The fastest growing semiconductor manufacturing area is China.  Flat panel display investment is soaring in South Korea.  Many chemical companies are building plants where the market is.  That market is Asia.  Even India is on a tear with unprecedented industrial growth gains in the last year.  All this translates to big increases in sales of liquid cartridges.

China’s purchase of automobiles and computers far exceeds its ability to produce them. So, understandably, this gap is being narrowed by investment.  China already is producing four million automobiles per year.  This number will grow rapidly.  McIlvaine is tracking each new chip manufacturing plant around the world.  China has the most new fabs under construction.  Taiwan also is at the top of the leader board with its substantial investments.

There continue to be new developments.  The biggest changes are in media, but there is one new development in filter design.  Disposable filters offer safety and maintenance reduction.  The major driving force propelling the trend to disposables has been the development of biotechnology-derived drugs.  Biological entities are usually low-volume, high-value products.  Sartorius’ Maik Jornitz, group vice-president of global product management bioprocess, envisions that "at one point the industry will have a completely disposable facility for these products, which means a disposable upstream, feed stream system, into a disposable bioreactor, then into a disposable cell harvest.”

To keep up with the projects, the trends and to access more than 20,000 continually updated forecasts on woven, non-woven, membrane, string wound and metallic cartridges, you need to subscribe to Cartridges: World Markets. For more information click on:  http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/water.html#NO24 .

Bob McIlvaine

847-784-0012

www.mcilvainecompany.com