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Hot Topics Your
Temperature Industry Monitor Flow Research, 27 Water Street, Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880 http://www.flowresearch.com/ ISSN: 1530-7204 Volume 1, Number 4 July-Sept. 2000 Offering E-Business SolutionsToday many companies are trying to figure out how to handle the issue of Internet marketing. How will the Internet affect distribution channels, and to what extent will customers be willing to buy direct on the Internet? How will relationships with distributors and sales reps be affected if customers are buying products on the Internet and bypassing traditional distribution channels? Rather than simply speculating about the answers to these questions, Flow Research has some data that bears directly on these issues. In the end-user survey for our Temperature Sensors and Transmitters in the Americas study, we asked users to what extent they use the Internet in making purchasing decisions about temperature products. Here are some of the answers: · Thermocouples: 42 percent yes, 58 percent no · RTDs: 34 percent yes, 66 percent no · Infrared thermometers: 27 percent yes, 73 percent no In the above list, a “yes” means “Yes, I use the Internet in making purchase decisions for these products,” while a “no” means “No, I don’t use the Internet in making purchase decisions for these products.” When asked if they use the Internet to buy temperature products, users of RTDs and infrared thermometers unanimously said “no.” The only exception to this was the 2 percent of thermocouple users who said “yes,” meaning that 2 percent of thermocouple users buy thermocouples online. Flow and Ducker Research conducted a similar survey nine months later for our infrared study. This time, the survey only included users of infrared products. But the results were noticeably different. For users of portable and fixed infrared products, the answers are as follows, in response to the question “Do you use the Internet in making purchasing decisions about this type of infrared products”: · Portable infrared thermometers: 49 percent yes, 51 percent no · Fixed infrared thermometers: 35 percent yes, 65 percent no. Notice that these numbers are very different from the numbers in the temperature survey, conducted just nine months previously. Apparently, the use of the Internet as a purchasing tool has grown substantially among temperature users in the past nine months. The results when users were asked about making purchases over the Internet are even more interesting. While only two percent of thermocouple users said they buy over the Internet in the previous survey, between five and fourteen percent of infrared users say they buy over the Internet in the latest survey. How likely users are to buy over the Internet varies with the type of product, but apparently a change in buying patterns has occurred even over the past nine months. How can your company keep pace with changing technology and maintain or increase your market share? Here are some suggestions: 1. Make Internet purchasing an option. Even if most people choose not to use this method of purchasing today, you will be ahead of the curve if you make this possible. 2. Provide detailed product information on your website. Obviously, if customers are using the Internet to make purchasing decisions, it is important to have detailed product information on your website. 3. Reevaluate your distribution channels. Even if Internet selling is a small percentage of your total business today, it is important to consider how this sales channel will impact your other sales channels, especially reps and distributors. 4. Think of ways that Internet selling can expand your company’s reach, and how you will handle that. For example, Internet sales may enable you to sell into geographic regions where you currently have no distributors or reps. Formulate a plan to leverage this into a positive sales advantage. Flow Research is planning an end-user survey that specifically looks in depth at purchasing patterns among end-users of temperature and flow products, especially including use of the Internet. This survey will focus on what customers are doing now, and what their plans are for the future. Contact Jesse Yoder at Flow Research for more information on this pending study. Thermal Imagers for Firefighting ApplicationsOne of the fastest growing infrared markets is the market for thermal imaging cameras for firefighting applications. Firemen use these imaging cameras during fires to spot people and animals, who may be trapped in the fire. The use of these thermal-imaging cameras has received a great deal of attention in the press recently. There are two types of thermal imaging cameras for firefighting applications. Several companies sell helmeted models, while a larger number of companies sell handheld models. Customers today are moving more towards the handheld models, possibly because they can more easily be handed from one person to another. Cairns, which was