Electric drives market proves to be dynamic

The electric drives market is one of the most dynamic sectors in the motor and motion control industry. The positive advances seen in the last year are likely to continue, says this report.

The electric drives market is one of the most dynamic sectors in the motor and motion control industry.

Rising user demand, widening applications, and continued product development combined with intensifying competition, and strong price and service pressures energised the electric drives market in 2001.

The positive advances seen in the last year are likely to continue, according to Frost and Sullivan's motors and drives research team (http://motors.frost.com).

The European Electric Drives Market Service was launched in early 2001 to provide regular, comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the fast-growing electric drives field.

This subscription service continuously monitored the major trends, developments, and issues in the European electric drives market over a twelve-month duration.

A total of seven reports, over the course of the year, provided detailed forecasts by product type, power rating, geographic region, and applications/end-user sectors.

The final deliverable covered Market Engineering Awards and Strategy.

The concerted rise in demand for alternating current (AC) drive solutions continued throughout 2001, with significant growth in demand recorded for AC drives at low-power ratings.

However, the demand for direct current (DC) technology continued to slow over 2001 as it became increasingly niche-focused.

The market continued to be driven by wider user acceptance, with a continued boost from the further fall in the price of AC technology which expanded the use of drives across the industrial base as a whole.

Deepening of penetration into target applications was identified as an associated challenge for the future.

Research Manager Mik Sabiers comments: "There is still considerable scope for drives technology to be more widely utilised.

Manufacturers need to build greater penetration across a series of applications to ensure that the market potential can be realised." Ongoing technological innovation was seen as supporting the rise in penetration of drives across the industrial base.

Continued improvements in control, reliability, and efficiency at increasingly competitive prices were identified as critical to meeting increasingly specialised user requirements.

This year is expected to bring further challenges for industry participants, and all manufacturers will need to work closely with their established customer base as well as look to enhance and build share in other areas.

In 2002, Frost and Sullivan will provide detailed information to support manufacturers in building share in key areas by presenting comprehensive data on user trends and demands.

As Sabiers observes, "In the increasingly competitive market, one of the main methods of enhancing sales and market share is to develop strategies more closely aligned with specific user groups.

The days of just selling a standard drive off the shelf are gradually nearing an end, and manufacturers will need to develop a more comprehensive product programme to meet the differing demands of the wider user base." In 2002, Frost and Sullivan's Electric Drives Market Service will shift focus to providing detailed information on key industry issues as well as on what users really think.

Overall, comprehensive end-user surveys looking into the main factors and reasons influencing the acceptance, purchase and use of drives will be bolstered by selected deliverables looking at critical industry concerns.

The service will provide a complete picture of what customers expect, as well as analyse current and future investment plans and decision-making criteria.

Key deliverables will include analyses of issues in the leading user sectors, presenting essential information related to demand, expectations, and overall requirements.

Major issues to be discussed include the impact of the Euro, Internet strategies, as well as significant technology trends.

In addition, at the end of 2002, detailed and updated market forecasts highlighting major market trends will be provided for the total European drives market by product, region, and power rating.

In times when market pressures are rising and all manufacturers need to be aware of changing user demands, the 2002 Electric Drives Market Service provides information about the key elements that manufacturers need to understand to enhance market penetration and sustain demand and revenue growth.

"2002 holds promise for all manufacturers.

Provided they pursue effective strategies to heighten their standing and user interest in the technology, all suppliers have the opportunity for another year of positive and strong growth," states Sabiers.

The 2002 European Electric Drives Market Service commenced in January with a comprehensive overview of major trends and issues that dominated the European electric drives market last year.

Highlights show that in a fiercely competitive market, customer service presented an area of increasing importance.

The provision of prompt, effective service and strong technical support was viewed as imperative to strengthening or, at the very least, sustaining the manufacturer's position.

In addition, a good level of investment in R and D with special emphasis on product differentiation and product-line enhancement was acknowledged as being essential to the future success of manufacturers.

In terms of technology, the dominance of the AC sector in the overall drives market is projected to persist in 2002.

"More competitive prices, more advanced technology, as well as a focus on improving plant efficiency and performance can all be expected to support the advance of the AC drives market," says Sabiers.

Based on these prevalent trends, Frost and Sullivan's European Electric Drives Market Service anticipates continued demand and revenue growth in 2002.

The nine deliverables of the European Electric Drives Market Service in 2002 are: the Annual Summary (January), Servo Drives Market Analysis (February), Impact of the Euro (March), End-user Survey Handling (April), End-user Survey HVAC (May), End-user Survey Food and Beverage (July), Internet Strategies (September), Technology Trends (October), and Market Forecasts (December).

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