The 4.2bn US dollar vacuum component market, almost half of which is in Asia, has grown by 8 percent a year on average over the last two years to December 2006, reports the working group of the International Statistics on Vacuum Technology (ISVT).
"This healthy picture is largely driven not only by the widespread use of vacuum components in the semiconductor, flat panel screen and mass spectrometry sectors, but also by increased use of vacuum in the industrial and thin film sectors," comments Dr. Stephen Ormrod, spokesman for the ISVT working group, and chairman of the EVTA. "These wide-ranging sectors include metallurgy, refrigeration and air conditioning, as well as data storage (hard drives, DVDs etc) and especially the burgeoning application for solar panel manufacturing."
The statistics are based on a world-wide data collection program, run by the associations since 2002 and audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Participation has been relatively stable since 2004. The working group believes that the data represents about 85 percent of the total vacuum components market, with the main shortfall being in the 'rough' pumping product sector together with the missing indigenous manufacturers in those countries not yet participating - China and Korea for example.
The vacuum components market includes pumps and pumping packages, instrumentation, hardware including valves and couplings, and after-sales including spare parts and service. More detailed market data is available to participating members of the associations. Participation is encouraged on a global basis for all manufacturers of vacuum components through membership of the appropriate association listed below.
The ISVT Working Group represents members of regional vacuum associations; AVEM (Association of Vacuum Equipment Manufactures International), EVTA (European Vacuum Technology Association) and JVIA (Japan Vacuum Industry Association) in co-operation with SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International).
