Control Engineering’s Buyers Guide 2004 Purchasing Study

To gain a better understanding of industry buying power, Control Engineering and Reed Research Group surveyed Control Engineering subscribers about purchases across 26 product categories to determine numbers of units purchased in the past 12 months as well as how much was spent on those purchases.

By Staff August 15, 2004

To gain a better understanding of industry buying power, Control Engineering and Reed Research Group surveyed Control Engineering subscribers about purchases across 26 product categories to determine numbers of units purchased in the past 12 months as well as how much was spent on those purchases. The full survey, available at Control Engineering ‘s Resource Center, / , also shows average cost per unit and most preferred vendors.

Leading categories of “products purchased” are sensors and/or transmitters (flow, level, temperature, pressure, etc.), programmable logic controllers (PLC) hardware and software, switches (flow, level, temperature, pressure, etc.), I/O products and systems, and ac motors (including brushless).

The survey, conducted in late January 2004, received more than 750 responses from subscribers—56% percent manage as many as 20 employees—with the following job function breakdown:

Control and/or instrument engineering: 19%;

Systems design engineering including applied R&D: 13%;

Other engineering, including product, software, plant, electrical and/ or electronic: 12%;

Systems integrators and/or consultants: 12%;

General or corporate management: 10%;

Operations and/or maintenance: 10%;

Product design engineering including applied R&D: 9%;

Production engineering, process or manufacturing: 9%;

Evaluation, quality control, standards, reliability, test engineering: 4%; and

Basic research: 1%

The following tables illustrate purchasing levels across the 26 product categories surveyed as well as details on specific categories: sensors and/or transmitters (flow, level, temperature, pressure, etc.); programmable logic controllers hardware and software; switches (flow, level, temperature, pressure, etc.); I/O products and systems; AC motors (including brushless); control valves (throttling valves), actuators, and related accessories; and PC-based control software.

Products purchased

Switches (flow, level, temperature, pressure, etc.)
37%

I/ O products & systems
36%

AC motors (including brushless)
33%

Control valves (throttling valves), actuators, and related accessories
33%

Photoelectric & proximity sensors
31%

Adjustable speed (variable frequency) drives (ac, dc)
31%

PC-based control software
28%

HMI/ SCADA software & operator interface hardware (including PCs)
27%

Motion controller and/ or positioner hardware & software, including feedback devices (encoders, resolvers, tachometers, torque sensors, etc.)
26%

Electromechanical motor starters
23%

Data acquisition (DAQ) equipment hardware & software, including remote terminal units (RTUs)
23%

Distributed and/or hybrid control systems (hardware & software)
23%

Single & multi-loop controllers (including stand-alone)
23%

Servo motors (ac, dc, brushless)
22%

Block (on/ off) valve, actuators, and related accessories
21%

DC motors
18%

Solid-state motor starters
17%

Power elements for motor control (power modules, power switching devices, etc.)
16%

Process analyzers (pH, CO 2 , chromatography, CO, etc.)
16%

Paper and/ or paperless recorders
14%

Step motors & related controls
12%

Vision system software & hardware components
11%

Advanced optimization software & related computing hardware
10%

Robotic system hardware, software, and related devices
8%

None of the above
29%

Sensors and/or transmitters

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

ABB
$339,250
101
9
7%
11.2

Ametek
$23,800
59
6
4%
9.8

Anderson
$22,150
68
4
3%
17.0

Ashcroft
$63,950
94
10
7%
9.4

Druck
$4,100
6
2
1%
3.0

Emerson Process Management
$1,401,500
858
30
22%
28.6

Endress+Hauser
$161,000
88
14
10%
6.3

Flowline
$6,140
12
3
2%
4.0

Honeywell
$183,925
225
18
13%
12.5

ifm efector
$75,567
513
17
13%
30.2

Invensys Production Management
$97,300
80
7
5%
11.4

Johnson Controls
$4,700
16
6
4%
2.7

K-Tek
$30,500
20
5
4%
4.0

Magnetrol
$4,900
4
4
3%
1.0

Masoneilan
$9,000
10
1
1%
10.0

Milltronics (Siemens)
$19,250
17
7
5%
2.4

Omega Engineering
$39,550
163
22
16%
7.4

Sensotec
$3,300
7
2
1%
3.5

Siemens/Moore
$6,650
13
3
2%
4.3

Wika Instrument
$5,000
20
1
1%
20.0

Yokogawa
$142,500
43
6
4%
7.2

Other
$257,737
2577
35
26%
73.6

Programmable logic controllers (PLC) hardware & software

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

AutomationDirect
$30,450
31
12
12%
2.6

Baldor Electric
$6,500
2
1
1%
2.0

Emerson Process Management
$62,000
11
2
2%
5.5

GE Fanuc
$646,900
134
13
13%
10.3

Mitsubishi Electric
$19,140
7
4
4%
1.8

Moeller
$18,000
11
2
2%
5.5

Omron Electronics
$64,100
10
3
3%
3.3

Opto 22
$1,500
5
1
1%
5.0

Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
$4,115,276
761
78
75%
9.8

Schneider Electric
$430,800
122
13
13%
9.4

Siemens
$810,000
99
11
11%
9.0

Other
$207,100
138
6
6%
23.0

Switches (flow, level, temperature, pressure, etc.)

