Abstract
Minimal Price Increases Hampers Profitability of Manufacturers
Prices in the HMI market across the world have been falling steadily. Some price cuts have been a
result of lower quality, lower priced imported products entering the market, while others are due to
maturing market conditions. Owing to increasingly thin profit margins, pump manufacturers are
finding it difficult to provide funds for their research and development purposes and this is likely
to hamper new product development in HMI technology in the long term. Moreover, existing hardware
manufacturers are facing a problem of excess manufacturing capacity, having invested in upgrading
manufacturing facilities in anticipation of future growth, while the current poor state of demand
has impacted capacity utilization. End-user speculation for slow or flat growth in future years has
acted to see them limit (resulted in limited) investment in capital improvements. Major end-users
are still wary about the future of the economy and large companies are not investing in upgrades or
plant expansion.
Greater Compliance with Environmental Regulations Increases Demand for HMI
Environmental regulations continue to place a great deal of pressure on end-user companies to
tighten regulations regarding fugitive emissions and waste discharge. Retooling plants to comply
with such regulations will continue to drive the market as new technologies are developed.
Regulations affect end-user industries, which, in turn, put pressure on manufacturers to make new
products that meet requirements set by government bodies. Especially affected are end users such as
petrochemical and oil companies, who are required to lower the levels of sulphur in certain
products. Additionally, the high levels of uncertainty and volatility in oil prices can result in
companies pushing capacity to its limits. As a result, this sector is under great pressure to gain
better control over its operations, increasing production rates and reducing energy consumption.
This is stimulating increasing demand for more efficient operating and monitoring devices allowing
operators to spend more time on value added activities. This should drive revenues for HMIs.
New Technology HMI Solutions Coerces Suppliers to Provide Higher Security to Address Customer
Requirements
Process and manufacturing industries are increasingly integrating plant floor automation and
control into supervisory and enterprise-level systems through remote communications, as a result of
which the need for security has been rising. Additionally, the trends towards Web-based HMIs, which
offer reduced operating costs, have created higher concerns over company security. The possibility
of people accessing vital information and deliberately causing disruption and acts of terrorisms
raises the need to address the issue of security. Manufacturers of HMI must address the issue of
security and provide potential customers with adequate precautionary measures, especially for web
based systems, through infrastructure and access protection measures, so that clients can invest in
highly developed HMI solutions.
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