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Articles by Bob Mcilvaine
Questions by ULPA Filter Purchasers in the Semi-Conductor Industry
ULPA filters require more energy and therefore higher energy costs but are more efficient than HEPA filters. Where is this efficiency needed? HEPA or ULPA filters are needed in a number of locations in a semi-conductor industry. They are needed in the pods which transport wafers from tool to tool. They are needed in the tool location, and they are needed in the general environment surrounding the operations.
Taking a Niche-by-Niche Route
FEATURED STORY Taking a Niche-by-Niche Route Why is cost data used as a guide and a reference whereas market data is used only as a reference? The answer is the difference in detail and reliability. One can imagine the implications of a valve company cutting back on detailed cost analysis and relying just on total costs for guidance. This article will discuss the process of using a niche-by-niche route to achieve 30% earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and appreciation (EBITDA).
$15 Billion Industrial Cartridge Market
The industrial cartridge filter market generates revenues of more than $15 billion per year. This global number is useful to determine whether the market is large or small. But it would be a mistake to attempt a top-down segmentation. In fact, this number is an aggregation of $15 million sub niches which in turn can be split and aggregated into many millions of forecasts. The niche creation is similar to LEGO® where 1,000 pieces can be used to create a billion unique objects.
Ultrapure Water Valve Market Niches
FEATURED STORY Ultrapure Water Valve Market Niches Ultrapure water (UPW) is a relatively small valve market but one where high earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) can be achieved.1 Not many companies are willing to invest in the cleanroom necessary for ultrapure water. As such, it is a good example of the application of the most profitable market program.
Pursuing the Niche Markets in Stainless Steel
Pursuing the Niche Markets in Stainless Steel FEATURED STORY: In the Air, Water, and Energy markets, specifically with regard to stainless steel, there is a notable difference between sales and cost control analysis. The difference can be seen in how well the analysis is organized and the attention that is paid to detail. The stainless steel achieves Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) of 15-20%, but this percentage could, and should, be 10 points higher.
Best practice for evaporation processes
Evaporation is a process where a material moves from its liquid state to a vapor (or gas). The most common example of evaporation seen in everyday life is the transfer of water from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere as part of the water cycle. When liquids evaporate, and materials which they contain in solution or suspension are left behind, this becomes a useful process to concentrate solutions or to help separate materials.
Latest Developments in the Hydrogen Valve Market
Today, electrolyzers, the devices used in production, typically utilize one of two technologies: low-pressure electrolysis or high-temperature electrolysis. Technological developments have already seen the progression up to large-scale 20 MW electrolyzers, and 100 MW units are not too far in the future. Several valve manufacturers are confident that they have the valves to fulfill the requirements of electrolysis applications for the PEM, AWE or SOEC electrolyzers of both today and tomorrow.
Filtration Market Is an Aggregation of Niches
The most profitable market for filter suppliers should be the lowest cost of ownership for the end user. The expenditure is determined by relevant facts. The quantities needed are determined by unique factors. There is a $1 trillion filtration and separation market with 100,000 niches of $10 million each. Which niches will combine for the Most Profitable Market (MPM)? Each filter supplier will be best served by a unique combination of niches to pursue.
Filtration 3F Market Guide
The Filtration Industry Can Improve EBITDA with the 3F Guide (Facts, Factors and Forecasts) If the same amount of effort to prepare financial statements is also placed into gathering all the market facts, determining all the factors, and then making reliable forecasts, the benefit will far outweigh the costs.
Valve manufacturers should emulate major league baseball
Valve market research is used typically as an outside opinion. By contrast, the financial statement is integral to business strategy. This statement gives the cost and revenue details. If it is a major league baseball team, the details include the cost of cutting the outfield grass and the price of the beer.
