While theUK construction industry is working to overcome the impending challenges of the nation's expected exit from the European Union, more specific hurdles are cropping up for equipment manufacturers in both the EU and UK.

也许Brexit-and当地最棘手的问题the most visible—is the question of placing a hard border on the frontier of Northern Ireland, a part of the UK that has in recent years had a relatively soft border with the neighboring Republic of Ireland. It's a flashpoint hearkening back to a violent and sad history for a region that as recently as the 1990s was riven by sectarian conflict between mostly Protestant Unionists, who wanted to keep Northern Ireland as part of the UK, and mostly Catholic supporters of uniting the provinces with the Republic of Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement which largely halted the conflict in 1998 succeeded in great part because the hard border between Northern Ireland and the republic softened, deferring to the European Union’s agreements on free movement of goods and labor. While there are broader issues related to labor and commerce under debate for Brexit, the future of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is a major sticking point, not only for political issues but the robust equipment manufacturing sector that has taken root in Northern Ireland in recent decades.

Despite these concerns, Northern Ireland-based CDE Global is not wasting time worrying about Brexit. The equipment manufacturer is one of the world’s largest wet processing companies, with 2,000 projects around the globe. Its equipment extends into construction and demolition, waste recycling, dredging and sand washing—and it is headquartered in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

库克斯敦（Cookstown）在1970年代的麻烦中遭受了苦难，甚至在此之前，由于其历史悠久的亚麻和纺织品制造业基础的慢速去工业化。CDE全球女发言人安吉拉·麦登（Angela Madden）将英国脱欧描述为该公司办公室的另一天，按照全球项目的管理：从这个角度来看，一家或另一种的政治动荡是在该公司围绕的许多地方发生的。新利18备用网址世界，不仅仅是欧洲。实际上，CDE专注于增长：去年，它在北爱尔兰附近的蒙克斯敦（Monkstown）收购了卡特彼勒（Caterpillar）的大型制造厂，增加了300,000平方英尺的本地空间，以制造CDE的复杂设备用于采矿和采石项目。新利18备用网址上个月，它在库克斯敦开设了一栋新的总部大楼，在过去两年中已将其团队增长了65％，并将在第二年在同一站点开设最先进的实验室。

麦登说，该公司关注欧盟的工业回收目标，无论英国脱欧如何，都将继续这样做，因为他们相信世界其他地区将遵循这些目标，并在将来更加依赖工业回收。该公司与贝尔法斯特当地女王大学有良好的联系，并计划进一步增长。她说：“世界需要寻找新的方法来增长和满足对基础设施的需求，同时保护有限和宝贵的自然资源，例如沙子和水。”“回收正在迅速成为该行业需要探索的必要性，并且越来越多地提出了令人难以置信的商机和环保实践。”

On the Continent, Keeping a Close Eye on Brexit

In Germany the mood is a bit more measured, but the construction industry appears to be “pricing in” future costs from work in the UK and, domestically, seeing fairly robust building activity. Concerns about Brexit focus mainly on the workforce—the availability of expertise and anxiety on the part of workers unsure of their residential status and near-term future. As early as a year ago the German Institute for Economic Research was finding skilled labor shortages in German cities with weekslong waiting times for plumbers, electricians and roofers, with the DeutscheWelleradio and news service reporting that recruiting from other European Union nations becoming more difficult.

In the fall of 2018, the FDP—an economically liberal, libertarian and pro-business party in Germany—asked the German government to outline the status of Brexit negotiations and the potential effects on the construction industry. Berlin’s answer: the government assumes closed contracts will be respected for construction projects and beyond that it’s difficult to judge future economic impacts. It ultimately depends, government analysts reported, on how the UK shapes its ongoing relationship with the EU.

然而，在国内，德国建筑业正在驾驶着一个繁荣。位于杜塞尔多夫的商业报纸Handelsblatt报道说，去年，德国建筑业预订了800亿欧元的订单（约900亿美元），这是24年来最高数字，其中最大的德国建筑商Hochtief，净利润为30％，至5.41亿欧元（约合。6.1亿美元）。欧洲中央银行的利率仍然相对较低。A long backlog in public infrastructure investment is starting to move under public pressure, as seen for example in the push complete Berlin’s long-delayed new airport and to upgrade and maintain bridges in order to avert tragedies such as the Morandi Bridge collapse last summer in Genoa, Italy.

Liebherr, Germany’s large industrial manufacturer and one of the world’s leading crane producers, says it is watching Brexit developments intensely. A company spokesperson says Liebherr’s view is that it is especially important to prevent an uncontrolled, or "hard" Brexit, with no formal concluded procedural agreements between the UK and EU. Before conditions for the movement of people and goods are defined in detail, forecasts for the company and its customers regarding the effects of Brexit are virtually impossible, though Liebherr says it will undertake whatever activities are necessary to protect its position and presence in the British market.