NEWS RELEASE                                                                                           NOVEMBER 2015

Purchases of Ultrapure Water Cross-flow Membranes by Just a Few Companies Total $600 Million

Cross-flow membrane systems play a major role in providing ultrapure water (UPW). In semiconductor plants, the water for chip washing is purified in cross-flow membrane systems. Typically microfiltration or ultrafiltration will be followed by reverse osmosis (RO). Cross-flow membranes are used in the ultrapure water systems to provide water for injection (WFI) in the pharmaceutical industry. Systems to provide the pure water needed for steam generation in the power industry also utilize cross-flow membranes.

Power plants, electronics manufacturers and pharmaceutical producers will spend $600 million in 2015 on RO, microfiltration and ultrafiltration systems and replacement modules for their UPW applications. Detailed forecasts are included in N020 RO, UF, MF World Market.

The purchases will be concentrated among relatively few companies. The top 20 companies will purchase 37 percent of the total cross-flow membranes and the top 50 companies will average more than one percent each ($6 million).

The top eight semiconductor companies will account for purchases of $204 million. The top ten power generator purchases will total $84 million. The top four flat panel and other electronics manufacturers will spend $36 million.

The Top 10 Purchasers Will Be

Pfizer is the top pharmaceutical purchaser but is only ranked #23 on the list of the 40 largest purchasers.

The large ultrapure water cross-flow membrane purchasers are moving toward global sourcing for several reasons. One is the importance of the products to the plant operations.  A single small particle can cause rejection of a $300 chip.  Contaminated drugs are one of the biggest concerns of pharmaceutical companies.  The ultra supercritical power plants which are now under construction require water purity levels far greater than the sub critical power plants which they are replacing.

The second reason for global sourcing is to facilitate evaluations on total cost of ownership. The high cost of these evaluations is spread out among a number of purchases.  The benefits of buying the best rather than lowest price cross flow membranes far outweigh the costs.

The combination of concentration of buying power and emphasis on highest quality products creates a new and major opportunity for cross-flow membrane providers.  McIlvaine has created a new route to market to take advantage of this opportunity.  It combines N020 RO, UF, MF World Marketwith other McIlvaine services to provide detailed forecasting of Markets, Prospects and Projects.

For more information contact Bob McIlvaine atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.