NEWS RELEASE                                   SEPTEMBER 2004

$5.2 Billion Fabric Filter System Market by 2008

Driven by the needs of the power industry, sales of fabric filter systems worldwide will grow from $4 billion in 2004 to over $5.2 billion in 2008.  This forecast is included in the online, Fabric Filter and Elements: World Market, published by the McIlvaine Company.

According to McIlvaine, the fastest growing segment in the fastest growing region will be coal-fired power in the U.S.  Coal-fired power plants are going to be spending huge sums to reduce particulate, capture mercury, and to collect calcium sulfate.  Traditionally power plants around-the-world have used electrostatic precipitators for fly ash collection. But more stringent regulations are making the fabric filter option more attractive.

The report predicts that 60 percent of new coal-fired plants will utilize fabric filters and that 20 percent of existing plants will also replace their precipitators with fabric filters. Some of the fabric filters will be used just for particulate capture.  Others will capture mercury through the injection of activated carbon ahead of the fabric filter.  Still others will capture the reaction product of powdered lime and the SO₂ in the flue gas.

While the U.S. will be the center of coal-fired fabric filter activity, Asia will be the center for other applications.  China has a major waste-to-energy program and will join other Asian nations in utilizing fabric filters for this application.  Forty percent of all the fabric filters for cement applications will be purchased in China over the next five years.

The U.S. will remain the leading purchaser of systems through 2008.  China will have climbed to second place by 2008 with fabric filter system purchases of $892 million.  This will be nearly three times that of Japan which will be the third largest purchaser.

Country                    2008

United States              1,787

China                            892

Japan                            292

India                              224

Germany                       177

Brazil                            128

France                          115

South Korea                 113

United Kingdom           101

Italy                               97

Russia                            93

Canada                          91

Sales of replacement bags worldwide will rise to $1.l billion by 2008.  The largest supplier of bags is BHA.  GE Energy has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BHA Holdings, Inc. for approximately $260 million.  Other fabric filter companies are also likely to be acquired by larger or more financially strong companies according to McIlvaine predictions.

There are also a number of unmet needs which will create opportunities for new players. One is a filter which will operate at 850^oF in coal-fired applications and remove dust ahead of the selective catalytic reduction units.

For more information on the Fabric Filters and Elements: World Markets click on http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/air.html#N021