Ammonia Stainless Steel Game Plan: Considering the Factors
Valve Types A number of different types of valves are used to transport ammonia. Most of the use is in industrial processes, but customers may also have use for valves in air pollution control, or other non-process applications. The same customer may also need valves for water intakes, cooling, dosing, and wastewater treatment. The value proposition for a valve package can be more attractive than for a single application.
Acquisitions Have Shaped the Filtration and Separation Market
Ten thousand market niches averaging $10 million each comprise the filtration and separation market.1 The most successful filtration and separation companies are market leaders or have strategies to become the market leaders in the niches they pursue. Much of this niche leadership comes from acquisitions. To obtain a good understanding of the market, it is desirable to review the acquisition history.
Geopolitical Disruptions Inspire Filtration Innovations
Innovations to be meaningful have to respond to needs. Innovations can result from improved design or production. They are measurable in terms of lowering true cost. Cost can be measured idealistically or realistically as aggregates of life quality goals. In 2022 the idealism gave way to reality. 2022 set a record for changing true cost criteria. The February invasion of Ukraine changed the true cost equation instantly.
Proactive approach to true cost and ESG
The filtration industry is making a major effort to reduce true cost through its sustainability efforts. Much of the effort has been defensive and reactive. The focus is on how bad behavior is going to be reduced. The positive story needs to be told.
Innovations & Acquisitions
Acquisitions have created the lowest true cost filtration suppliers A good product customized for an application is better than a great product which has not been adapted. The lowest true cost is a function of use and not just potential. With the new uses of digital intelligence, a good filter can be replaced as warranted whereas a great filter can cause all sorts of problems if it’s not replaced at the right time.
True Cost of Filters Changes with Russian Invasion
The true cost of a filter depends on external factors such as urgency and environmental impacts. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has greatly increased the urgency of acquiring filters in certain applications. It has also introduced a freedom factor which temporarily supersedes climate change priorities. The invasion and tacit support by China have created greater urgency in developing semiconductor capacity in Europe and the U.S. Taiwan supplies most of the world’s advanced chips.
Featured Story - Valve trends in the global water and wastewater industry
Valve trends in the global water and wastewater industry FEATURED STORY The growing demand for water is mainly driven by population growth, which stimulates water consumption in various ways: as drinking water but also in agriculture, industry and power generation. Due to increased regulation and higher cost, municipalities and industries try to minimize waste water volumes and focus on waste water reuse.
Featured Story - Modest growth for the nuclear valve market
Modest growth for the nuclear valve market FEATURED STORY The nuclear valve market is expected to grow from $3 billion in 2021 to $5.3 billion in 2050.(1) A big driver will be the goal of net zero CO2 emissions. Nuclear power is a route to lower greenhouse gas emissions with the advantage of continuous availability. The International Energy Agency has set up a scenario to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. This includes adding nearly 400 GW of new nuclear capacity in the next 30 years.
Making the Best Decisions on Air, Water, and Energy Products Relative to Hydrogen Combustion
Power plants are planning very large investments in generators fueled by hydrogen, methane, mixtures, or ammonia. While hydrogen has the environmental advantage of zero carbon emissions, it has many disadvantages in terms of physical characteristics and safety. The demand on the valves, compressors, burners, NOx control, and other air, water, energy (AWE) products and services is greater than when handling methane alone.
Reducing the true cost in blood plasma fractionation filtration and separation
The market for air, water and energy products for blood plasma fractionation and drugs derived from the plasma is approaching $5 billion per year. The market for filtration and separation devices and media is several hundred million dollars. The consumable media segment is substantial, and in part determined by technology advances. Plasma is a large-volume application compared to many pharmaceutical processes. Nearly 100 million liters of plasma are produced each year.
True cost determination is the first step toward increasing filtration industry profitability
A minority of companies in the filtration industry are achieving EBITA of 30%. The average is less than 15%. How does a filtration company improve EBITA? The answer is to provide a product with a true cost much lower than the competition and adjust gross margins to share some of the product benefits with the customer. The two routes for achieving the lowest true cost are to: reduce the product cost; and/or improve product performance.
