According to a new ARC Advisory Group study, the worldwide market for pressure transmitters is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent over the next five years.

The market was E1.3billion ($1.8billion) in 2006 and is forecasted to be over E1.7billion ($2.3billion) in 2011. This growth is driven by a stronger emphasis on plant asset management (PAM) and safety applications.

A booming automation market and robust capital expenditures are fuelling the pressure transmitter market, which has seen strong growth in recent years.

Looking ahead, the market will continue to grow at higher-than-average rates, thanks to the continued emphasis on PAM and smart instrumentation, and an expected upswing in the adoption of wireless transmitters.

Analyst Allen Avery, the principal author of ARC’s Pressure Transmitter Worldwide Outlook, comments: “Much of the installed base of pressure transmitters needs to be upgraded to leverage PAM applications, representing a huge opportunity for suppliers to replace existing conventional transmitters with smart units.”

With a variety of suppliers from which to choose, and advanced features such as plant asset management that give manufacturers a window into the health of their equipment and processes, users are applying pressure transmitters more extensively in their plants.

Recent industrial accidents in the oil and gas sector have brought safety to the forefront for the process industries, and have highlighted the need for better process measurements. This is driving the increasing adoption of reliable SIL-rated transmitters for safety instrumented systems.

While still in its early stages, the adoption of wireless field devices will dramatically affect the dynamics of the market for pressure transmitters and other field devices.

Wireless technology allows users to connect field devices economically and take process measurements that would not have been feasible before due to the cost of wiring. The recent release of the wireless Hart standard is described as a watershed moment for the adoption of wireless field devices, and will have a significant impact on the pressure transmitter market in the years to come.

Regionally, suppliers can expect to see the largest growth in the Middle East, due to its high concentration of oil and gas activities, and in Asia, where heavy investment in new plant construction continues in core sectors such as chemical and petrochemical, oil and gas, power, and steel production, where pressure transmitters are used extensively.

However, in the mature Western European and North American markets, suppliers will largely rely on replacement business.

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