Hanover, Germany  - The factory-automation business, which was worth 253 billion euros (402 billion dollars) worldwide last year, is set for continued growth, with demand high for smart machines that save energy, a German industry group said Monday.

At the Hanover Fair in Germany, the world's biggest annual show of such technology, an official of Germany's electrical manufacturers' federation ZVEI said German makers lifted their sales in the sector 11 per cent last year to 42.8 billion euros.

Orders booked rose 15 per cent and the manufacturers' project pipelines were full, said Gunther Kegel, who represents the sector in the ZVEI. Despite the world economy slowing, German makers believed they are on a stable path to growth.

The ZVEI prediction was 6-per-cent growth in German sales this year and a fallback to "normal" growth next year.

He said worldwide attention to economizing energy as a way of cutting carbon dioxide emissions was giving the sector a boost, since automated plants can save more power than human-operated ones.

Kegel said the world credit crisis was only affecting the industry in isolated instances, typically with orders being delayed. (dpa)