CMYK

Industry Highlight

Instrumentation

OVERVIEW
The instrumentation industry is now poised for sea-changes what with the proliferation of industries. Many of these industries like the telecom, pharmaceutical, surgical, food processing, to name a few, are so sophisticated that unless they are supported by equally advanced, high-sensor instruments, they would not operate

Instrumentation Industry - Poised for Sea Change

he instrumentation industry has under the umbrella all equipment that is used in various industries like pharmaceutical, medical, electrical, surgical et al. Initially, the country saw the development of analytical instruments only in the various research bodies like the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories. Commercialisation was unheard of. However, the instrumentation industry is now poised for sea-changes what with the proliferation of industries. Many of these industries like the telecom, pharmaceutical, surgical, food processing, to name a few, are so sophisticated that unless they are supported by equally advanced, high-sensor instruments, they would not operate. Now one gets to hear of trace analysis instruments, fiber optic-based instruments and life-science instruments. Further, with the laboratories going in for automation, there is a huge potential for application-specific instruments. Constant research is on to wed industry with academia to breed modern technology.
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As Ramesh Datla, Managing Director of Elico Limited, had once pointed out, there must be a technology plan to focus on newer instruments that will facilitate commercialization. Instrumentation is definitely multi-disciplinary and there is immense scope for design-related activities. The estimated market size for instrumentation industry is about Rs 500-600 crore and Indian companies have a share of about Rs 100 crore. Whats interesting the market is growing at the rate of 10 to 15 per cent per annum. In the analytical instrument segment used for chemical analysis like liquids, solids and gases - the global market is estimated at around $24 billion. The market is growing at the rate of 7 to 8 per cent and the highest growth has been in the life science sector.

In the era of protection

The instrumentation industry was flagged off with the setting up of ELICO by DVS Raju in 1960. ELICO developed and introduced the first indigenous pH meter. The 80s saw a major part of the instrument Industry moving

January 2010

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Industry Highlight

Instrumentation
into trading and representing foreign manufacturers. There were only a few exceptions. The industry was still protected and naturally that did not spell good news. Instrumentation usage was at its lowest level as compared to the Gross Domestic Product. thanks to rapid growth in instrumentation in these industries. Today even the local production companies are clocking encouraging growth of 17 per cent. A couple of Indian companies have also moved into high-end product development that has brought cheer to the Instrumentation industry. The demand for instrumentation is expected to grow at a conservative rate of 12 per cent.

A change in focus with liberalisation

With the opening up of the economy in the 90s, the country saw rapid economic growth. The market was also freed of all trade barriers. In 1998, India became the signatory to the WTO-IT agreement by which the duties on most of the analytical instruments came down to zero by 2005. The WTO regime opened up the market to all types of products. Of course, the industry had to reckon with stiffer competition, particularly those related to technology and cost. It may be mentioned that with trade barriers coming down, licensing of technology became tougher and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has become the key for survival and growth. During this regime, the growth of the analytical instrument was most striking. Today, this industry is estimated at US $32 billion with top 10 companies notching up 50 per cent of the worldwide revenues and the top 50 accounting for 70 per cent of the global revenue. Consumables, Spares and Maintenance also form a large share of the pie. Even the growth of industries like pharmaceuticals, life sciences, petroleum, mines and minerals, metals, and food and beverages was prolific. Some of these sectors even achieved global scales,

The industry is technology intensive

The instrument industry is technology intensive. Instrumentation is required by each of the industries including optics, fluidics, mechanics, precision engineering, materials, electronics (hardware and software), sensors, detectors, chemicals and product engineering. The industry is powered by electronics that enables immediate data collection, a detailed analysis, meaningful display that ultimately leads to quick decision making which is so important in todays fast-moving world of science and technology. Abroad, the industry is engaged in continuous research and improvement as a result of which instrumentation has become important in the following industries. These are: G Processing and Manufacturing Automation G Personal and home applications G Scientific measurements industry G Health services G Environmental protection G Office automation and communication G Automobile industry G Power and energy industry An interesting trend can be noticed in the modern instrumentation industry. More and more functions of the hardware are being taken over by software. This is known as virtual instrumentation. With the shrinking of the hardware in size, newer miniaturized sensors and detectors are coming into the market. The instruments are also becoming application- specific. In analytical instruments; the concept of lab-on chip is beginning to be adopted. This means that most of the older instruments have to be upgraded. Here, our software skills will become very handy.

The key players

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ABB - ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs around 103,000 people. website : www.abb.com

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Industry Highlight

Instrumentation
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National Instruments - National Instruments is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation - a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists approach measurement and automation. website: www.ni.com/india. Texas Instruments is a designer and supplier of digital signal processing solutions and semiconductor products. It includes corporate and investor data, products, and employment. website : www.ti.com Siemens It is one of the major players in automation technologies. Now the company is concentrating on global ventures. website : www.siemens.com Invensys It is the designer and supplier of digital signal processing, solutions and semiconductor products. It includes corporate and investor data and products. website : www.invensys.com

GE - From jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information, GE people worldwide are able to turn imaginative ideas into leading products and services that help solve some of the worlds toughest problems. website : www.ge.com Suzlon - Suzlon Energy is Asias strongest growing fully integrated wind power company and ranks amongst the top ten in the world. Suzlon integrates consultancy, design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance services to provide customers with total wind power solutions. website: www.suzlon.com Larsen & Tourbo - Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) is Indias largest engineering and construction conglomerate with additional interests in electrical industry, electronics and IT. website : www.lntecc.com Robert Bosch - Robert Bosch is the leading manufacturer of automobile instruments. Robert Bosch and Mico are jointly working in India. website : www.boschindia.com

