Greentech Lead America: Water and wastewater analytical instrumentation market in the U.S. earned revenue of $275.3 million in 2012 and estimates this to reach $330.7 million in 2018, says a new report from Frost & Sullivan.
Falling prices and the increasing value for instruments will likely be a driver through the forecast period. The analysis covers pH/oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), conductivity, turbidity, and total organic carbon (TOC) instrumentation.
The established U.S. water and wastewater analytical instrumentation market has high saturation levels along with very few recent technological innovations. Nonetheless, slow and steady growth is anticipated, driven mainly by federal and state level regulations.
Continuous analytical instruments will increasingly replace laboratory instruments due to their reliability.
Larger, municipal end-users are finding their budgets cut each year. On the other hand, many customers cannot afford to employ staff that is sufficiently well trained in the use and maintenance of complex instruments. Automated, continuous analytical instruments are simple to use and help reduce long-term costs, the report said.
Several industries use analytical instruments to maximize efficiency and reduce costs through process control, with many larger plants investing in these instruments to reduce labor costs. By using these tools, industries can constantly monitor their processes, detect errors, and make changes immediately.
There is little new industrial growth in the United States, but plants that must modernize and become more efficient often invest in online instruments.
In recent years, there has been a push for replacement of lab instruments with portable and online instruments. Laboratory instruments have become far less attractive in any market, where portable and online instruments provide easy-to-use touch-screen controls to a non-technical workforce.”
The demand is expected to increase for multi-parameter instruments. Since end-users in this market typically prefer purchasing products from a single manufacturer, large companies will consolidate and increase their customer base by acquiring specialized companies.