Valve Magazine - Summer 2009

PERSPECTIVES

Valve MAGAZINE

www.ValveMagazine.com

Industry Outlook Continues Downward

for 2009

EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Richard D. Oaks

AUMA AC TUATORS, INC.

Joe Steinke

CCI

Mike Hendrick

CONVAL, INC.

John Wells

EMERSON PROCESS

MANAGEMENT

Ed Holtgraver

QTRCO, INC.

Christopher Warnett
ROTORK CONTROLS, INC.
Dan Velan
VELAN VALVE

After a decade of upward growth, the industrial valve, actuator and control industry is witnessing a downturn—as predicted in our annual industry forecast. The forecast predicted a 5% decline in industrial valve shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities. Conversations with members and internal reports back up this forecast for the first five months of this year.

A recent survey of our membership shows:

; Sixty percent of our members feel second quarter 2009 shipments will be lower than the same quarter for last year.

; Two-thirds of the membership believe that orders booked will be lower the second quarter 2009 than last year.

; Over 20% felt there would be layoffs during 2009.

; Only 13.4% expect all of 2009 will be a better year than all of 2008.

; As far as the current mood, 60% are pessimistic about the economy in general.

VALVE MAGAZINE (ISSN No. 1057- 2813) is the official magazine of the Valve Manufacturers Association of America (VMA) and is published quarterly by VMA, located at 1050 17th Street NW, Suite 280, Washington, DC 20036-5521; 202.331.8105; Fax: 202.296.0378.

I recently returned from an annual meeting with my European counterparts in Baveno, Italy. In addition to the European community and the American delegation, a representative from the Japanese Valve Manufacturers’ Association also attended. Many of those present gave an outlook for their own nation for 2009, and they almost unanimously gave results similar to those of the U.S. and Canada. (Read what Rob Bartlett, managing director of the British Valve and Actuator Association had to say about the UK’s prospects on page 52).

In the U.S. we hope to see some turnaround in late 2009 or early 2010, which is similar to the expectations in Europe and Japan. A pie chart showing our forecast by end-user industry appears on page 7. As you can see in this chart, the major industry end-users remain water and wastewater, chemical, petroleum and power.

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Membership Has Its Privileges

Members of the Valve Manufacturers Association and VMA’s Valve Repair Council who are looking for insight for 2010 can attend our annual Market Outlook Workshop, which is August 13 to 14 in Chicago. The workshop features speakers who will discuss what’s ahead for the major end-user industries for valve and actuator manufacturers. VMA and VRC members can obtain more information on the event, as well as register online, by going to VMA.org > Events > Market Outlook Workshop, or contact Marc Pasternak ( mpasternak@vma.org) for more information.

Another source that offers members glimpses into the future is the quarterly 40-page forecast prepared by the Institute for Trend Research, which VMA and VRC members receive as part of their membership dues. If you’re a U.S. or Canadian valve, actuator or control manufacturer, or if you supply products or services to the industry, we invite you to consider joining our organization. You’ll find a list of benefits and qualifications on VMA.org > About VMA. Or feel free to contact me at wsandler@vma.org. VM