Market for low-voltage motor drives grows

Paul Boughton

According to IMS Research, the worldwide market low-voltage motor drives continues to surpass expectations; early indicators suggest the market had another excellent year in 2007, as it continued the recent trend of double-digit growth and, in some regions, even surpassed the growth seen in 2006.

While the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region experienced similar growth in 2007 as it did the previous year, increasing by about 15 per cent over the 2006 levels, the markets in the Americas and Asia Pacific grew faster in 2007 than they did the year before.

The market for motor drives in the Americas seemed unfazed by the recent economic woes, and surged ahead by increasing more than 15 per cent over 2006 levels.

A continued focus on energy conservation due to record high energy costs, combined with an emphasis by major American companies to cut operational costs, has made motor drives the 'darlings of the boardroom'.

Alex Chausovsky, an IMS Research motor drives analyst, comments: “Motor drives continue to provide decision makers with an effective way to manage their long-term energy costs, as well as significantly bringing down the total cost of ownership for a majority of the motors used by industry.”

The Asia Pacific drives market performed even better in 2007 than its European and American counterparts, growing by more than 25 per cent over 2006 levels. India and China continue to exhibit strong demand for raw materials such as metals and chemicals, and the increasing spending power of their populations is driving the demand for construction and processed foods and beverages, all of which are industry segments that rely heavily on motor drives.

In addition, as the region's economies continue to expand, there is a greater need to manage their limited energy resources, so motor drives will continue to be utilised to a great extent.

IMS Research

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