Recovery in the air

London – Suppliers of industrial compressors and related systems and equipment are expecting market demand to pick up throughout 2013 – though not by much.

In its forecasts for this year, the German VDMA Compressors, Compressed Air and Vacuum Technology Association said it expected a 1% increase in turnover – provided orders received pick up again in the coming months.

“In addition to a de-escalation of the public debt and Euro crises, we are hoping for an end to the investment backlog particularly in the field of large-scale projects,”  commented chair Alexander Peters at the recent the Compressor Users International Forum’s

This sentiment was echoed by Ingersoll-Rand plc, which supplies compressed air systems via its Industrial Technologies segment, which also supplies products such as power tools, pumps, material handling equipment and golf and utility vehicles.

Fourth quarter revenues at the unit showed a “low-single digit” percentage increase, primarily due to gains in oil free air compressor sales. Bookings increased by a low-single digit percentage year-over-year with gains in all geographic regions, while margins were also slightly up.

For 2013, Ingersoll-Rand expects some moderate growth in industrial markets, according to Michael Lamach, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, Atlas Copco reported solid operating profit, revenue and orders received for the fourth quarter, but added that equipment demand was continuing to soften in many markets and customer segments.

For Q4 2012, the equipment supplier said order volumes were relatively stable for mining equipment, industrial compressors and industrial tools. The order intake for gas and process compressors was significantly lower, while it increased for construction equipment.

“We continue to perform well despite the mixed market conditions,” said Ronnie Leten, president and CEO of the Atlas Copco Group. which is the result of the strength and flexibility built into the Atlas Copco organization.”

“In the near term, the overall demand for Atlas Copco’s products and services is expected to decrease somewhat,” he warned. “The uncertainty is still high and further capacity adjustments may beneeded. At the same time, we continue to invest in many areas to safeguard a sustainable profitable growth also in the future.”

Meanwhile, Gardner Denver Inc. said it expected global market conditions to remain challenging through the balance of 2012. However, based upon its third quarter results, the group increased its earnings guidance for 2012 for its $2.4 billion diverse engineered products portfolio, which includes compressors, liquid ring pumps and blowers for various industrial and process applications.

Last October, the group announced it was seeking potential buyers or merger partners following a strategic review. The group is also restructuring its European Industrial Products Group: consolidating manufacturing facilities and reduce associated staffing levels.

Back at last September’s VDMA Compressor Users International Forum, Peters, noted that orders received by German manufacturers of compressors, compressed air and vacuum technology fell by 8% between January and July 2012 in real terms.

In contrast to the downturn in orders received, which has been observed since then, turnover in the first seven months of 2012 increased 1% compared with the same period in the previous year.

In 2011, he noted, machines worth around Euro5 billion were produced – an increase of 13% compared with the previous year – while European production was valued at around Euro12.5 billion.

Meanwhile, the VDMA reported that in the three months to 30 Nov 2012,  orders for German machinery and tool overall had increased 5% compared with last year’s results.