The industrial valve market - France (2024)

1.2 A fast-growing global market

The global valves market (***) of *.*% to reach US$**.* billion in ****.

Trends in the size of the global market for the manufacture of plumbing fittings, valves and pipes World, ****, in $ billions Source: ****

North American countries such as the USA and Canada are the main importers of industrial valves from Asian and European countries. The development of the oil and gas industry in North America is driving growth in the global valve market. In developing countries, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, strong growth in the food industry has also helped boost demand for industrial valves. In Europe, on the other hand, demand for industrial valves is stagnating, mainly because the industrial infrastructure is already well-developed.

In addition to the strong dynamism of several customer industries, market growth is also being driven by the development of valve automation and control technologies, and these technological advances should continue to fuel market growth in the years ahead.

1.3 The French market: an interrupted decline in 2019

In ****, the tax-free turnover of the entire valve manufacturing industry (***) amounted to EUR *,*** billion In addition, INSEE provides turnover indices for the sector for the years **** and ****, which makes it possible to estimate the sector's turnover for these years by the following calculation

Turnover index for year n * x Turnover for year n / Turnover index for year n.

Therefore, the turnover generated by the valve manufacturers is estimated at *.*** billion euros in **** The growth rate is approximately *.*% per year. However, the market experienced a decline from **** onwards, resulting in a *.*% drop in turnover in * years, between **** and ****

In order to restrict the estimate to the market for industrial valves only, the share of sales of industrial valves in the total valves market, i.e. **%, can be used. If this figure dates from ****, it provides a more accurate valuation of the market. Therefore, the market for the manufacture of industrial valves can be estimated at *.*** billion euros in ****.

Turnover from the manufacture of valves and fittings (***) France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

The rebound in **** can be explained by an overall positive trend in customer markets, particularly in the nuclear, food processing and wastewater treatment industries. In addition, exports have made ...

1.4 International trade

The figures in this section are obtained from UN Comtrade data, using HS code **** "Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves".valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves andthermostaticallycontrolled valves".

A country's coverage rate for a product allows us to analyze the country's economic independence with regard to this product, and is calculated using the following formula:

value of exports / value of imports x ***

In ****, France imported $*.** billion worth of industrial valves and fittings, and exported just $*.*** billion. France's coverage rate for industrial fittings was therefore **.*%, meaning that France's trade balance for this type of product is in deficit, although this rate has ceased to fall since ****.

Imports of industrial valves France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

Almost two-thirds of imports (***) came from the United States, Germany, Italy and China, reflecting their dominant weight in the global industrial valves market. The presence of Germany, Italy and Spain among the main suppliers is also explained by the proximity of the two countries, while the USA's position reflects its position as market leader, with large companies highlighted in ...

1.5 The Covid-19 effect

The effects of the Covid-** epidemic on the industrial valves market have been significant, as the graphs below illustrate. The market has indeed fallen in both volume and value, peaking in April, with the market losing more than a quarter of its value between November **** and March ****.

Sales index for the manufacture of other fittings (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

Industrial production index of other fittings (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source : Insee This drastic effect of Covid-** can be explained mainly by the strong dependence on customer markets whose production and investments have fallen or even been haltedthis drastic effect of Covid-** is mainly due to the strong dependence on customer markets, whose production and investment dropped or even came to a halt during containment, but also to the importance of exports to this market, which were severely penalized by Covid-**-related travel restrictions.

2.1 The water supply chain: catchment and distribution unfavorable, wastewater treatment favorable

The water collection, treatment and distribution market

The water collection, treatment and distribution market is a major outlet for the manufacture of industrial valves. Falling water consumption in France is fuelling the decline in production in the water catchment, treatment and distribution sector, which is therefore penalizing the industrial valves market.

Indeed, since ****, production in this sector has been on a downward trend, with the production index dropping ** points between **** and ****, as illustrated in the graph below.

