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Europe’s pneumatics suppliers faces twin challenges

09 October, 2012

The European market for pneumatic equipment is facing twin challenges from the region’s debt crisis and the increasing competition from electronic and electromechanical technologies. A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan expects these factors to slow the market’s growth during 2012, although revenues will continue to increase.

After a decline in 2009, the European pneumatic equipment market witnessed positive growth during 2010 and 2011. Frost reports that the market earned revenues worth $3bn in 2011 and predicts that it will reach $4.38bn by 2018.
 
“The global economic crisis and the sovereign debt crisis of Europe have created an atmosphere of uncertainty, with a reduction in investment capital expected in the next two years,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst, Sriram Balasubramanian. “The impact of these trends will be significant over the short and medium terms, although once the market recovers, in the long-term, capital investment is anticipated to increase.”
 
Energy-efficient pneumatic equipment will emerge as a key focus area to sustain growth during this volatile period, Frost suggests. Energy efficiency can help end-users to cut costs by up to 50% – which, in turn, should boost demand, revenues and profitability for suppliers.
 
As Europe`s pneumatic equipment manufacturers strive to remain competitive, they are facing a key challenge from electronic and electromechanical products. To counter this, pneumatic suppliers will need to integrate their equipment with electronics-based products, Frost suggests. Another strategy would be for new entrants to focus on enhanced product customisation, while incumbents could target core pneumatic products that offer significant value addition to end-users.
 
“The future growth of the European pneumatic equipment market will be driven by greater product integration with electronics,” Balasubramanian predicts. “Improved energy efficiency, wider usage of green technology, greater environment friendliness and enhanced safety and control capabilities, will also be critical to sustaining long-term market expansion.”




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