A new report on the global, industrial mixer market (“Global Industrial Mixer Market Analysis and Forecast to 2020”) was recently published. And while this report contains much of interest for those of us in the static mixer business, a few observations made therein resonate with what our own Paul Gossi broached in Adhesives and Sealants Industry magazine. In his article, “Disposal Static Mixers: A Maturing Industry,” Gossi notes how “when a product or market is mature, manufacturers will see slow or no overall growth. […] Product development becomes largely incremental, and there are few revolutionary inventions. Overall, in a mature market, the product starts to look like a commodity and there is limited potential for product differentiation.” In the static mixer market, then, we have to ask: though we can expect to see “slow or no overall growth,” where might growth at least be slow?

The other report’s forecast observes the following:

Moreover with growing small and medium scale industries and increasing support of governments for advanced technology, intelligent technology and monitoring systems in developing economies of Asia Pacific, it is expected to flourish the industrial mixer market at healthy rate in upcoming years. Lack of constant maintenance and support assistance can pose a challenge to the overall expansion of this market. 

Asia Pacific is the largest market of industrial mixer market owing to the rapid industrialization (especially chemicals, plastic and pharmaceuticals industry) in economically developing countries of this region. It is then followed by North America and Europe.

County wise China, India and Japan are the largest regional market of Asia Pacific whereas the U.S. is the largest regional market of North America.

Germany, U.K. and Italy are some of the important market for industrial mixer in Europe.

Whereas some developing Asiatic countries were hitherto strict on what technologies could be developed and manufactured within their jurisdictional purview, regulations seem now much more relaxed. Though we have to remember that this report refers to industrial static mixers in general and not disposable static mixers in particular.

And yet, we can draw some a productive parallel between the two. If “lack of constant maintenance and support assistance” poses a challenge to industrial static mixers and disposal static mixers alike, that is, both at home and abroad, then disposal static mixers face an additional challenge. That challenge appears as diminishing American exports in the face of new overseas mixing patents. In other words, Asiatic markets are becoming more self-sufficient both in terms of production and consumption of mixers of all stripes. Or, in terms again of static mixers, Gossi predicts that

New entrants coming into the static mixer market include manufacturers from China, which unfortunately also are producing and selling patented products in the U.S. Prices from foreign manufacturers might be lower initially, but once shipping and tariffs are taken into account, the cost increases to near or above the current market clearing price. Successful strategies for U.S.-based entrants to the market could include increasing value in the static mixer market by going to market without distributors, focusing on the top-selling static mixers, running lean, and using e-commerce for sales.

Therefore, the trend points towards selling static mixers directly to consumers, avoiding, as they say, the “middleman,” which is of course what we do here at BTmix static mixers: offering you high value static mixers and mixing elements at a competitive price.  Contact us today for more information. Don’t forget we match any price.