Material Testing Market On the Path to Recovery

Frost & Sullivan report finds emerging application markets and technology areas will open up niche opportunities for newer, smaller companies

London—March 26, 2012—The material testing market is currently undergoing a period of recovery and stabilization after significant losses sustained during the economic downturn, fuelled by demand from traditional end-user markets.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s “Analysis of the Material Testing Equipment Market” report finds that the market earned revenues of $495.6 million in 2010 and is estimated to reach $591.1million in 2015.

The year “2009 was one of the most difficult periods for the material testing market,” explained Vijay Mathew, Program Manager, Frost & Sullivan. “However, demand from traditionally strong users of material testing equipment such as automotive, aerospace, primary metals and plastics have helped the industry bounce back.”

In addition to traditionally large end-user sectors, novel applications in the fields of biomedical, composites, medical devices and nanotechnology are expected to boost the market in the coming years.

Yet while new opportunities are emerging, a key challenge remains the presence of established participants in the market. This has limited the business opportunities for smaller companies.

“The material testing market comprises a range of competitors of varying size and reach,” said Mathew. “The top three market participants occupy a significant amount of market and mind share and drive critical parameters that define this market—such as price points and regulatory and standardization trends—making it difficult for emerging participants to gain a foothold.”

While this is both a restraint and challenge for newer and smaller material test equipment vendors, it can be overcome by focusing on emerging opportunities from geographical, technological and application perspectives.

“With the emergence of new application markets and technology areas, niche opportunities do exist,” Mathew added. “Also, certain customers located in specific regions prefer working with local test equipment vendors rather than multinational organizations.”

For more report findings visit www.testandmeasurement.frost.com.

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