the industrial valve market | France

1.1 Presentation of the industrial valves market

Industrial valves and fittings means the set of articles making up the networks ensuring the transport of fluids in industry.  The market therefore encompasses several types of products, the main ones being valves and gates, but also valves, flaps and complementary devices such as actuators.

Industrial fittings is a segment of fittings that also includes sanitary and heating fittings, which are excluded from the scope of the study

French production of valves and fittings, which therefore includes these three types of valves and fittings, is recorded under the code 28.14Z: Manufacture of other taps and fittings . Some of the data in the study will be taken from this code, in case of insufficient data on the only industrial valve whose production generates more than 50% of the turnover of the valve sector

In addition, the production of industrial valves has been highly concentrated in recent years and is now dominated by an small number of players The main ones in France are Saint Gobain, Emerson and KSB. Some manufacturers sell directly their production, while others are using intermediaries (wholesalers, traders, import-export companies, distributors) to ensure the sale of their products The main opportunities for the sector are the industry (food industry, chemicals, etc.), the energy (nuclear, oil, gas) and the water .

In France the industrial valves market is experiencing a decline which, however, was interrupted in 2019 with an increase of 7,2% of the sector's turnover. The structural decline in market value is mainly due to increased foreign competition, reinforced by rising imports, and the influence of large companies in the customer markets that exerted downward pressure on prices, as well as the negative investment dynamics in some customer markets

However, in 2019, the dynamism of the manufacturing industry, the nuclear market, wastewater treatment and their investments have stimulated growth in sales of industrial valves and fittings. The French market is also dominated by players dependent on foreign groups, particularly American groups (Emerson, Parker Hannifin, Schlumberger, for example), with the exception of Saint-Gobain, which dominates through its subsidiary Saint-Gobain PAM.

The world market for industrial valves was worth 86.202 billion of U.S. dollars in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR (combined annual growth rate) of 3.5% from 2020 to 2027. The market is driven by dynamic customer markets, notably the oil and gas industry in North America and the agri-food sector in developing countries such as Asia Pacific and Latin America

However, in many Western countries, such as Germany, the United States or the United Kingdom, the industrial infrastructure is highly developed, which limits the demand for industrial valves. The main driver of growth worldwide is innovation, including the automation and control technologies . Technological advances have greatly contributed to the expansion of the sector in recent years and represent growth opportunities for the global market.