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MV drives sales soar by a record 34%

16 August, 2008

The global market for medium-voltage drives experienced unprecedented growth during 2007, with a 34% growth over 2006 levels to reach a value of more than $1.5bn. This revelation comes from the market analyst IMS Research, which predicts that the market will continue to grow by an average of 21% per year in terms of revenues, to exceed $4bn by 2012.

IMS attributes the strong growth to record energy prices, combined with product replacement and emerging MV applications.

The fastest-growing MV drives market is in China, where sales have benefitted from Government energy-efficiency initiatives, and from the continuing expansion of Chinese industry. The Chinese market is forecast to overtake the Western European market to become the world’s largest by 2012.

The markets in central and eastern Europe, Russia and India are also expected to grow rapidly as a result of infrastructure expansion in these regions. The US MV market is expected to grow at a slower pace over the period to 2012 as the slowdown in the US economy leads to reduced capital spending, lowering demand for costly MV systems.

The metals, oil and gas, and power generation sectors continue to lead the market in the use of MV drives. In addition, rapidly growing segments such as the mining and marine sectors also provide opportunities for further growth.

According to IMS Research analyst Alex Chausovsky, "rapidly increasing energy costs, coupled with record profits at oil, natural gas and mining companies, driven by skyrocketing commodity prices, will continue to provide ample opportunities for MV drive suppliers."