Instruments for materials characterization provide a number of analytical methods for measuring or characterizing the material properties of samples, often carried out under conditions when a secondary parameter is varied, such as temperature. In total, the global market for materials characterization instrumentation is forecast to reach $2.2 billion in 2011, representing growth of 5.4%, following a fairly strong 2010 for these technologies. The individual technologies comprising materials characterization are all forecast to achieve growth quite similar to the sector average, ranging from 4.7% to 6.1%.

The slowest growth is forecast for physical testing, the largest individual market within materials characterization. These instruments are used for testing materials, consumer products and components for strength, hardness, durability and fatigue properties. Although there are some particular product segments that offer better growth, physical testing is a mature market for the most part, and this explains the modest growth expected in this market. However, because of the size of the market, four of the top five vendors involved in materials characterization participate in the physical testing segment. Instron, MTS Systems and Zwick Roell are almost exclusively focused on the physical testing market, while Shimadzu is a more broad-based supplier, competing in a majority of the materials characterization markets.

The remaining member of the top five materials characterization vendors is TA Instruments, a division of Waters. TA Instruments is the leading provider of thermal analysis instrumentation and rheometers and has built up a strong business in calorimetry. After physical testing, thermal analysis is the next largest market within materials characterization. Thermal analysis instruments are used in many applications from life science and pharmaceuticals to testing polymers, rubbers and similar materials. Growth in thermal analysis is estimated at 6.1% for 2011, the fastest among these technologies. The broad appeal of these instruments helps to promote growth from many different sectors, both in materials science and life science. Although the basic techniques are well established, instrumentation in this area is moving toward simultaneous measurements involving complementary methods and hyphenated systems that combine thermal analysis with spectroscopy or MS. These trends also help support current growth.

The next-fastest growth is forecast for petroleum analyzers, with growth of 5.7% in 2011 resulting in a market valued at $140 million. Although these instruments have very limited applications, and the market is relatively small, growth is being driven by research into new fuels, particularly biofuels. This rapidly developing area provides a source of new customers for these techniques.

The remaining technologies—particle characterization, viscometry/rheometry and calorimetry—are all expected to grow at near the average rate for the entire materials characterization sector. All three markets are characterized by strong industrial applications, accented by rarer research applications, which tend to be better avenues for growth.

The materials characterization market is relatively fragmented. The aforementioned top five vendors represent just 36% of the materials characterization market. Other important vendors include Malvern Instruments (Spectris) in particle characterization and viscometry, Mettler-Toledo in calorimetry and thermal analysis, PAC (Roper Industries) in petroleum analysis, and PerkinElmer and Netzsch in thermal analysis.

 Pie Chart: 2010 Materials Characterization Instrumentation Market by Product Type

 Initial Systems             69%

 Service                     16%

 Aftermarket                 15%

 Materials Characterization Instrumentation Market Leaders

 Physical Testing            Instron (Illinois Tool Works), MTS Systems

 Thermal Analysis            TA Instruments (Waters), PerkinElmer

 Particle Characterization   Malvern (Spectris), Beckman Coulter

 Viscometry/Rheometry        TA Instru. (Waters), Thermo Fisher Sci.

 Calorimetery                Mettler-Toledo, MicroCal (GE Healthcare)

 Petroleum Analyzers         PAC (Roper Industries), Petrotest

 Pie Chart: 2010 Materials Characterization Instrumentation Suppliers Market Shares

 Shimadzu                    8%

 Instron (ITW)               8%

 TA Instruments (Waters)     8%

 MTS Systems                 7%

 Zwick                       5%

 Other                      64%

 Column Graph: 2009–2012 Total Materials Characterization Instrumentation Market

               2009      2010      2011      2012

 $ Millions    1,955     2,092     2,204     2,315

 Materials Characterization Instrumentation 2010–2011

                            Market Share         Growth Rate

 Physical Testing           30.6%                4.7%

 Thermal Analysis           24.5%                6.1%

 Particle Characterization  19.4%                5.4%

 Viscometry/Rheometry       12.7%                5.6%

 Calorimetry                 6.5%                4.9%

 Petroleum Analyzers         6.3%                5.7%

 Total                     100.0%                5.4%