Steady growth in the European control valves market was derailed by the global economic recession, resulting in a significant decline in sales in 2009. Fears of a double-dip recession caused sales to slump in 2010 as well.

The market has experienced a sluggish recovery in 2011, powered by demand from the food and beverage and power generation sectors. Promisingly, however, projects that had been put on hold during the recession are back on track. These, together with newly initiated projects, are expected to drive growth.

An increased focus on reducing maintenance costs and tighter pro-environment regulations are the two factors poised to boost market prospects.

“There is heightened emphasis on incorporating a diagnostic tool within the control valve, which would eliminate the need for periodic services as well as downtime due to maintenance problems,” explains Frost & Sullivan Program Manager Ashwin Annareddy. “This would also result in a revamping of the basic design of control valves, leading to a significant increase in sales.”

Regulations regarding environmental pollution are poised to become tougher in the coming years. This will impact the design of control valves and boost the sales of valves that promote environmentally sustainable practices across various end-user industries.

Investments in the food and beverage as well as the power generation industries are also set to fuel the uptake of control valves. At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe are anticipated to emerge as the primary geographical markets.

“Manufacturers should develop broad product portfolios that would satisfy the requirements of these end-user and geographical segments,” advises Annareddy. “This strategy would enable them to broaden their market reach as well as increase their penetration of these emerging geographical markets.”

A key challenge for European market participants has been pricing due to intensifying competition from Asian low-cost alternatives. This situation has been aggravated by budgetary limitations that have affected R&D initiatives.

“To assert their competitive dominance, European control valve manufacturers have to focus on developing innovative, high-quality yet cost-effective designs that meet end-user requirements,” advises Annareddy. “Value added services that would generate valuable income and enable companies to differentiate themselves from the competition would also be critical to long-term success.”

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.industrialautomation.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of Control Valves in the European Market, finds that the market earned revenues of €496.5 million in 2010 and estimates this to reach €676.3 million in 2017. Rotating shaft and sliding stem-type control valves are the product segments covered in the research.

Emerson Control Techniques launches the new Commander SK on YouTube with a video. It looks like an impressive line-up. And we appreciate the new media marketing strategy. (view here.)

ABB Automation & Power World 2011, held in Orlando, FL between April 18 and 21 exceeded projected event attendance expectations. ABB reports that the conference attracted a record number of participants, totaling more than 4,200 attendees. The 2011 event included more than over 500 hours of workshops, customer case histories, partner presentations, and hands-on training sessions, as well as the massive exhibit hall and unique demonstration areas.

Key market issues including the need to improve energy efficiency, optimize all aspects of manufacturing productivity and use of raw materials, and critical issues such as cybersecurity and process safety, have exponentially increased interest for automation and power customers.

These events highlight ABB’s expertise to address the a spectrum of the energy efficiency and industrial productivity issues, from power generation and distribution to use in production and automation, as well as process reliability, efficiency and safety.

ABB also announced the dates and venue for ABB Automation & Power World 2012. The event will return to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, on April 23-26, 2012.