BECCS will provide a boost for the filtration industry
Bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration is now high on the list of technologies advocated by environmentalists. The reason is that it is carbon negative. If a coal plant switches to BECCS (BioEnergy Carbon Capture and Sequestration) it would take as much CO2 out of the atmosphere as it was previously contributing. The implications for the filtration and separation market are very substantial.1 There is likely to be a three-stage process.
The value of HVAC filters has risen
A major change has taken place in the selection of HVAC filters. The coronavirus has resulted in initiatives to use more efficient filters wherever possible. New developments in nanofibers and other media are allowing purchasers to achieve high efficiency without excessive energy consumption. Lowest total cost of ownership factors in selecting an HVAC filter depend on a number of categories and segments. The selection of the best filter is a challenging one given all the variables.
Mobility applications provide significant opportunity for nanofiber
Nanofiber media will increase market share in a changing mobility market. It will provide the lowest total cost of ownership based on an efficiency-to-energy consumption ratio, as well as on initial and maintenance costs. There are two major sub-segments of nanofiber media, depending on the thickness of the fibers and the methods by which they are produced. With the growth in electric vehicle use there will be a big market for nanofiber media in electric vehicles.
New metrics for filter selection and ‘true cost’ determination
There are new measurement tools to select filters, as well as new holistic concepts which obsolesce traditional individual selection methods. There are also new measurement needs. Measurement Tools: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a major controversy over life quantity vs life quality. It is likely that filtration selection will be permanently impacted by the efforts to find common ground in this dispute.
Increasing profits in the power industry despite the pandemic
The impact of the pandemic is affecting various segments differently. This includes: Countries: the impact on India and the U.S. will be negative while China is moving forward as planned. Fuel type: Nuclear projects are not affected, whereas renewable projects have been delayed in some countries. Project type: There is a progressively decreasing impact on the following categories. New companies will be the most impacted.
A sea change in the filter industry is underway
The true cost of one filter as opposed to another has been traditionally limited to considerations of energy cost vs performance. Health has been a factor in filter decisions, but not dominant. In this pandemic era the concept of true cost includes health factors measured in $ billions and even $ trillions and is unlike any challenge or opportunity previously faced by the industry. The evidence is now clear that coronavirus transmission is largely through small aerosols.
Is filtration more effective than social distancing in preventing virus spread?
At the time of this writing, the CDC predicts 135,000 deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19. McIlvaine has calculated the cost in terms of life quality reduction for those sickened, as well as those dying, plus healthcare costs at $58 million per death. The result is a $7.8 trillion cost, not including lost economic activity. However, the number of deaths can be substantially reduced with a relatively modest investment in filtration.
Determining the true cost of gas turbine intake filters
The true cost of a gas turbine inlet filters can be affected by a large number of factors. These factors are not constants; they are changing. The filter purchaser is challenged to not only identify these factors, but also keep up with the pace of change. Large gas turbines are used by utilities to generate electricity. Smaller gas turbines drive pumps and compressors in locations with extreme conditions, such as desert dust, artic snow or sea spray on an oil rig.
Mcilvaine: Large opportunity for high-performance pumps - Processing Magazine
There is the potential to expand the industrial pump market by more than $12 billion per year in the high-performance segment, according to Mcilvaine Company research. The present market is valued at $56 billion but could be $68.5 billion with the potential high-performance features that pump manufacturers can offer. The high-performance segment alone would expand from $29 billion to more than $41 billion.
Selecting industrial dryers with the lowest total cost of ownership - Processing Magazine
Bob Mcilvaine is the president of the Mcilvaine Company in Northfield, Illinois. The Mcilvaine Company provides market research and technical analyses on industrial processing sectors and equipment. Mcilvaine may be reached at rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com or 847-784-0012, ext. 112. Industrial dryers are used with a wide range of feed materials and in a number of processes from food processing to paper and pulp to pharmaceuticals to water treatment.