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

Acromag
$24,500
16
2
3%
8.0

Ametek
$23,000
30
2
3%
15.0

AutomationDirect
$2,500
21
4
5%
5.3

Banner Engineering
$109,100
2026
6
8%
337.7

Bindicator
$3,050
5
3
4%
1.7

CCS Dual Snap(Custom Control Sensors)
$700
1
1
1%
1.0

Eaton Electrical/ Cutler-Hammer
$3,600
10
2
3%
5.0

Drexelbrook
$13,700
24
3
4%
8.0

Dwyer Instruments
$27,500
199
13
17%
15.3

Emerson Process Management
$8,000
58
3
4%
19.3

Endress+Hauser
$8,900
13
3
4%
4.3

Flow-Tek
$675
6
1
1%
6.0

Fluid Components International
$15,450
14
4
5%
3.5

Gems
$4,000
6
2
3%
3.0

Honeywell
$7,600
48
5
7%
9.6

ifm efector
$7,950
17
5
7%
3.4

Invensys Production Management
$300
2
1
1%
2.0

Magnetrol
$11,000
15
4
5%
3.8

McDonnell & Miller
$300
2
1
1%
2.0

Micro Switch (Honeywell)
$4,895
59
5
7%
11.8

Moeller
$200
2
1
1%
2.0

Omega Engineering
$17,300
91
10
13%
9.1

Pepperl+Fuchs
$1,000
2
1
1%
2.0

Rockwell Automation/ Allen-Bradley
$27,200
217
8
11%
27.1

Schneider Electric
$7,690
57
4
5%
14.3

Siemens
$6,800
6
2
3%
3.0

Sor
$5,700
10
3
4%
3.3

Turck
$16,000
146
4
5%
36.5

United Electric
$27,300
101
6
8%
16.8

Westlock
$8,700
35
2
3%
17.5

Other
$44,275
236
11
15%
21.5

Control valves (throttling valves), actuators, and related accessories

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

Dezurik
$33,500
58
3
4%
19.3

Durco (Flowserve)
$20,000
20
1
1%
20.0

Emerson Process Management
$3,605,100
1500
27
38%
55.6

Fluid Tech
$2,000
1
1
1%
1.0

Honeywell
$344,000
460
12
17%
38.3

Jamesbury (part of Metso Automation)
$1,100,000
343
7
10%
49.0

Masoneilan
$205,450
43
4
6%
10.8

Samson
$15,000
10
1
1%
10.0

Tri-Clover (Alfa Laval)
$13,500
10
4
6%
2.5

Tyco
$160,000
70
3
4%
23.3

Valtek
$558,000
24
8
11%
28.0

Other
$10,617,590
5250
22
31%
238.6

I/O products & systems

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

ABB
$11,200
21
2
3%
10.5

AutomationDirect
$5,250
14
6
8%
2.3

Bosch Rexroth
$5,000
1
1
1%
1.0

GE Fanuc
$160,800
375
9
12%
41.7

Honeywell
$37,000
34
1
1%
34.0

Invensys Production Management
$10,000
5
1
1%
5.0

Mitsubishi Electric
$500
1
1
1%
1.0

National Instruments
$49,200
26
12
16%
2.2

Omron Electronics
$11,000
16
5
6%
3.2

Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
$674,350
1055
38
49%
27.8

Schneider Electric
$925,800
1105
12
16%
92.1

Siemens
$8,475
14
4
5%
3.5

Other
$120,900
161
8
10%
20.1

AC motors (including brushless)

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

AO Smith
$1,200
3
1
1%
3.0

Baldor Electric
$257,095
536
39
57%
13.7

Bosch Rexroth
$3,000
3
1
1%
3.0

Danaher Motion
$600
5
1
1%
5.0

Grainger
$19,745
58
12
18%
4.8

Leeson Electric
$41,600
125
7
10%
17.9

Lincoln Electric
$4,500
7
3
4%
2.3

Marathon Electric
$11,150
14
5
7%
2.8

Nord
$1,000
1
1
1%
1.0

Oriental Motor
$20,000
71
3
4%
23.7

Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
$251,500
183
14
21%
13.1

Siemens
$102,300
56
3
4%
18.7

Sumitomo
$13,600
16
2
3%
8.0

TECO-Westinghouse
$42,600
34
5
7%
6.8

Toshiba
$700
1
1
1%
1.0

Emerson Motor Technologies/US Motors
$1,800
3
2
3%
1.5

Other
$644,400
1118
12
18%
93.2

PC-based control software

Total Dollars
Total Units
Respondents
% of Total Respondents
Avg. units per resp.

Eaton Electrical/Cutler-Hammer
$1,400
2
1
2%
2.0

Emerson Process Management
$105,000
21
2
3%
10.5

Entivity
$3,000
1
1
2%
1.0

GE Fanuc
$128,600
21
6
10%
3.5

Honeywell
$41,000
4
2
3%
2.0

Iconics
$9,000
2
2
3%
1.0

Invensys Production Management
$2,275,500
260
6
10%
43.3

National Instruments
$68,650
20
15
26%
1.3

Phoenix Contact
$800
1
1
2%
1.0

Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
$319,800
48
16
28%
3.0

Schneider Electric
$750,000
1000
1
2%
1000.0

Siemens
$320,500
24
4
7%
6.0

Other
$190,895
40
8
14%
5.0