Emerging Apps Promise Growth in Mechanical Test Equipment Market

July 19th, 2006

Expanding end-user application opportunities seems to suggest a strong revival in the saturated mechanical test equipment market. The demand for this equipment is no longer confined to traditional end-user industries such as automotive, aerospace, metals, plastics and ceramics but is rapidly growing in a wide range of new and relatively unexplored areas.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.testandmeasurement.frost.com ), World Mechanical Test Equipment Market, finds that these markets earned revenues of $627.4 million in 2005 and is likely to reach $811.7 million in 2012.

“Emerging end-use applications such as bio-medical engineering, biotechnology, semiconductors, micro-machining and medical devices offer promising opportunities and are expected to significantly enhance the growth potential of the mechanical test equipment market in future,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst S. Vidyasankar.

In medical laboratories, for instance, mechanical test equipment is used to assess the strength of artificial knee joints, while servohydraulic testing machines are extensively used to test micro-machined components for fatigue or endurance.

Exciting growth opportunities also exist in Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe due to increased industrial activity in these regions. Due to undeniable cost advantages offered by China, India, South Korea, Hungary, Poland and Romania, among others, these countries have become a preferred destination for relocation of manufacturing activities from the more developed markets of North America and Western Europe.

This trend has impacted the mechanical test equipment market by causing a paradigm shift in demand and creating new markets that hold considerable growth potential. As a result, test equipment vendors are now strongly focused on expanding their presence in these developing markets either by establishing branches or by building a dealership/distribution network.

However, the growing move toward nondestructive testing (NDT) poses a considerable challenge to equipment vendors. With NDT techniques gaining in acceptance and the availability of various kinds of simulation and analysis software in the market, mechanical or destructive testing runs the risk of being pushed into the background.

Nevertheless, the focus on quality control and the need to adhere to industry standards and specifications such as ASTM and ISO make it imperative to perform destructive testing, thereby ensuring its sustained demand. Moreover, the testing industry is largely a conservative one, and the chances of mechanical testing getting completely replaced by NDT techniques, despite their growing popularity, seem remote.

For more information, visit the Frost & Sullivan website.

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