McIlvaine: North America is the largest oil and gas valve market
Manufactured frac sand plant. Courtesy of IAC Bob Mcilvaine is the president of the Mcilvaine Company in Northfield, Illinois. The Mcilvaine Company provides market research and technical analyses on oil and gas production equipment. Mcilvaine may be reached at rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com or 847-784-0012, ext. 112. Mcilvaine is a regular contributor to Processing. This column appeared in the April 2019 issue.
Life cycle programs for powder and bulk processing plants - Processing Magazine
Figure 1 Source: McIlvaine Company Bob Mcilvaine is the president of the Mcilvaine Company in Northfield, Illinois. Mcilvaine provides market research and technical analyses on powder and bulk solids handling equipment. He may be reached at rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com or 847-784-0012, ext. 112. Mcilvaine is a regular columnist in Processing. This column appeared in the March 2019 issue.
Water Conservation for Fracking
The techniques developed in the U.S. to fracture shale for the purpose of extracting oil and gas are the foundation of the success of the U.S. economy in the last decade. Developers have continually reduced costs with new techniques such as horizontal drilling. However, the transport of sand with the correct fracking features from Wisconsin and Minnesota to West Texas has been costly.
Pharmaceutical opportunities for process equipment suppliers - Processing Magazine
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are major purchasers of processing systems and components. In general, valves, pumps, filters and other equipment components are higher priced per unit volume in the pharmaceutical industry compared to other industries. Stainless steel or other pristine materials of construction are needed to meet hygienic requirements.
Creating a sales program based on valve forecasts
Bob Mcilvaine is the president of the Mcilvaine Company in Northfield, Illinois. Mcilvaine provides market research and technical analyses on industrial valve purchases. He may be reached at rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com or847-784-0012, ext. 112.
Industrial fans, blowers and compressors market outlook
Fans, blowers and compressors are all used to move air and gases. The many design types can be segmented based on pressure (see Table 1 below). One option is to use multiple fans in series rather than one compressor. This is common for mechanical vapor recovery systems. Flow rates and price are additional variables that affect choice among fan, blower and compressor types. The total world market for fans, blowers and compressors in 2018 is $56 billion (see Figure 1 above).
Column: IIoT in the power industry
The power industry represents a $19 billion annual Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market growing at 8 percent annually, according to “IIoT & Remote O&M,” a report published by the McIlvaine Company. The guide segment is growing faster than the others. This segment includes process management software and data analytics. The liquid measurement segment includes steam, which makes it larger than the air and gas measurement segment.
Coal-fired power plants will be the largest IIoT purchasers but the gap is shrinking as gas turbine capacity grows - Processing Magazine
nayneung1/iStockphoto/Thinkstock The power industry represents a $19 billion annual Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market growing at 8 percent annually, according to “IIoT & Remote O&M,” a report published by the McIlvaine Company. The guide segment is growing faster than the others. This segment includes process management software and data analytics. The liquid measurement segment includes steam, which makes it larger than the air and gas measurement segment.
The quest for the 4 As
Bob Mcilvaine is the president of the Mcilvaine Company in Northfield, Illinois. Mcilvaine provides market research and technical analyses on combust, flow and treat products. He may be reached at rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com or 847-784-0012, ext. 112. The chemical industry is embracing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and remote operations and management (O&M). Companies such as BASF are able to remotely monitor components such as valves and then use data analytics to improve performance.
Food filtration market - Processing Magazine
An example of an automatic backwash filter. Graphic courtesy of Eaton The multibillion filtration market in the food industry includes a number of technologies designed to meet environmental regulations. It also includes filters used in food manufacturing processes. One requirement includes purifying air prior to exhausting it from stacks. This can involve either fabric filters or scrubbers or both depending on whether the contaminant is particulate, gas or a combination.
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