Index of industrial production from water collection, treatment and distribution (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

This effect is reinforced by the sector's lack of investment, which translates into low network renewal and therefore low consumption of industrial fittings in relation to the sector's needs. In fact, the water cycle represents a very high-potential market for industrial valves, as the need to renew installations is high, but investment is insufficient to make this renewal a reality. Only *.**% of the network is renewed each year[***]

The "Assises de l'eau" (***) have been pointing out the need for renewal for several years now, and have stated that this need will increase considerably in the near future. A UIE study entitled "The challenges of water" revealed that the average ...

2.2 Energy: an unfavorable oil and gas industry, but a dynamic nuclear sector

An unfavorable oil and gas industry

The specific characteristics of oil industry fluids explain the highly technical nature of the products designed for this industry, and the stringent standards that surround them. Oil and gas-related activities require the use of industrial valves at various stages, including : oil production: valves must be adapted to corrosive fluids (***) refining and petrochemicals: valves need to be adapted to heavy fluids and high temperatures petroleum product storage industrial gas treatment As a result, the oil and gas market represents a significant outlet for industrial valves, but its dynamism in France is still weak, which hinders its potential role as a driving force in the valve market. The oil and gas industry has had a difficult few years due to weak demand and low prices. Indeed, global investment in the oil industry has been hesitant since peaking in **** and has stagnated since ****, and French production is still low. **** and **** mark a real break with much lower investment (***).

Worldwide investment in oil exploration and production World, ****-****, in billions of US dollars Source: IFP The low price of Brent crude also limits the profitability of discovering and exploiting new fields, especially as the price is particularly volatile, making ...

2.3 Manufacturing industry on the rebound

The manufacturing industry is also one of the main outlets for industrial valves, in particular the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, but also the refrigeration, mining and paper industries, among others. Investment by the sector, particularly in fluid management systems and networks, is a key factor in demand for industrial valves.

Manufacturers have stepped up their spending on the development and modernization of their production facilities, in parallel with the increase in their output, as shown in the graphs below. Since ****, with the exception of ****, which was downgraded by Covid, both production and investment in the manufacturing industry have increased every year, which is positive for the industrial valves market. In ****, the rate of change reached *.*%.

Manufacturing production trend France, ****-****, in Source: ****

The Covid-** epidemic led to a **.*% drop in manufacturing output between the beginning of February and the end of April. Moreover, in ****, the drop in the value of investment in the manufacturing industry is estimated at -*%. However, production has rebounded by **% in ****.

Manufacturing industry investment trend France, ****-****, Source: ****

2.4 A market limited by the decline in new industrial real estate

Demand for valves is under downward pressure. In fact, the construction and real estate markets are themselves trending downwards, which is having an impact on demand for faucets.

Industrial floor space under construction (***) France, ****-****, in millions of m² Source: ****

Industrial floor space under construction (***) France, **** - ****, in thousands of m² Source: ****

Data on the number of housing starts in France show a downward trend in both building permits and housing starts, particularly between **** and ****, probably influenced by economic factors such as the global financial crisis of ****. This situation can be interpreted as a negative indicator of the overall health of the real estate construction sector in France. However, a certain recovery is observed after ****, suggesting an improvement in economic conditions.

As regards short-term data, between March **** and March ****, the number of authorized and started building sites varies significantly, indicating a certain volatility in the industrial construction sector. This could reflect fluctuations in market demand or more recent economic uncertainties, such as the COVID-** pandemic.

The impact on the industrial valves industry could be significant. A long-term decline in the floor space of industrial premises under construction could indicate reduced demand for industrial valve equipment. However, the recovery observed after **** suggests ...

2.5 A market driven by the renovation/repair of mechanical equipment/industrial valves and fittings

The market for the repair of industrial valves and fittings is included in naf code **.**.** "Repair and maintenance of hydraulic and pneumatic equipment, other pumps, compressors and valves and fittings". However, this category does not benefit from its own statistics. Instead, code **.**Z "Repair of machinery and mechanical equipment" is considered, comprising:

repair and maintenance of non-automotive internal combustion engines, pumps, compressors and similar equipment, hydraulic machinery, valves and fittings, mechanical transmission components repair and maintenance of industrial furnaces, lifting and materials handling equipment repair and maintenance of cash registers, photocopiers, electronic and non-electronic calculators and typewriters repair and maintenance of industrial refrigeration and air purification equipment repair and maintenance of packaging, wrapping and weighing equipment repair and maintenance of chemical and non-electrical welding equipment repair and maintenance of vending machines repair of portable power tools repair and maintenance of metal-cutting and metal-forming machine tools and accessories repair and maintenance of farm tractors and agricultural and forestry machinery, metallurgy, mining and construction machinery, food, beverage and tobacco processing machinery, fabric and leather garment production machinery, paper, rubber or plastics processing machinery, printing machinery repair and maintenance of special-purpose multitasking industrial robots repair and maintenance of other general-purpose and special-purpose machines and ...

