End users’ asset management focus drives growth in temperature transmitter market

Recovering from the economic downswing, process industries got back on track and temperature transmitter shipments saw positive growth in 2011, according to a new study from ARC Advisory Group.

This recovery in the temperature transmitter market was mainly due to an increase in orders from growing industries such as oil & gas, chemical, and electric power.  The continued emphasis on Plant Asset Management (PAM) and Fieldbus technology also proved to be a strong growth enabler for smart temperature transmitters, according to the market research study, “Temperature Transmitter Worldwide Outlook.”
Manufacturers have begun to realize the cost saving benefits of implementing HART and digital protocol standards to enable PAM solutions, particularly in the maintenance and operation phase of the asset’s lifecycle. Growth and spending for plant asset management systems continue to outpace that of the automation industry in general as end users seek to reduce maintenance costs and increase production availability using tools, such as predictive diagnostics and software-based configuration solutions.
Among many other benefits, smart temperature transmitters offer diagnostic capabilities that help end users strengthen their PAM initiative, and save precious time and money. This asset management focus of users is fueling demand for smart transmitters. The wealth of information provided by temperature measurement technology cannot only reveal the health of a company’s plant assets for PAM purposes, but can also help users diagnose their processes.
The global economic slowdown that started with the subprime mortgage crisis in the US has left Europe struggling with the sovereign debt crisis.  No part of the world was left unaffected by the financial crisis, but European countries are among the hardest hit by the crisis.  The year 2011 saw many of the European countries struggling with the debt crisis.

When most parts of the world are struggling with weak economic recovery, business opportunities are maximum in the global regions that are experiencing the highest industrial and infrastructure growth, such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), MIST (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey), and MENA (Middle East, North Africa) countries. The BRIC and MIST countries are among the 20 countries with the highest GDPs and are expected to grow significantly faster than the developed countries. These growth regions continue to draw investment from around the world and are witnessing significant industrial expansion and improvement in manufacturing operations.   

On the path of rapid industrialization, Latin America and Asia have huge demand for energy. In Brazil, the exploration of pre-salt oil fields has spurred huge development projects in the region. The depth of these oil fields presents a huge technological challenge and current investment in pre-salt exploration is only a small fraction of the overall investment required. The whole project is estimated to require around trillion dollars of investment.  China, the second largest consumer of oil in the world, is now trying to decrease its dependence on imported oil. To achieve this, the country is focusing on domestic exploration and production activities.