Control valve market to reach nearly $3.4 billion by 2008

Dedham, MA— The worldwide control valve market is expected to grow at a more than 3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from nearly $2.9 billion in 2003 to nearly $3.4 billion by the end of 2008, according to a new study, “Control Valve Worldwide Outlook,” by ARC Advisory Group.

“Long-term business prospects for control valve suppliers look reasonably bright due to maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) business opportunities in developed regions and new projects’ business in developing countries,” says Dave Clayton, ARC’s senior analyst and the study’s author.

The study found that, from a regional perspective, most of the growth over the next five years will come from Asian countries, such as India and China, and that Russia is also a promising market. North America’s share in the worldwide control valve market is decreasing, and this trend will continue over the forecast period, as developing countries continue expanding their manufacturing bases. The Europe, Middle East, Africa region continues to remain relatively flat with some growth occurring in Eastern Europe and countries formerly part of the Soviet Union. Due to economic and political turmoil, Latin America will likely experience subdued growth during over the forecast period.

From an industry perspective, the study adds that infrastructure requirements for new energy sources are the key growth driver. Growing need for clean, cheap fuel to generate electricity to feed growing economic activities of developing countries is stoking demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG). These new energy sources are fuelling demand for storage, transportation, and distribution infrastructures, which require more control valve purchases.

Information management demand
In addition, the growing importance of plant asset management (PAM) is increasing demand for more process information. Asset management initiatives increase demand for data transparency to make informed decisions regarding maintenance, operational performance, and financial return on plant assets. Access to these data often requires industry and process knowledge, as well as information stored in intelligent digital positioners. To capitalize on growth opportunities in asset management, ARC adds that control valve suppliers must expand beyond their traditional product mentality and begin offering dynamic information management solutions.

The growing adoption of real-time process optimization (RPO) strategies is also compelling manufacturers to invest in information management solutions for valves. For years, poor control valve performance has hampered manufacturers’ ability to obtain tight loop control in critical control loops. As control valve assemblies increasingly incorporate information management solutions, correcting for control-valve stickiness/deadtime becomes easier, resulting in optimally tuned loops with far less error.

Intelligent valve assemblies are also being used in safety instrumented systems (SISs), which are gaining importance due to increasing regulations requiring secure operations in the process industries. For example, new safety standards require manufacturers to increase the frequency of safety valve testing, and so they’re turning to intelligent valve assemblies to regularly test safety valves automatically to confirm and document proper functionality. Intelligent valve assemblies give manufacturers a valve degradation analysis and a time and date stamp on all tests and reports, which is usually mandatory for complying with the regulations.

For more information on ARC’s study, visit www.arcweb.com/res/cvap .

Control Engineering Daily News Desk
Jim Montague, news editor
jmontague@reedbusiness.com

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