Focus on Energy Efficiency Drives Growth in the Western European Electric Drives Market

DUBLIN, Ireland--Research and Markets has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report: Western European Electric Drives Market Forecasts to their offering.

This research service titled Western European Electric Drives Market Forecasts provides forecasts for the total electric drives market in western Europe and a comprehensive analysis of the market by major end-user sectors, geographic region and product type. Further, it provides an analysis of key market drivers and restraints that are impacting electric drives manufacturers in this market.

High energy prices along with a growing awareness of the environmental impact of energy consumption are set to emerge as major drivers for the growth of the electric drives market in western Europe. In helping companies optimise their energy consumption, Governments in the Netherlands and Italy have, or are expected to, implement energy savings programmes, wherein companies are likely to receive financial incentives for reducing energy consumption. This is likely to heighten the focus on improving plant efficiency and performance, forcing European industries to review their energy policies as well as the use of energy-efficient devices. Considering that electric drives represent a key area of power usage and potential saving, this is anticipated to have a significant impact on the sales of electric drives in new as well as retrofit applications over the forecast period.

The food and beverages as well as the chemicals and pharmaceuticals end-user sectors are expected to show strong growth over the forecast period due to increased automation in processes and rising consumer preference for timesaving products. Also, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and construction sectors are expected to grow significantly over the forecast period due to investments in new residences and offices as well as in the modernisation of old building automation, notes the analyst of this research service. On the other hand, the pulp, paper and printing sector is likely to see a slight decrease in revenues owing to the closure of paper mills or their relocation to cheaper regions.

Spanish Electric Drives Market Set for Strong Growth

With respect to individual regional markets, the German electric drives market is expected to remain the largest in Western Europe throughout the forecast period. However, considering the relatively late industrialisation of the Spanish industrial sector as well as the ongoing modernisation initiatives and infrastructure investments to ensure compliance with European Union regulations, the Spanish electric drives market is expected to show the fastest growth between 2005 and 2012. Also, the markets for electric drives in Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Scandinavia are expected to show moderate growth over the forecast period, reflecting the high level of industrialisation and automation in these regions and the relocation of companies due to high production costs.

Overall, the western European market for electric drives is a mature one, particularly in the AC and DC standard electric drives field. Considering the increasing competition, limited possibility to significantly differentiate between electric drives and relocation of production plants to regions offering cost advantages, large manufacturers of electric drives will do well to focus on strengthening their position in the global markets, says the analyst. For smaller companies, growth opportunities lie primarily in specialising in higher-quality niche and premium products or in focusing on specific end-user sectors.