European Market for Integrated Motor and Drives

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled European Market for Integrated Motors and Drives offers a comprehensive overview of the market. It covers market size and forecasts, provides technological insights, examines product segments and discusses future trends. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following products segments: AC, DC, servo and stepper integrated motors and drives.

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Market Overview

Emphasis on Higher Energy-efficiency to Propel Adoption of Integrated Motors and Drives Solutions

The European integrated motors and drives (IMD) market has recorded consistently high growth rates, except in 2009 when it was affected by the economic recession. In 2009, the European IMD market witnessed greater decline in demand (about 14.5 per cent), compared to the global IMD market (about 13.0 per cent). However, with numerous drivers and fewer addressable challenges, the European IMD market is ready to bounce back; Frost & Sullivan anticipates a cumulative annual growth rate of 12.1 per cent from 2010 to 2017.

“The demand for high efficiency, along with the need to reduce energy consumption, is set to attract investments in IMD solutions,” notes the analyst of this research. “Heightened knowledge about their potential benefits will extend the implementation of IMDs across an extensive range of industrial applications.” IMDs are expected to gain preference over stand-alone motors and drives over the long-term. This, however, will depend on anticipated technological advancements in functionality and the availability of the technology at an affordable cost. “The optimal compatibility of the variable frequency drive (VFD) with the motor in an IMD ensures efficient performance, with efficiency levels exceeding 90 per cent,” remarks the analyst.  “This also makes IMD units easier to deploy than procuring motor and drive as two separate components and then combining them to achieve desired performance. It also reduces lag time and increases productivity.”

Manufacturers to Confront Low-cost Competition and High Initial Costs

The immediate challenge for IMD manufacturers will be to scale down high initial costs and project product benefits more clearly to end-users.   Another issue has been the technical inability, so far, to develop IMDs for higher power ratings.  “Due to technological limitations, above a certain point, the physical size of the product makes the integration of motor and drives lose its meaning,” explains the analyst. “While VFD solutions are in position to meet customer demands for higher power rating applications, IMD solutions are not perceived to be cost- effective at high power levels, thereby limiting the overall growth potential of the market.”

Technological advances and their availability across a range of power ratings will lead to the deeper penetration of IMDs into a wider range of applications.  This, in turn, will boost customer acceptance of the technology. Competitive price levels will also contribute to encouraging demand for integrated motors and drives across key end-user industry segments. “In order to compete effectively against low-cost imports, European IMD manufacturers can outsource the production of non-critical components to regions which offer low-cost labour and raw materials,” advises the analyst. “The final component can then be inspected and assembled by more skilled labour.”

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following product segments in this research: 

• AC integrated motors and drives
• DC integrated motors and drives
• Servo integrated motors and drives
• Stepper integrated motors and drives

By Application:

• Automotive and transportation
• Packaging
• Material handling
• Machine tools
• Food and beverages
• Chemicals and petrochemicals
• Paper and pulp
• Others (cement, mining, construction, marine, medical, textile, water and waste water, and robotics)

By Geographic Region:

•  Germany
• France
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Iberia (Spain and Portugal)
• Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark)
• Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg)
• Rest of Western Europe (Austria, Switzerland, Greece and the Republic of Ireland)
• Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia. Romania and Estonia)

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