Test equipment market in recovery across Europe

19 July 2011

The European general-purpose test equipment market is now recovering from the economic recession, according to the results of recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan.

Although the European market is now mature, there will be a gradual growth over the next few years. Promisingly, says the company, most design applications are still occurring in the European market. Significant research and development in Western Europe and the growing manufacturing opportunities in Eastern Europe are set to open up a number of lucrative market opportunities.

The research covered market sectors including power metres, spectrum analysers, network analysers, logic analysers, electronic counters and multimeters.

“The majority of research and development activities in Europe are concentrated in Germany,” said Mariano Kimbara, Frost & Sullivan Research analyst. “Advanced German technology is helping to set standards worldwide in research, development, production and service, ensuring that the region overall garners increasing market share in the overall test and equipment market.”

The European market leads globally in terms of product innovation. Europe and Germany are the core markets for design development with increasing opportunities being presented by the aerospace and defence and the automotive sector.

The economic downturn significantly affected market growth, with a revenue decline of nearly 20% in most segments in 2009 compared to the previous year. A climate of economic turmoil caused end users to reconsider purchasing new test equipment. European end users were also negatively affected by the economic downturn, due to the decreased spending on test equipment.

“However, the shift of manufacturing activity from the developed Western European markets to the East has resulted in steady demand emanating from this market space,” said Kimbara. “This is a key factor that has ensured that Europe continues to account for a substantial revenue share of the total test and measurement market.”