Flow Research

27 Water Street

Wakefield,  MA  01880

(781) 245-3200

(781) 224-7552 (fax)

info@flowresearch.com

www.flowresearch.com

www.ducker.com

 

Contacts: Belinda Burum, Flow Research: (781) 245-3200 - belindab@flowresearch.com

Nick Limb, Ducker Worldwide: (248) 644-0086 - nickl@ducker.com

 

For immediate release

Worldwide Study Finds Magnetic Flowmeters to be the Revenue Leader

 

Wakefield, Massachusetts, February 20, 2002 — The worldwide magnetic flowmeter market is expected to show solid growth over the next several years, according to a recent study from Flow Research and Ducker Worldwide (Bloomfield Hills, MI).  The study, called The World Market for Magnetic Flowmeters, finds that magnetic flowmeters generate more revenues worldwide than any other type of flowmeter.  While ultrasonic and Coriolis flowmeters are growing at a faster rate, the installed base of magnetic flowmeters gives magnetic flowmeters the edge in terms of total revenues generated.  Worldwide sales of magnetic flowmeters totaled $574 million in 2000, and are projected to grow to $716 million in 2005.  This represents a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent.

Why are magnetic flowmeters so popular?  One reason is that they are very widely used in Europe.  Magnetic flowmeters were first introduced in Holland in 1952.  Since that time, they have become the flowmeter of choice in Europe.  Water is a highly valued resource in Europe, and magnetic flowmeters are widely used to measure water.  The food processing and pulp & paper industries, which widely use magnetic flowmeters, are prevalent industries in Europe.  The top three suppliers of magnetic flowmeters are based in Europe.  Europeans also seem quite willing to adopt new technologies.  All these reasons contribute to the popularity of magnetic flowmeters in Europe.

Advantages of Magnetic Flowmeters

Magnetic flowmeters also have some very important advantages.  Most introduce little or no pressure drop.  Insertion meters are an exception to this, but even these introduce only a limited amount of pressure drop.  Magnetic flowmeters are highly accurate at a time when many flowmeter users are looking for high accuracy.  Published accuracies for many magmeters are in the 0.5 percent range.  Many different types of liners are available that are specific to different applications.  Newer DC type magmeters have eliminated problems related to zero-calibration that occurred earlier with AC type meters.

“Magnetic flowmeters have a good reputation for reliability and accuracy in a market that is driven by both of those factors,” according to Dr. Jesse Yoder of Flow Research.  “Magnetic flowmeters have significant advantages over traditional-technology flowmeters.  Unlike differential pressure (DP) meters, especially orifice plate, magnetic meters do not have a primary element that can wear and significantly degrade measurement accuracy.  They have no moving parts, unlike turbine and positive displacement meters.  This eliminates a potential source of wear that these flowmeters are subject to,” Yoder said.

“Magnetic flowmeters also have advantages over other new-technology meters,” Yoder continued.  “Unlike vortex flowmeters, magnetic flowmeters do not place an obstruction into the flowstream.  Insertion magnetic meters are an exception to this, of course.  Magnetic flowmeters may be preferred to Coriolis flowmeters when pressure drop is a consideration.  They also do not have the same type of line size constraints that Coriolis meters have, since they can be placed in lines of almost any size.  Coriolis meters become unwieldy and expensive to use in pipe sizes over four inches, and the majority are used on pipes of two inches or less.  Magnetic flowmeters have a price advantage over Coriolis meters.  They also have an accuracy advantage over multivariable DP flowmeters,” Dr. Yoder concluded.

Installed Base is Key Factor

Probably the single biggest factor that will sustain growth in the magnetic flowmeter market is installed base.  Many companies have invested very heavily in magnetic flowmeter technology, and are not likely to abandon this investment for another type of meter.  The most severe limitation on the use of magmeters is their inability to meter nonconductive fluids.  Apart from this, they will remain the king of the flowmeter hill, in terms of revenues, for at least the next few years.

Flow Research

Flow Research is a market research company that specializes in providing market data and strategies on flowmeters and other measurement devices.  Dr. Jesse Yoder, who has 15 years’ experience as a writer and analyst in process control, founded flow Research in 1999.  The company recently completed a series of six market studies on new-technology flowmeters, comprising over 3,000 pages.  In addition to market research, Flow Research conducts technical research on flowmeters in its flowlab. 

Flow Research is partnering with Ducker Worldwide (Bloomfield Hills, MI) to produce a series of 12 market studies on flowmeters, covering all the flow technologies.  The World Market for Magnetic Flowmeters was produced as the part of this series.  The first six of these studies, which cover the new-technology flowmeter market, are complete.  Ducker Worldwide has 40 years’ experience researching industrial and business markets, and has offices throughout the world.  Flow Research can provide charts and graphics from The World Market for Magnetic Flowmeters upon request. 

Flow Research recently announced a new service called the Worldflow Monitoring Service that includes Quarterly Reports on the flow and process industries.  These Quarterly Reports are called the Market Barometer, the Process Industry Monitor, and the User PerspectiveIt also includes a centralized “Living Database” of detailed product information from most suppliers of flowmeters worldwide. Flow Research and Ducker Worldwide are partnering on the user surveys that are part of the Worldflow Monitoring Service. 

 

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