this Forum was clear: the sector is showing signs of modest growth, the mood is optimistic, and the CEA is doubling down on its ambition to support members with purpose, pace and a few laughs along the way.
See you all at Caterpillar in November.
