Chemical manufacturers will spend $440 million in 2014 for centrifuges, clarifiers, hydrocyclones and dissolved air flotation systems. This is the most recent forecast in the continually updated, Sedimentation & Centrifugation World Markets, published by the McIlvaine Company.
Asia will edge out the other continents due to the major capital expenditures for plants manufacturing basic chemicals. The lower cost of energy is encouraging chemical industry growth in the U.S. The opposite effect is being felt in Europe.
Centrifuges will be the leading product type purchased. Decanter or scroll type centrifuges are used for dewatering of slurries. The disc type centrifuges are used for many process applications separating both solids from liquids and liquids from liquids. Both types of devices are complex machines requiring significant capital investment in manufacturing facilities. There is also considerable knowledge and experience needed to support the operators. As a result, there tends to be a few large international companies which achieve high market share.
The leaders in the industry are European companies such as Alfa Laval, GEA, Andritz, Pieralisi and Flottweg. The top five companies have more than a 65 percent market share. The top twenty companies have a 90 percent market share. By contrast, the largest clarifier supplier has only a few percent market shares.
These revenues do not include repair parts and service. Because of the complexity and high rotational speed of centrifuge elements, the OEMs have garnered a high percentage of the repair part business. When the repair part opportunity is included, the market nearly doubles.