3.1 Value chain and key players

The value chain of the industrial valves industry is illustrated below. Manufacturers either sell their products directly through their subsidiaries, branches or sales offices, or use intermediaries such as traders, wholesalers, import-export companies or distributors to take care of marketing.

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The ranking below highlights the main players operating in France. Some of these, such as Watts Industries France and Pacific Industrial, are direct sellers.

They operate in France through subsidiaries listed in the table below. Saint-Gobain PAM dominates the French market with sales of *** million euros in ****, followed by Emerson and KSB. France. Apart from Saint-Gobain PAM, the other major players in the sector belong to foreign groups, particularly American (***).

Groups Subsidiaries Saint-Gobain (***) Saint-Gobain PAM Emerson (***) Emerson Process Management, Asco, Griss, Emerson CRT Controle KSB (***) KSB France Parker Hannifin (***) Parker Hannifin Manufacturing France Schlumberger (***) Cameron France Pacific Industrial (***) Schrader Velan (***) Segault, Velan TechnipFMC (***) FMC Technologies Watts Water Technologies (***) Socla, Watts Industries France, Valpes

3.2 The production of industrial valves

Industrial valves and fittings are manufactured from raw materials, often metallic, such as brass, carbon steel, steel alloys, stainless steel, duplex and nickel-based alloys. The manufacturing process comprises several stages, the most important of which are: casting, which involves melting the raw material, die-forging, which gives the product its shape, and machining, which provides the finishing touches to the object. [***]

As mentioned above, the production of industrial valves is recorded under code **.**: Manufacture of other valves and fittings. This code includes :

manufacture of industrial valves and fittings, including control valves and supply fittings manufacture of sanitary fittings manufacture of heating fittings

This code therefore goes beyond the scope of the study, but provides an overview of trends in industrial valve production.

Industrial production index of other valves and fittings (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

The graph below highlights the strong concentration of the sector in recent years. Since ****, the number of establishments manufacturing valves and fittings has fallen from *** to ***. This high concentration follows the contraction in the sector's sales. The number of employees is also falling, with over *,*** lost in ** years.

Number of companies registered under code **.** France, ****-****, in units Source: ****

3.3 Industrial valves distribution

The distribution of industrial valves can be handled by two types of players:

manufacturers, who market their products directly through subsidiaries, branches or sales offices intermediaries, i.e. trading, import-export or distribution companies, which sell products purchased from manufacturers.

The main intermediaries on the French market are shown in the chart below. The chart is based on members of Adfri (***). Most of these distributors buy from manufacturers and then distribute the products, but some of these players are also manufacturers, such as Bürkert, Sferaco and Tecofi.

Ranking of leading industrial valves distributors by sales France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

3.4 Geographical breakdown of sales

Over the years, some regions have seen the number of faucet companies multiply to such an extent that they now stand out in this field.

For example, Auvergne-Rhône Alpes accounts for **.*% of establishments, Hauts-de-France **%, Ile-de-France **.*%, Grand-Est **.*% and Nouvelle-Aquitaine *.*%. Between them, these * regions account for three quarters of all faucet manufacturers. Not surprisingly, the largest number of industries is to be found in Auvergne-Rhône Alpes, France's no. * industrial region, which benefits from the presence of a large number of clusters.this region benefits from the presence of numerous clusters along the Rhône valley and the nearby presence of the rest of the European market. Indeed, there is a concentration of manufacturers in border regions, partly due to the proximity of key markets

The map below illustrates the geographical distribution of valve manufacturers by region.

