Research Overview
Customer Satisfaction Imperative to Gain Competitive Advantage
As the North American pulp & paper industry nears maturity, water & wastewater equipment suppliers face immense pressure for excellence in customer specific services to ensure customer satisfaction in this highly competitive market. Suppliers are evaluated based on the quality of services, product reliability, and prices rendered. They risk losing their existing and potential customers in this market ? that has a fairly low brand loyalty ? if satisfactory services are not provided. According to customers purchasing criteria and highest satisfaction levels, the critical success factors for suppliers are reliability and output quality, as well as safety of the system. In terms of service, the legislative compliance and CAPEX & OPEX of the system are very important. Additionally, the customers rely on industry experience and reference from others before considering a new supplier in this market. Excelling at these key factors can help water & wastewater equipment
suppliers to differentiate themselves from competitors and gain market share.
This Frost & Sullivan research covers the end-user markets for water & wastewater treatment in the pulp & paper industry in both the United States and Canada. The study focuses on customer purchasing criteria, evaluation of suppliers, and key factors that influence customer satisfaction levels. It also presents key drivers of growth for the North American water & wastewater treatment equipment market and provides strategic recommendations for new and existing suppliers.
Aging Infrastructure and Regulatory Pressures Key Drivers of Growth
"Even as the pulp & paper industry approaches saturation, increasingly aging infrastructure and legislative compliance continue to drive the growth of repair and replacement and technology upgrade markets," notes the analyst of this research. "Expansions and extensions to existing systems also offer growth opportunities."
Heavy use of water and energy as well as the chemical inputs in the pulp & paper industry raises a variety of environmental concerns. These factors compel the companies to upgrade their existing equipment to comply with regulations and acquire new, technologically advanced systems to reduce their impact on the environment. As a result, environmental engineering and consulting firms involved in the design, planning, and construction of the expansions and suppliers of equipment and materials for the same are presented with huge growth opportunities. Overall, suppliers in both water & wastewater treatment equipment have equal opportunities in system repair and replacement markets.
Growth Opportunities for New Entrants
Suppliers are under immense scrutiny from pulp & paper companies as the replacements market gains importance and interest in upgrades and specialized services escalates. Hence, excellence in services holds the key for suppliers to gain an edge over their competitors. "New participants stand good chances of beneficial market penetration if they render outstanding customer support and responsiveness and focus on customer-specific requirements that existing suppliers fail to comply with," says the analyst. Moreover, numerous pulp & paper companies are willing to try new participants in search of innovative technologies, fresh ideas, and competitive prices. | 
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