ARC Sees China DCS Market to Experience Strong Growth Through 2010
Dedham, Massachusetts; March 27, 2006: 2005 was another year of 10 percent GDP growth for China. Increased consumer demand and foreign direct investment continue to propel the growth of China's manufacturing industry. The Distributed Control System (DCS) market in China is expected to grow at a Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of nearly 14 percent between 2005 and 2010. According to a new ARC Advisory Group study, Research Director Larry O'Brien (lobrien@ARCweb.com) and Senior Analyst S. R. Venkatapathy (venkat@arcweb.com), the authors of ARC's Distributed Control System China Outlook Study (www.arcweb.com/res/dcs-chi ), "The substantial growth in grassroots construction of plants in the traditional heavy process industries, such as power, refining, oil & gas, power, and petrochemicals, is driving significant growth in the market for distributed control systems. Explosive growth is also expected in industries that have not yet adopted more advanced forms of automation including pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, and water & wastewater."
Power Market Continues To Be Major Consumer of DCSs
China's need for power is driving the need for automation in that industry. Power generation is currently the largest consumer of DCSs in China, and this market is going to grow significantly through the next five years. China's power industry is divided between large-scale turnkey facilities serviced by total solution providers and smaller scale facilities. The adoption of advanced automation technologies in power generation, however, is limited when compared to other industries such as refining and petrochemical. Local Chinese suppliers are faring particularly well in this market as they are able to provide cost effective solutions that typically do not incorporate advanced automation functionality such as optimization, object-based systems, and sophisticated production management functions.
Refining Industry Struggles to Meet Increasing Demand
No industry embodies the growth trends in the Chinese process industries better than refining. China is currently the second largest oil consumer in the world and has big plans for expanding its refining capacity. Additions of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) are planned between 2006 and 2009. Unlike the power industry, refining projects typically incorporate the latest automation systems and technologies. This is due in part to China's desire to become a world-class industrial giant.
China Becomes Global Test Bed for Fieldbus Applications
Adoption of the latest technologies among Chinese refiners is evidenced in the increased implementation of fieldbus technology. China currently has the two largest fieldbus installations in the world, Shanghai SECCO and CSPC Nanhai. These plants employ advanced fieldbus applications, such as PID control at the field device level, Plant Asset Management (PAM) software, and integrated safety instrumented systems (SIS). Expectations are that other grassroots refining projects will also implement the most advanced technology available making the industry the world's biggest test bed of fieldbus technology.
For more information on this study, go to: www.arcweb.com/res/dcs-chi
About ARC: Founded in 1986, ARC Advisory Group has grown to become the Thought Leader in Manufacturing and Supply Chain solutions. No matter how complex your business issues, our analysts have the expert industry knowledge and first-hand experience to help you find the best answer. We focus on simple yet critical goals: improving your return on assets, operational performance, total cost of ownership, project time-to-benefit, and shareholder value. Further information can be obtained from ARC, Three Allied Drive, Dedham, MA 02026, 781-471-1000, Fax 781-471-1100, E-mail info@arcweb.com, Web www.arcweb.com.
CONTACT: MARYANNE FLYNN; press@arcweb.com
