News! It is a long article.
Mar 25, 1997 7:59 AM [PRNewswire]
More Evolutionary Than Revolutionary
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The computer industry changes so rapidly that all too
often the speed at which your computer ran one week is too slow by the following week. The switching power
supply (SPS) industry has a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the advancement of computers, because
as the computer industry changes, so does the SPS industry.
According to recent strategic research from Frost & Sullivan, the World Switching Power Supply Market is
booming due to the fact that power supplies are a necessary part of all electronically-powered products.
SPSs are being purchased at record levels, and the growth of applications have helped to spur on the
growth, instead of technological advancements. Power supply analyst Matthew Saltz says that technological
advancements in the SPS industry are "evolutionary and not revolutionary. The main reason for the
movement is because there are more applications to choose from due to manufacturing advances in the
industry."
An AC/DC switching power supply device is used to change alternating currents (AC) to direct currents (DC).
A DC/DC converter, which is another type of SPS, can increase or decrease the power level of a direct
current. Power supplies are used in all electrical devices since electricity from wall outlets is in the form of
alternating currents and electronic products need direct currents to operate. End-user preference runs this
market, and it's easy to see that whatever direction the electrical market goes in, the SPS market follows in
stride.
North America, which came out of the worldwide recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s, was the leader
in the SPS market for the past couple of years. But now the rest of the world is recovering from the recession
and is closing the gap with North America. "With the large amount of switching power supplies and
converters used in industrial controls, process control systems, and test equipment, increased revenues are
anticipated in Europe," says Saltz. Worldwide revenues are expected to further increase during the forecast
period of 1993-2003, to $26.01 billion in 2003.
Low range AC/DC are used mainly for consumer applications such as personal computers and cellular
phones. They can also be found in applications such as modems, networking systems, and
videoconferencing equipment. The low range AC/DC switching power supply market refers to all AC/DC
switching power supplies between 0 and 300 Watts (W). The mid-range AC/DC SPS market has a range of
300 to 750W for the purpose of this research.
The high range AC/DC with the range of 750 to 1500W has shown strong growth. The telecommunications
industry has boosted the high range market. Universities and the defense industry will be upgrading their
facilities and further impacting this segment.
It is important in a fragmented market such as the SPS market to concentrate heavily on customer service.
With low barriers to get into the market, companies must look to differentiate their products from others
through various potential advantages such as service. No longer is the main concern always price, but rather
the service provided by the power supply manufacturer.
As larger companies tackle various emerging technologies such as surface mount technology, distributed
power architectures, and power factor correction, there is no sign that the power supply industry will cease
fragmentation continue to fragment. Whereas their focus may be to cover the entire market, larger
companies will always be pressed to keep abreast of the continually improving technology in the SPS
industry.
Being able to identify some of the most lucrative avenues to get higher revenues can be a risky leap to take.
As manufacturers attempt to find any possible edge over the competition, companies that are able to provide
benefits to the customer through technology should have an advantage.
The technologies discussed in this research include: Linear power supplies in comparison with switching
power supplies. Power factor correction, parallel circuitry and current sharing. Centralized structures in
comparison with modular structures. Distributed power architecture, redundancy, N+1, heat dissipation.
DC/DC switching conversion in comparison with DC/DC linear conversion.
The companies participating in this market are: AAK Corporation, ABB CEAG Power Supplies, Inc., Abbott
Electronics, Inc., Acme Electric Corporation Power Distribution Products Division, Acon, Inc., Acopian
Technical Company, Advanced Analog, Advanced Control Systems, Advanced Conversion Technology, Inc.,
Advanced High Voltage Company, Advanced Power Solutions M & L Enterprises, Advance Power, Inc.,
Applied Power Conversion, Arnold Magnetics Corporation, Astec America, Inc., Ault, Inc., Autec Power
Systems, Bertan High Voltage Corporation, Calex Manufacturing Company, Inc., Cherokee International, Inc.,
Computer Power Supplies, Inc., Condor D.C. Power Supplies, Inc., Controlled Power Company, Conversion
Devices, Inc., Conversion Equipment Corporation, Converter Concepts, Inc., Delta Electronics, Inc. Taiwan
ROC, Delta Electronics (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Delta Products Corporation USA, Digital Power
Corporation, DYNA Hitech Power Systems, Ltd., Dynapower Corporation, EG&G Power Sytems/ Almond
Operations, Elgar/Sorenson Corporation, Elpac Electronics, Inc./ Power Systems Division, Inc. Unit of Elpac
Electronics, Endicott Research Group, Inc., Ericsson, Inc./ Ericsson Components Unit of L.M. Ericsson,
Glassman High Voltage, Inc., Golden Pacific Electronics, Inc., HC Power, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company/
Test and Measurement Division, Integrated Power Designs, Inc., International Power Devices, International
Power Sources, Inc., Interpoint Corporation, Intronics, Inc., Jerome Industries Corporation, Keltron Power
Systems High Voltage Power Supplies, Lambda Electronics Inc., LH Research, Inc., Logitek, Inc., LZR
Electronics, Inc., Melcher, Inc., MultiComp, Inc., Oram, Inc., Oryx Power Products Corp., Phihong, Pioneer
Magnetics Inc., Power-One, Inc., Power Supply Concepts Inc., Power Switch Corporation, Power Ten, Inc.,
Reliability, Inc., Resonant Power Technology, Shindengen America, Inc., SinPro Electronic Co., Ltd., ST
Keltec, Switching Systems International, Inc., Taiwan Liton Electronic Co. Ltd., Todd Products Corporation,
Toko America, Inc., Total Power International, Inc., Tri-Mag, Inc., Unipower Corporation/ Unipower North
America, Univ Power Corporation, Vicor Corporation, Wall Industries, Inc., Wilmore Electronics Co., Inc.,
Zytec Corporation, Acme Electric Corporation, Advanced Control Systems, Adwest, Inc., Asea Brown
Boveri, Ltd, Astec (BSR) Plc Hong Kong, Charter Power Systems Inc., Computer Products, Inc., Continental
Resources, Inc., Core Industries Inc., Del Global Technologies Corp., Dobson Park, Ltd., EG&G, Inc., Elpac
Electronics, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., L.M. Ericsson, Melcher AG, Phihong Enterprise Co., Ltd., Siebe, Plc,
Shindengen Electric Japan, Signal Technology Corp., SL Industries, Inc., Toko, Inc., and UNC, Inc.
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that monitors the power supplies and
batteries industry for market trends, market measurements, and strategies. This ongoing research is utilized
to update a series of research publications such as #5192-27 World Uninterruptable Power Supplies and to
support industry participants with customized consulting needs. Free executive summaries of all Frost &
Sullivan reports are available to the press.
Visit Frost & Sullivan's web site at: frost.com Report: 5188-27 Publish Date: March 1997 Price:
$2450
SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
-0- 03/25/97 /NOTE TO EDITORS: Free executive summaries of all Frost & Sullivan reports are available to
the press./
/CONTACT: Amanda Christensen of Frost & Sullivan, 415-237-4385, or fax, 415-903-0915, or
achristensen@frost.com/
CO: Frost & Sullivan ST: California IN: CPR TLS PUB SU:
[72794] |