A few success stories

The instrumentation industry has thrown up quite a few success stories. The missionoriented agencies have designed and built nuclear reactors and accelerators, satellites and space launch vehicles. They have also

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Industry Highlight

Instrumentation
come up with Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) which marks a milestone in the development of the instrumentation industry. Research and development have made great strides as well. The development of Cirus and Dhruva reactors in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai for Neutron Beam Research, variable energy cyclotron (VEC) in Kolkata, Pelletrons at Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai are worthy of mention. The development of ray telescope at Mount Abu and the Hanley Optical telescope for astrophysical research are the other striking developments in the instrumentation industry. What is interesting, some of the instruments developed indigenously have also been installed at research reactors abroad. A typical example is the installation by BARC of a day one instrument at ISIS Spallation Neutron Facility at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in UK. Also advanced detectors for high-energy experiments have been set up by Indian universities at the wellknown European nuclear research organization, CERN. Key roles are being played by new types of sensors, larger memory devices, by powerful microprocessors and by LCD displays. The researchers need to study the application of these devices so as to innovate better. standards are also leading to increased investments in instruments for food, beverage and water analysis. In India, basic instruments are available readily and at a low cost. Also software talent is readily available. Software usage low: However, the industry has certain weaknesses. The small and medium industries are not up-to-date. There is still a shortage of qualified technicians. The usage of software still remains inadequate. The post-sale service is not widespread. The industry is still isolated because of poor design engineering. The after-sales service provided by the local agents is very poor or non-existent. Many a time, spare parts are not available. Material prices inflated: Besides this the prices of lab equipment and materials are frequently inflated. According to a recent survey by Nature, scientists in poorer countries have to pay up to 70 per cent more than their counterparts in richer countries for identical supplies. This is because the suppliers are overpricing items. Lately, it has become rather difficult for Indian industry to get technology from abroad. Opportunities galore: The opportunities for the industry are myriad. It can import instrumentation systems for creating greater awareness among the technicians. The R&D institutions can also help the foreign companies by providing strategic support. It can provide consultancy to users as well. Shorter lifecycles pose threats: At the same time, there are threats posed by certain factors. One such viable threat is posed by import of end products by consumers. The instruments also have a short life cycle with technologies changing at a rapid pace. The industry also lacks confidence.

A SWOT analysis
India is advancing at a rapid pace towards modernization. New large projects will definitely require instruments and they will prefer local suppliers. Also increased security concerns are leading to huge investments in laboratory instrumentation for forensic industries. Stringent hygiene

Future perfect
The analytical instruments business in the world is more than $20 billion and the size of the Indian market is estimated to be more than $1 billion. There are only very few companies that has more than a billion dollars worldwide revenue and a few of these are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies, Perkin Elmer, Shimadzu, Life Technologies, Varian. The future of the instrumentation industry in India is certainly bright. The size of the market in terms of Rupees crores is as following: general surgery (3065) Imaging (1110), clinical instruments (570), critical care (320), cardiac surgery (260), self care (300), ophthalmology (240). The business prospects in electronics consumer hardware goods in India are expected to be a high of Rs 750,000 crore. The pharmaceutical industry, too, is booming

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Industry Highlight

Instrumentation
with significant investments noted in R&D to meet its demand of newer molecules. The defence equipment is also being indigenized. All these sectors along with our huge health care needs require instruments and this could well drive the instrument industry to greater growth opportunities. A sampler is the signing of a contract between ABB and Tiankang Group to acquire its instrumentation business. ABB China Senior Vice President Robert Larsson said both sides will be able to benefit from this cooperation. Larsson also said that despite the global economic recession, ABB is confident about China, and is maintaining a steady pace of investment in this country.

Drug discovery to fuel high-decibel progress

The life science industry will also see some high-level growth with the discovery of new drugs. The highest growth rate will be seen in the life science sector, which includes pharma, bio, proteinomics, genomics and clinical research related instrumentation. In India, government and academia are still the largest buyers of analytical instruments, followed by the research and pharmaceutical Industry. As the Indian GDP continues to grow at an average rate of 7 to 8 per cent, the demand for analytical instruments will continue to grow and eventually industry and research will become the largest buyers of analytical instruments.

EXPERT SPEAK
Deepak Kapoor, Managing Director, ZWICK ASIA
The industry is stepping out of the recessionary mode and there are clear evidences of demand picking up from diverse sectors. Investments in technology and social infrastructure sectors will drive the industry forward. There will be investments in testing equipment for their research and development, quality control, cost optimization, and these will drive the industry towards further growth. With globalization, foreign companies, too, will set up their base in India. The growth prospects are good as the country is on a high growth trajectory. We serve diverse industry segments including metals, plastics, automotive, building materials, energy, infrastructure, aerospace, education, textiles, paper, packaging, bio-medical and food. We find extremely good prospects in all these sectors.

Mr Jayaraman Pillai, Director, NI Systems India

The growth of industries like pharmaceuticals, life sciences, petroleum, mines and minerals, metals, and food and beverages are the main drivers for the growth of Instrumentation industry. Machine condition monitoring can help an organization stop unscheduled outages, optimize machine performance, and reduce repair time and maintenance costs. National Instruments has established itself as a pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government, and academia approach measurement and automation.

Shridhar Nalluri, Country Manager, CST Sensors

India is advancing at a rapid pace towards industrialization. As large projects require sophisticated instruments, the demand in this sector will continue to grow. Also very stringent hygiene standards will lead to increased investments in instruments for food, beverage and water analysis. However, shorter lifecycles of various products impose a threat to the industry.

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