Environmental Regulations to Boost Membrane Sales

According to strategic research conducted by Frost & Sullivan (www.frost.com ), "U.S. Ultrafiltration, Nanofiltration, and Reverse Osmosis Membrane Element Markets," revenues for the total market have climbed from $202 million in 1998 to $215.3 million in 1999. Steady market growth is anticipated through 2006. Mergers are redefining the competitive field and forcing participants to develop new products to separate themselves from the competition. However, satisfying customer needs will not be cheap. "With the increasing interest in using membrane filtration comes greater demands for the capabilities of existing products," said industry analyst Karen Rasmussen. Customers are looking for long-lasting membranes that resist heat, pH and chemicals, while providing greater purity and allowing for higher product recovery. Manufacturers must devote sufficient R&D resources to meet these membranes needs, but the cost of R&D, coupled with the trend toward declining product prices, will squeeze the budgets of all but the largest manufacturers. Meanwhile, the high costs of validating membranes for particular processes will actually work to the advantage of some companies. Ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes are often used in highly sensitive applications, such as microelectronics, biopharmaceuticals, and foods and beverages. End users in these industries frequently require membrane suppliers to validate their products for a particular process to ensure quality control. "Performed on a site-by-site and media-by-media basis, validation can represent a substantial cost to membrane suppliers and end users," says Rasmussen. "Consequently, customers tend to stick with a supplier once they find a product that suits the particular process." Frost & Sullivan also presented 2000 Market Engineering Awards to companies that have worked hard to make a positive contribution to the filtration membrane element industry. The Competitive Strategy Award is presented to Hydranautics (Nitto Denko). The Market Engineering Leadership Award is given to Koch Membranes. The Product Line Strategy Award is awarded to Millipore.