Stringency Of Environmental Legislation And Increasing Waste Arisings Provide Boost For Beleaguered Solid/Liquid Separation Equipment Market

The solid/liquid separation equipment market, albeit beset with difficulties at present, is expected to exhibit long-term growth enabling suppliers to grasp new business opportunities. The main hurdle that must be cleared before market growth can truly advance is the intensifying level of maturity of a number of end-user sectors.

A new study by Frost & Sullivan, the international marketing consulting company, warns that the subsequent tightening of competition will not disappear overnight and those vying for heightened kudos need to re-assess their aims in what is an increasingly challenging market to serve.

Thanks mainly to legislative actions of the European Union (EU), the importance attached to environmental protection and awareness is being increasingly recognised across Western European nations. The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, one of the main pillars of the existing EU legislation on waste water, is in the process of being incorporated into national law in all member states and is necessitating investment at both municipal and industrial level in appropriate technology, including solid-liquid separation units.

The growing use of separation technology, coupled with robust industrial growth in some parts of Europe, is predicted to boost the level of waste volumes generated from industrial and process operations. This trend will result in a rising need for new and replacement separation technology to deal with these increased arisings.

Innovation is the juicy carrot increasingly enticing manufacturers to strengthen their foothold in the European solid/liquid separation equipment market. Many end-users are seeking improved levels of separation at a lower cost, with a substantial number specifying individual requirements for new designs. This, in turn, is stimulating interest in sectors such as centrifuges and the cartridge filters.

As neither prices nor margins are likely to be raised in the near future, suppliers are recommended to carve themselves a slice of the most profitable end-user markets. Service issues, in particular, are expected to gain in significance, potentially adding value to the market. The same is true of the growing trend of forging strategic partnerships, expected to redefine the relationship between supplier and customer.

Suppliers seeking to cement their presence in the solid/liquid separation equipment industry must reposition themselves to adapt to changes in end-user needs and effectively tackle competitive challenges. While the dominant multinationals are tightening their grip on the market, the outlook for smaller manufacturers expressing willingness to meet niche market demands and remain competitive on price continue to look promising.

Pall, the dominant force in the cartridge segment, is the overall leader in the European solid/liquid separation market, followed by Alfa Laval Separation and Baker Process.

The market is partially characterised by stiffening price competition, a growing number of potential suppliers as well as cost reduction and quality improvement measures. The problem of oversupply and price competition within many European markets has been compounded by the growing saturation of a number of end-user sectors.

The Western European solid-liquid separation market amassed revenues worth $1.63 billion in 2000. Demand for new and replacement equipment is expected to maintain growth rates in the short- and medium-term. The impressive range of applications solid/liquid separation equipment is being employed in is forecast to overcome the problem of competitive pricing in many market sectors, producing a Western European market valued at $2.13 billion in 2007.

End-user markets are seeing increased use for separation equipment, particularly to meet rising environmental and processing needs. The substantial number of new end-users homing in on the market usher in new opportunities and increasing demands on manufacturers. The largest end-user sector by far is the municipal/industrial water and waste water treatment market.

Suppliers have reacted to such demands in various ways which have focused, in many respects, on a need for lower prices, higher levels of quality, bespoke equipment for some specialist end-users as well as heightened importance attached to customer service. Environmental investment will ultimately fall back, although process investment is expected to remain buoyant in many markets with an improvement in prices assisting sales.

Pressure filters are forecast to remain as the largest sector of the market, despite some price pressure in the cartridge/strainer segment of the market. Centrifuges are expected to continue flourishing in second position, soaring on the back of the growing number of applications switching to the use of this technology.

Sedimentation equipment will retain is third position in terms of revenue sales benefiting in the short-term from environmental expenditure in Southern Europe in particular. Vacuum filters will see further erosion in their share of sales, despite a number of niche markets continuing to provide robust opportunities.

Frost & Sullivan's Analysis Of The European Solid/Liquid Separation Equipment Market

Report Code: 3962, Publication Date: November 2001

For further press information, please contact
Frost & Sullivan's Public Relations Department
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7343 8376 or Fax. +44 (0) 20 7343 8380
(kristina.menzefricke@fs-europe.com)



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