one of the first companies to come out with a helmeted imaging camera, introduced a handheld model called the Viper in January 2000. Prices for firefighting cameras range from $12,000 to $18,000. Internet pricing is affecting this market, however, as some models are available on the Internet for less than $10,000. Because of the training required to use these cameras, however, manufacturer service and support will continue to be a major issue for these cameras. For more details on the firefighting camera market, see The Market for Infrared Thermometers and Thermal Imagers Worldwide, recently released by Flow Research and Ducker Research. This study includes market size, market shares, growth forecasts through 2005, an extensive end-user survey, strategies, and company profiles. Contact Flow Research at 781-224-7550 for more information, or visit our website at http://www.flowresearch.com/. Alphabet Soup: What Types of Thermocouples are Out There?One question we asked temperature end-users during the temperature study was what types of thermocouples they are using. The following pie chart reveals the answer to this question: |
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Source: The Market
for Temperature Sensors and Transmitters in the Americas The above chart reveals that type K is the most widely used type of thermocouple (42.6%), followed by Type J (37.7%). Other widely used types are Types T (11.9%) and E (7.3%). Remaining thermocouple types take up less than one percent. Different thermocouple types are made up of different combinations of metals. Other types include Types S, R, B, and C. It is important to remember, however, that he above pie charts have to do with units, rather than revenues. While the average selling price for thermocouples is in the $40 range, some thermocouples can cost over $2,000, depending on the material they are made from. These higher-cost thermocouples are often made for high-temperature applications. Even though they are smaller in unit numbers, they are proportionally larger in terms of revenues. Types S, R, and B, which contain platinum, are typically more expensive than the more common varieties. Infrared thermocouples are also available. Infrared thermocouples are not actually thermocouples. Instead, they are a type of thermometer that contains an infrared detector. The output from infrared thermocouples emulates the output from particular thermocouple types. Thus you can replace a thermocouple such as a type K or J with an infrared thermocouple. Different thermocouple models are designed to match particular temperature requirements. Join our Flowlist!Flow Research has established a free bulletin board service to encourage discussion of temperature, flow, pressure, and related topics. The service is called Flowlist. To subscribe, go to our website at http://www.flowresearch.com/ and click on Flowlist. Flowlist contains both members of supplier and end-user companies. Once you join, feel free to submit any topics you’d like to discuss to the Flowlist. Your email will automatically go to all members. Just Released: Worldwide Infrared StudyFlow Research has just completed a study of the worldwide infrared market. This study includes the following infrared products: · Infrared thermometers · Linescanners · Thermal imagers · Thermal imagers for firefighting applications (firefighting cameras) The study contains detailed and extensive market size analysis of the following products: · Infrared thermometers: Portable and fixed, general purpose and specialized · Linescanners: General purpose and specialized · Thermal imagers: Portable and fixed, general purpose and specialized · Firefighting cameras: Handheld and helmeted The following five geographic regions are included: North America, Europe, Japan, Asia without Japan, and Rest of World. Suppliers worldwide were interviewed for this study. For more information on this study, which includes in extensive end-user survey, contact Flow Research at 781-224-7550, or info@flowresearch.com A Must-Have: Temperature Sensor and Transmitter StudyThe end-user survey data on page three was taken from our study, The Market for Temperature Sensors and Transmitters in the Americas. This study represents a year of research by Flow Research and Ducker Research. In conducting the study, we interviewed over 250 temperature suppliers and 132 end-users of temperature products. If you are in the temperature business, then you must have this study. For more information, contact Flow Research at 781-224-7550 or visit our website at http://www.flowresearch.com/. To order the study, call Ducker Research at 800-929-0086 and ask for Nick Limb. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Hot Topics is published by Flow Research, 27 Water Street, Wakefield, MA 01880. (781) 224-7550 (phone) (781) 224-7552 (fax) Copyright © 2000 by Flow Research Editor: Jesse Yoder, PhD Email: info@flowresearch.com Website: http://www.flowresearch.com/ |
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