Automated Valve Sales Continue to Rise

Stakeholders in the automated valve industry should be delighted by the recent upward trend that the industry is experiencing. Following a sales slump that began in 2007-2008, Flow Control reports automated valve sales growth to continue well into the future. Studies by The Freedonia Group, Inc. predict a global demand into 2015. The Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA) anticipates a 3% increase in shipments during 2013. And, Valve Magazine.com sees total shipments of nearly $4.3 billion.

This figure exceeds that which was observed in the 10 year peak recorded previously in the industry in 2008. It also marks the 4^thconsecutive year of growth for the industry after the recession. William Sandler, the VMA president expressed optimism concerning the outlook on the valve industry stating that it was a good sign for the economy in general in his official announcement. The VMA members expressed equal excitement as well, a poll carried out among them showing that they expected 2013 to be a better year than 2012 (which performed much better than predicted) or in the very least to be equal to it.

This growth is not being experienced in the USA alone. According to a new study, world industry valves that was carried out by the Freedonia Group Inc., demand for industrial valves worldwide is projected to increase by 5.4% every year until 2015 when the sales are predicted to be at $93.5 billion. These gains according to the study will be driven by the robust growth that is continuing in the Asia and Pacific regions as well as the strong recovery taking place in the Western Europe and USA markets.

Only slight changes were revealed by the VMA forecast in most of the 15 industries that make up the end users for these valves. The power generation industry was predicted to have the largest increase in valve shipments rising by 1.0 percentage points, with the other industries recording smaller growths of 0.1 or 0.2 percentage points. The wastewater and water industries were however predicted to record a decline of 0.6 percentage points in their valve shipments, with 7 other industries predicted to have smaller declines.

Automated valves have accounted for most of the sales out of the 11 valve categories that have been tracked since 2003. In 2012 they accounted for nearly $1.3 billion in shipments and the automated valve sales projections for 2013 show the case will be no different.

The move to automate processes has led to increased demand for automated valves with end users opting to invest in capital equipment and new technology after the recession. Manufacturers of automated valves are aware of this fact and are continuously striving to improve the operational efficiencies of these valves, including advanced features such as diagnostic capabilities and digital communication in their design.