Materials characterization instruments measure various physical properties of a wide variety of materials. Although industrial applications predominate, there are important life science applications in some of the product segments. The total market demand for materials characterization instruments is forecast to reach $2.38 billion in 2013, representing growth of 2.6% over last year’s total of $2.31 billion.

Physical testing is the largest individual product segment. It includes instruments that measure the strength, hardness and durability of raw materials, finished components and products. While the automotive industry has helped to stimulate growth in this market, overall demand is expected to decline slightly in 2013, due primarily to continued weakness in the global economy and the fact that the durability of these instruments makes it relatively easy for many users to delay replacement purchases. Nevertheless, this market will still show demand in excess of $700 million and should see a return to growth in 2014.

The fastest growth among materials characterization techniques will come from the next-largest product segment, thermal analysis. These instruments have many research and industrial applications, with samples as varied as polymers and pharmaceuticals. While nearly all of the subtechniques within thermal analysis can be used with polymers and plastics, pharmaceutical applications tend to involve two specific segments: differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. These two techniques can also be found in combined instruments that provide both types of analysis, commonly called simultaneous thermal analysis. Growth in the thermal analysis market will be about 5.3% in 2013.

The slowest growth among materials characterization techniques is forecast for petroleum analyzers, for which sales are forecast to increase just 2% in 2013. Petroleum analyzers are also the smallest segment within the materials characterization market, and total sales will just exceed $125 million this year. Although interest in developing biofuels had spurred some growth in new techniques and instruments specific to those fuels, that boost now seems to be largely over, returning this market to its more historical nature, dominated by traditional testing standards that produce little growth.

The remaining materials characterization techniques, particle characterization, calorimetry, and rheometry and viscometry, should all experience solid growth in the mid-single digits for this year. This growth should remain stable, or even accelerate, as the forecast moves further out into 2014. Broadly speaking, these technologies are oriented toward industrial applications involving materials ranging from cement to plastic films. One notable life science application involves calorimetry, as ultrasensitive calorimeters can be used to measure the interaction of proteins and potential drugs. This subsegment of the market continues to perform better than the general calorimetry market.

Materials characterization is one of the most fragmented markets in terms of vendor share, with no vendor being responsible for more than 8% of the total market. Shimadzu and TA Instruments (Waters) hold the top two positions through their involvement in multiple product segments. The next three largest competitors are all involved primarily in physical testing, the largest market. Malvern Instruments (Spectris) is the leader in particle characterization and also has a significant business in rheometry. Important niche competitors also exist, such as Mettler-Toledo and GE in calorimetry, and PAC (Roper Industries) in the petroleum analyzer segment.

 Pie Chart: 2012 Materials Characterization Instrumentation Suppliers’ Market Shares

 Waters              8%

 Shimadzu            8%

 Instron (ITW)       8%

 MTS Systems         6%

 Zwick               6%

 Malvern (Spectris)  5%

 Other              59%

 Bar Graph: 2011–2014 Total Materials Characterization Instrumentation Market

               2011    2012    2013    2014

 $ Millions   2,241   2,314   2,375   2,499

 Materials Characterization Instrumentation 2012–2013

                       2012 Market Share    2013 Growth Rate

 Physical Testing            31.2%               -2.0%

 Thermal Analysis            24.9%               5.3%

 Particle Characterization   19.0%               4.8%

 Viscometry, Rheometry       12.8%               4.6%

 Calorimetry                  6.8%               5.1%

 Petroleum Analysis           5.4%               2.0%

 Total                      100.0%               2.6%

 Pie Chart: 2012 Materials Characterization Instrumentation Market by Product Type

 Initial Systems  68%

 Service          16%

 Aftermarket      16%

 Materials Characterization Instrumentation Market Leaders

 Physical Testing           Instron (ITW), Zwick Roell

 Thermal Analysis           TA Instruments (Waters), Shimadzu

 Particle Characterization  Malvern (Spectris), Micromeritics

 Viscometry, Rheometry      TA Instruments (Waters), Anton Paar

 Calorimetry                Mettler-Toledo, Microcal (GE)

 Petroleum Analysis         PAC (Roper), Stanhope-Seta