The global market for waterjet cutting machines is forecast to reach $1.15 billion by 2020, driven by resurgence in manufacturing activity, robust demand from key end-use industries, and technological advancements, according to a recent report from Global Industry Analysts. Waterjet technology uses a thin stream of ultra-high-pressure (UHP) water to deliver precision cutting and specialty cleaning services to various end-use industries, including aerospace, construction, automotive, marine and mining. Waterjet cutting systems continue to be the preferred machine tool for manufacturing processes due to their superior attributes, such as the ability to machine thicker materials, superior edge finish, tight tolerances, eco-friendly nature, and safety and versatility of the technology. The capability to cut a wide range of material types (e.g., metals, non-metals, stone, plastics, wood, and ceramics) represents the most important attribute of waterjet cutting technology. Waterjet cutting machines currently represent one of the fastest-growing cutting machines within the broader machine tools industry. The market continues to be driven by rapid mushrooming of job shops in developing countries, against a backdrop of a mass exodus of production activity from developed markets to low-cost destinations such as China, India, Taiwan and Vietnam. Increasing capital investments in the aerospace and defense sector, as well as strong automotive production in developing countries, represent additional important growth drivers. Upgrading and modernization of outdated production infrastructure and aging installed bases in many of the industrialized nations offers attractive growth opportunities in the coming years.

 

Modern waterjet cutting machines are powered by highly advanced user interfaces with computer touchscreens that enable workers to efficiently handle multiple cutting tasks. New processor architectures, including 3D design and advanced cooling, are expected to take efficiency and performance of these machines to the next level, thus benefiting market adoption and expansion. Increasing acceptance of 3D waterjet cutting systems for high-precision cutting that requires increased levels of accuracy is also poised to benefit the market in the near term.

 

As stated by the report, the U.S. represents the largest market worldwide, followed by Europe. Asia-Pacific represents the fastest-growing market, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% from 2006-2012. Key growth drivers in the region include the widespread outsourcing and shifting of manufacturing activities to low-cost developing countries; increased infrastructure development activities in sectors such as manufacturing, power, shipbuilding and other utilities; and steady economic development in countries such as China, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia.

 

For more information, visit www.strategyr.com.