Industrial Electronic Temperature Controllers report covers the market for electronic analog, microprocessor-based single-loop, microprocessorbased multi-loop, and hybrid temperature controllers, and was designed to serve as a marketing tool for companies that currently manufacture these products, or for companies who are considering entering the business. The study provides insights, trends, and data on the 2008 global market through 2013. Forecasts are given for units, and dollar volumes (in U.S dollars), and average selling prices (in U.S. dollars) for each of the classes of temperature controllers.

Research Highlights and Questions Addressed by This Report

• The 2008 worldwide market for industrial electronic temperature controllers totaled $US 847 million and is forecast to decline at a 0.7% per year rate through 2013.
  
  
• Average selling prices are forecast to decline for all the product categories, and overall unit shipments are forecast to increase at a 1.6% CAGR.
  
  
• The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest 2008 market share followed by EMEA and then the Americas.
  
  
• The EMEA and Americas markets are forecast to decline over the next five years.
  
  
• The Asia-Pacific market is forecast to grow through 2013.
  
  
• Microprocessor-based single-loop (MP-SL) controllers accounted for a high majority of the 2008 market, microprocessor-based multi-loop (MP-ML) controllers accounted for most of the rest, with small shares for hybrid and analog types.
  
  
• The trend is from manual control, to temperature controllers, and onto control loop implementations in higher level multi-functional machine and process controllers using PLCs, PCs, and DCSs.
  
  
• Analog types are displaced by more flexible microprocessor based types, and these (particularly MP-ML types) are being displaced by PLCs, PCs, and DCSs.
  
  
  
• Hybrid controllers, introduced to counter the PLC, PC, and DCS threat have gained a small market share, but shipments of these are now forecast to also slowly decline.
  
  
• Suppliers need to focus on most important product features such as connectivity
  
  
• Sales should be executed using most effective channels (direct vs. partners)
  
  
• Marketing efforts should be targeted for maximum impact

Report Scope

Product Types

• Analog
  
  
• Microprocessor-based Single-Loop
  
  
• Microprocessor-based Multi-Loop
  
  
• Hybrid

Regional Markets

• Americas
  
  
• EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)
  
  
• Asia-Pacific

Major Applications

• Semiconductor Processing Equipment
  
  
• Chemical Industry Process Equipment
  
  
• Food/Beverage Processing Equipment
  
  
• Plastics Extrusion Equipment
  
  
• “Hot Runner” Plastics Injection Molding
  
  
• Environmental Chambers
  
  
• Laboratory Equipment.
  
  
• Others

Report Objectives

A decision support tool for managers developing ITC products, markets and channels

• To provide industry participants with detailed data on the industrial electronic temperature
  controller industry including market sizes by technology, application and industry
  
  
• To provide vendor market shares by product, types, packaging style, and major geographic
  regions
  
  
• To forecast the market and technology trends
  
  
• To provide strategic recommendations that will enable industry participants to compete
  successfully in their targeted product, region and market segments

ITC Market Estimate and Forecast

Total ITC revenue is expected to decline, despite marginal growth in unit shipments

• The global market for the industrial electronic temperature controllers under study is forecast to decline at a 0.7% per year rate through 2013.
  
  
• Average selling prices are forecast to decline for all the product categories, and overall unit shipments are forecast to increase at a 1.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
  
  
• The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest 2008 market share followed by EMEA and then the Americas .
  
  
• The EMEA and Americas markets are forecast to decline over the next five years.
  
  
• The Asia-Pacific market is forecast to grow through 2013.

Technical Issues, Forces and Trends

MP-SL products dominate market in which prices are falling

• Microprocessor-based single-loop (MP-SL) controllers accounted for a high majority of the 2008 market, microprocessor-based multi-loop (MP-ML) controllers accounted for most of the rest, with small shares for hybrid and analog types.
  
  
• Analog controllers are forecast to have the sharpest shipment decline, followed by MP-ML, with much smaller declines for the hybrid and MP-SL controllers.
  
  
• Unit shipment increases are expected for each product type except analog.
  
  
• The trend is from manual control, to temperature controllers, and onto control loop implementations in higher-level multi-functional machine and process controllers using PLCs, PCs, and DCSs.
  
  
• Analog types are being displaced by more flexible microprocessor based types, and these (particularly MP-ML types) are being displaced by PLCs, PCs, and DCSs.
  
  
• Hybrid controllers, introduced to counter the PLC, PC, and DCS threat have gained a small market share, but shipments of these are now forecast to also slowly decline.
  
  
• Average selling prices are expected to decline with the sharpest declines forecast for MP-SL and MP-ML types.

Market Issues, Forces and Trends

Implementation trends to alternative use of DCSs, PCs, and PLCs

• Users in our survey (end users, OEMs, systems integrators, etc.) expect a share decline in new implementations of industrial temperature control loops in temperature controllers of over 8% five years from now.
  
  
• The largest gain is expected to be in a shift to control loop implementations in personal computers, followed by those in PLCs and DCSs.
  
  
• The largest temperature controller share declines among end users are expected for the electric utility, oil & gas, and military/aerospace industries.
  
  
• No share loss is expected for those in the automotive industry, with small share declines expected for the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.
  
  
• The largest temperature controller share declines by applications are expected for pharmaceutical industry processing equipment, semiconductor industry processing equipment, ovens, plastic blow molding equipment, and plastic extrusion equipment.

User Requirements and Preferences

Product selection criteria and problems of users

• Reliability and accuracy are among the top selection criteria cited for each product type.
  
  
• Other top criteria include ease of operation, PID control, quality and input/output capability.
  
  
• Being difficult to configure/program/setup, hard to use and manage, and reliability were among the most cited problems for each of the controller types.
  
  
• Other problems among those most cited for some of the product types were:
  
  
• Diagnosing malfunctions of controllers
  
  
• Durability
  
  
• Accuracy
  
  
• Control loop tuning, and
  
  
• Being difficult to install/wire/connect.

Connectivity Trends

Migration To Ethernet, Other Industrial Buses/Networks and Wireless

• Among users in our survey, significant shares of the purchased MP-SL, MP-ML and hybrid controllers have communication bus/network connectivity. These shares are expected to increase further over the next five years.
  
  
• The largest shares of users indicated network connectivity of these products over Ethernet, with these shares expected to grow.
  
  
• Significant shares of users also indicated purchasing products with connectivity via other popular industrial buses/networks such as DeviceNet, Foundation Fieldbus, Modbus and Profibus.
  
  
• Among the users in our survey, wireless connectivity of temperature controllers is expected to grow over the next five years. The most popular networks are expected to be Bluetooth, WIFI IEEE 802.11g, n, and Zigbee.

Competition

The supplier community is fragmented with many companies serving as share leaders

• Analog Temperature Controllers
  
  
• Omron Industrial Automation
  
  
• Han Young Electronic
  
  
• Athena Controls
  
• MP-SL Temperature Controllers
  
  
• Omron Industrial Automation
  
  
• Yamatake
  
  
• West Control Solutions
  
• MP-ML Temperature Controllers
  
  
• Eurotherm
  
  
• RKC Instruments
  
  
• D-M-E
  
• Hybrid Temperature Controllers
  
  
• Omron Industrial Automation

Strategies and Recommendations

This study provides the recommendations on how vendors can enhance their competitive positions in the industrial electronic temperature controller markets.

These cover:

• Product Types
  
  
• Product Features
  
  
• Geographic Markets to Target
  
  
• Consuming Applications/Industries to Target
  
  
• Channels of Distribution
  
  
• Promotion
  
  
• Other Success Factors
  
  
• Watlow Electric