Yulia Tsaley, Director of the international exhibition Weldex
"High cutting accuracy determines the quality of the future weld and reduces material consumption. Therefore, when talking about welding, we must not forget about metal cutting - these are two stages of an inseparable process."

The state of the metal cutting industry directly depends on the situation in related sectors and the macroeconomy, which remains difficult in 2026: the high key rate of the Central Bank, personnel shortages, freezing of internal projects and other barriers.

Despite this, in recent years, the Russian laser equipment market has shown impressive growth rates, which are not slowing down in 2026. For example, despite the decline in metal trading margins, laser cutting, welding and bending services provide profitability at the level of 20-35%.

Technological structure of the market in 2026

Laser Cutting

The most popular technology and the absolute market leader. It shows an average annual growth of 11%. The main trends in the segment are automation and integration with production control systems, robotic systems and high-speed laser units.

Plasma Cutting

It maintains a leading position in construction, shipbuilding and heavy engineering. Automation using CNC systems is also a current trend for this segment.

Waterjet Cutting

An important segment for the aircraft industry and work with refractory alloys: according to Tebiz Group, it is growing by 14% annually.

Main trends

Despite stagnation in related industries and economic and social barriers, several key trends are firmly established in the metalworking and cutting segment:

Automation and AI

There is a growing demand for CNC systems with AI integration (already being implemented at Zyfra and Rosatom) - this allows you to reduce defects by up to 15% and optimize the cutting of the material.

Robotization

By 2026, the industry has switched to integrated systems with autonomous control and even breakthrough developments have appeared: for example, the Tyumen company Cyberstep has created the CyberCUT-3D robotic complex based on its own software for cutting metal in several planes without constant operator control.

Additive technologies (metal 3D printing)

Layer-by-layer growth of the product according to a 3D model with metal powder or wire, which allows you to create geometrically complex parts that cannot be made by milling. At the same time, material waste is reduced by 90%.

Import substitution and investment

The share of domestic tools in 2025 increased to 30%, and the volume of production of machine tools and tools - up to 100.7 billion rubles. Main inputs:

The leading supplier is China: since 2022, the demand for equipment has increased by 168%, thanks to which by 2026 Russia has become the largest sales market for Asian machine tools.

Localization of production reached 75% (according to Hualong): this helped stabilize prices for basic models.

Digitalization: standardization and software

Most companies try to build closed technological chains: from software development and machine tool building to personnel training and service.

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Forecasts

According to IBISWorld, the metalworking and metal products market in 2026 shows an increase of 6.5%, and the main vector of market development in 2027 will be determined by:

Balance of supply and demand
The Chinese factor
Key rate
Production personnel (master setters and operators of CNC machines)

According to 6W Research, moderate growth is expected until 2031 due to modernization: the main task for companies will be to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

The Key Importance of the Metal Cutting Market

Modern technologies of laser, plasma and waterjet cutting make it possible to produce the necessary components domestically. For the economy, metallurgy, of which metalworking is a part, has a significant weight in the country's GDP (about 5%) and industrial production (over 17%) and plays a connecting role in many industries.

Weldex 2026: A Platform for Industry Solutions

Attending Weldex 2026 is a great opportunity to see new iron, gain unique experience and up-to-date market analytics, as well as enter into a direct dialogue with manufacturers' engineers and contact with decision-makers.

Benefits of attending Weldex 2026:

745listeners

19business events

82Speaker

Traditionally, the business program of the exhibition will include conferences, round tables and practical sessions, where participants will learn which welding technologies really give savings, where robotization pays off the fastest, how to automate production without unnecessary investments and what is new in the industry.

Do not miss the most anticipated business event of the welding industry in Russia. To get a free ticket to Weldex 2026, use our promo code NEWS

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Metal Cutting Market Analytics: Barriers, Trends, Forecasts