SubJect: Cleanroom market rebound complete
In 2004 sales of semiconductor cleanroom equipment reached a new record. The slowness in the semiconductor sector in the 2002 and 2003 period impacted the overall growth of the cleanroom industry to less than 5 percent. This was well below the double-digit growth rates experienced for decades.
The next few years will be good ones for the cleanroom industry. Growth in the semiconductor sector will exceed 12 percent per year, and growth for the entire industry will be 10 percent.
The Japanese market has shown a big turnaround in the last two years. The Chinese market is the fastest growing as it is turning to domestic clean manufacturing to reduce imports of products such as chips.
Technology development continues to shape the industry. Mini environments continue to make inroads on ballroom designs. This trend boosts the hardware market but tends to slow the growth in clothing and other consumables. This is due to the fact that the workers are outside the clean environment.
Molecular contamination continues to be of major concern and has spurred the market for adsorption type filters preceding the traditional HEPA filters.
The merger and acquisition activity was at a high prior to the recession in 2001. There have been few cleanroom company acquisitions in the last several years. However, look for a return to a higher activity level as companies are increasingly attracted to the growing market and seek to bring together synergistic combinations in this still fractured industry.
Specific hardware and consumable forecasts for every country are included in the Cleanrooms: World Markets. For more information on this service, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/cleanroom.html .
Bob McIlvaine
847-784-0012