Good response to Middle East Industrial Show despite slowdown in global automation market

'It was a sluggish first half for most automation suppliers,' continued Uwe, 'despite the rollout of many new systems, software, services, and other products. The demand side of the manufacturing business continues to suffer from reduced capital spending and overcapacity, with very few new plants being built.

'Total automation market revenue growth was estimated at -0.7 percent in the second quarter of 2003 versus the same period in 2002. Once the impact of acquisitions and industry consolidation is taken into account, the market has witnessed an even steeper decline in the range of 5 percent for the second quarter,' Uwe pointed out.

Speaking on the Middle East Industrial Show, currently underway at Expo Centre Sharjah, Mr. Michael Muller, Director Marketing & Sales said, 'So far, we haven't seen this sluggish global trend reflected at the Middle East Industrial Show. Many of the GCC's core sectors, such as Oil & gas, construction, fabricated metal products, chemical and non-metallic mineral products, food and beverage processing have been generally doing well this year.

'Hence, it's no surprise that we have recorded a large trade visitor turnout during the show. Generally, the participants at MEIS and at the con-current Baden-Wurttemberg Buyer Seller Meet have received a number of serious enquiries and have been happy with the response,' he concluded.

Continuing on the global automation scenario, Uwe pointed out that besides the GCC, geographic regional growth in the automation market remains concentrated in Asia -- particularly China.

'Also,' he said, 'in face of the challenging economic environment, many of the major automation suppliers such as ABB, AspenTech, Rockwell Automation's Control Systems, Schneider Electric have had considerable success in turning their businesses around. Many are divesting their non-core businesses, and the wave of merger and acquisition activity that characterized the late '90s has subsided in favor of smaller, more targeted acquisitions.

'We at ARC,' Uwe continued, 'are still predicting positive growth in the overall automation market between 2002 and 2003, but a significant recovery seems quite distant. The primary pocket of growth in the automation business continues to be pharmaceuticals and food & beverage on the end user side.'

Speaking on the latest trends in technology, Mr Eckhard W. Wodtke, Director, Strategic Advisory Svcs., ARC Advisory Group said, 'In the current year, three main business issues and the technologies that enable them have been dominating manufacturing executives' discussions: Adoption of Collaborative Manufacturing Management models; Implementation of advanced security and regulatory compliance strategies; and Real Time Performance Management. All three are crucial pathways to the 'Operational Excellence' necessary to compete in today's manufacturing business environment.