Source: ****

Source: ****

A comparison of these two maps reveals the overwhelming dominance of the Rhône region, which boasts both the highest number of companies (***), with an average of ** employees per company. On the other hand, regions such as Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Burgundy, despite having fewer companies, appear to dominate in terms of manufacturer size, with averages of *** and *** employees per company respectively. Conversely, the Île-de-France ...

4.1 Product types

Industrial valves can be classified into several families, based on their common characteristics.

There are * main product families:

Shut-off and control: items enabling or suspending the flow of a fluid at will Regulation: items enabling the flow rate or pressure drop of a fluid passing through a valve to be adapted to the needs of the process Non-return: items that allow fluid to pass only in one direction, thus preventing any flow in the opposite direction Protection : Maneuvering devices

[***]

Source: ****

4.2 Rising prices due to soaring raw material costs

The price index for faucet production in France shows relative stability until ****, followed by a sharp rise from ****, reaching ***.** in ****. This increase is caused by growing pressure on production costs, attributable to a combination of factors such as rising raw material costs and increased demand for faucet products. This presents manufacturers with challenges in terms of managing costs and maintaining market competitiveness.

Faucet production price index (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

similarly, import prices have risen sharply since ****, peaking at ***.** in ****.

Tapware import price index (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

This rise in prices is the result of higher production costs for raw materials, notably brass, steel and stainless steel, the main materials used in industrial valves (***).

Soaring raw material prices

Analysis of production price indices for the French copper and brass foundry industry (***) reveals significant trends. For copper and brass foundries, the index has been rising steadily since ****, from *** in January **** to ***.* in January ****. Similarly, for steel casting, the index has also risen steadily, from ***.* in July **** to ***.* in January ****.

These data indicate a significant rise in production prices in both industries, suggesting an increase in the production costs of materials used in industrial fittings, such as copper, brass and ...

4.3 Innovation: a major challenge for our offering

To stand out from the crowd, players rely on innovation, which is particularly valued in a sector where technicality and process efficiency are paramount. Players invest in Research and Development to improve their existing offering or propose new products.

What's more, offering top-of-the-range products can lead to profitable price increases, hence the importance of innovation. Services, notably maintenance, repair and installation, also contribute to the added value of an offer and the attractiveness of a player.

As an example, in November ****, Schlumberger subsidiary Cameron France launched the Sparx call for projects to support start-up projects linked to green and digital industries. The digital component will cover topics such as artificial intelligence applied to industry and/or physics, new web technologies, applied mathematics and geosciences. As for the projects selected for the digital industries, they should cover renewable energies, sustainable buildings and equipment, decarbonation technologies and the circular economy. [***]

Recent innovations in the sector include:

KSB's Boa-Control: In ****, KSB brought to market the first ultrasonic balancing and on-board measurement valve. Ultrasonic waves are used to measure the difference in transit time, which is converted into a flow rate value. An on-board temperature sensor delivers the exact fluid temperature[***]

Fisher Vee-Ball from Emerson: ...

5.1 Current regulations

The regulations governing the sector are provided by Profluid:

The Pressure Equipment Directive (***), which governs product marking Machinery Directive (***) ATEX Directive (***) for potentially explosive atmospheres

Industrial valve components must comply with French (***) standards, as detailed on p.** of the Profluid guide.

Cosmac also supplies a document containing all the industrial valve standards for the different types of valve detailed in *.*

6.1. Segmentation

• KSB
• Emerson Electric
• Saint-Gobain PAM
• Schrader (Sensata technologies)
• Cameron France (Schlumberger Groupe)
• Socla
• Picon Robinetterie Industrielle
• Rubix Europe
• Segault
• Roforge
• Atlantic Robinetterie
• BOM Robinetterie Industrielle
• Diro Atlantique
• FRI Vanne
• GMI Robinetterie
• La Robinetterie Industrielle Sodime
• Legris Industries Groupe
• Robinetterie Service
• Sapag Valves (IPI Groupe)
• Tecofi
• Vanneco
• Boutté Decolletage
• Delcorte Fittings
• Albert’s IPS
• Daher
• Parker Hannifin
• Dresser Produits Industriels
• FMC Technologies
• Altifort
• GTT