The world market for control & processing equipment market is moving forward, says a new report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA).  The market’s value should be greater than $71.6 billion by 2010, says this GIA analysis.  Industrial regions, particularly the United States and Europe, are still leading consumers of these kinds of equipment.

The control & processing equipment industry, however, is making strides in developing markets such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The global economic slowdown had dampened demand for control & processing equipment in a majority of the markets in the recent past. However, that is likely to change in the coming years, especially driven by the growing industrialization and automation in emerging markets.

Growth in various regions, says the GIA report, varies with the extent of industrial automation and technological development. The process controls market is expected to witness major shifts, such as PC-based controls replacing conventional systems and micro systems displacing larger ones.  What’s more, there are several new products and technologies on the horizon in this industry.

Increasing global competition is forcing manufacturers to focus on aligning their production processes and minimize overall machine downtime. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), are capable of controlling diverse machines/processes, and reduce human intervention while increasing working hours of the machines. More and more companies are likely to implement such control systems as competitive pressure intensifies worldwide. In particular, micro and nano PLCs may witness remarkable growth as industries look for compact devices with comparable performance capabilities as larger systems.

Europe remains the largest Control & Processing Equipment market, with sales estimated at $20.5 billion in 2007. Control & Processing Equipment sales in Germany are projected to exceed $9.5 billion by 2010. Latin America and Asia-Pacific are projected to emerge as the fastest growing markets worldwide over the period 2000-2010, with sales projected to increase at compound annual rates of 3.8%.

The control systems market dominates the global market for control & processing equipment with sales estimated at US$19.9 billion in 2007. The sensors, transducers, and transmitters market, meanwhile, is likely to offer the highest growth potential, with a compound annual growth rate of about 4% over the period 2000-2010.

Key players listed in the report include ABB, Cegelec, Danaher Corp., Dresser, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, GE Infrastructure, GE Fanuc Automation, Honeywell Industrial Automation & Control Solutions, Invensys PLC, Metso Automation Oy, MKS Instruments Inc., National Instruments Corp., Omron Corp., Rockwell Automation Inc., Schneider Electric SA, Siemens Energy & Automation Inc., Spectris Plc, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Yokogawa Electric Corporation.

The Control & Processing Equipment: A Global Strategic Business Report is published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

For more details about this research report, go to http://www.strategyr.com/Control_And_Processing_Equipment_Market_Report.asp