The Dutch economy grew by 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter. That is reported by CBS in its first estimate of 30 October. Compared with a year earlier, the economy was 2.1 percent larger. Industry made the largest contribution: the sector's value added rose by 2.7 percent. According to CBS, machine manufacturing in particular grew strongly.

What CBS and Rabobank report

The growth did not come from new investment. Investment fell by 0.1 percent in the third quarter, according to CBS because fewer aircraft were imported than a quarter earlier. Exports grew by 0.5 percent, led by machinery and transport equipment. Consumption by households and government also increased, both by 0.4 percent.

Rabobank had expected growth of about 0.2 percent and, in its November economic outlook, raised its forecast for 2026 to 1.8 percent and for 2027 to 1.3 percent. The bank points out that growth this year comes almost entirely from higher productivity: the number of hours worked has stayed roughly the same. The bank sees part of this as temporary, which is why it expects growth to slow in the coming quarters.

On 21 October we already wrote about machine manufacturing output in August. The quarterly figures confirm that picture.

Producing more with the same machines

More output with the same number of hours means that in many factories existing machines are working harder. They get shorter cycle times, are set to run faster or stand still less often. That is good for turnover, but it changes the load on everything that moves. A cable carrier that ran without problems for years makes more movements per day after such a change, often faster as well.

Two things are then worth checking:

Speed and acceleration. Every cable carrier type has a limit for speed and acceleration, separately for self-supporting and gliding. If an axis is set to run faster, recalculate whether the type still stays within it. How to do that is explained in determining cable carrier speed and acceleration.
The number of movements. More cycles per day means the carrier and the cables go through their service life faster. Cables for the cable carrier are built for a certain number of movement cycles. If the cable class no longer suits the new use, you will first notice it as faults. More about this in service life of a cable carrier.

What Wisman Techniek does

Wisman Techniek is the exclusive dealer of Tsubaki Kabelschlepp in the Netherlands and maintains and overhauls cable carriers in existing machines. If a machine is set to run faster or runs more hours, let us look at the carrier and the cables before the first fault occurs. With the Carrier check you check in a few minutes whether your cable carrier is in order. If you want us to inspect the machine, we do that through maintenance and inspection. If a part or a complete carrier needs replacing, we supply standard series from our own stock in Ruurlo, usually within 1 to 3 working days.