Product category:
Industrial Drives/Controls
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors)
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 02 June 2005
HVAC drives focus begins to pay off
ABB has increased its market share of drives in the UK heating and ventilation (HVAC) industry to 30% and is aiming to reach even higher by the end of this year.
ABB has increased its market share of drives in the UK heating and ventilation (HVAC) industry to 30% and is aiming to reach even higher by the end of this year The position has been achieved after only three years in the market
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 13 Sep 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
HVAC drives support BACnet protocol
ABB has become the first drives manufacturer to offer support for the BACnet communications protocol.
BACnet approach speeds HVAC drive commissioning
More than 100 ABB HVAC drives are playing a key role in handling the air and water for the new Blackburn Hospital, which is due to receive its first patients in August.
The expansion is in line with the forecasts made when ABB entered the HVAC market with its drive products in 2002.
ABB now estimates that it is the largest supplier of HVAC drives in the UK.
The growth has mainly been achieved at the expense of other major manufacturers, but also through growth by the market as a whole.
Further reading
HVAC drives are easy to integrate
Ease of integration with building management systems has lead to ABB HVAC drives being installed at the new Cheshire and Merseyside NHS Treatment Centre.
Drives save energy in HVAC role
Variable speed drives slash the energy consumed by motors for heating and ventilation duties by more than a quarter.
The initiative in the UK is part of a worldwide push by ABB to break into HVAC, which is one of the fastest growing application areas for variable speed drives.
The HVAC business is now making a healthy addition to ABB's sales of drives.
Over the past year, the factory output of drives up to 110kW grew by 67%.
Most of this was due to increased sales in HVAC.
"Although we were newcomers on the market in 2002, there has been little resistance to change amongst customers", says Nick Thorne, HVAC Drives Sales Manager for ABB.
"ABB's standard drive for HVAC is widely acknowledged to be the best product in the market".
"The only obstacle to change is when there are existing frame agreements in place".
The growth of ABB's market share has intensified the price pressure in the market, mainly as a result of longer established competitors trying to protect their market share.
As a result, prices have been reduced by some 20% over the past year.
There have also been product launches by competitors of very basic products, aiming to win business on price alone.
"We are not taking part in any price war", insists Thorne.
"We merely follow the market".
"Nor are we threatened by the simpler products now being launched".
"Our product has a range of features that the customers want".
"If we wanted to tackle the low cost end of the market, ABB has other products in its portfolio with which we could achieve this".
ABB's standard drive for HVAC comes preprogrammed with all common HVAC applications.
The panel is as easy to handle as a mobile phone and the setup can be done in seconds.
The drive has interfaces for all common bus standards, including the recently introduced BACnet, and includes many other useful features such as a fault logger and a real-time clock.
Thorne is expecting further growth in the years to come: "Energy prices are on the way up".
"At the moment, there are not enough incentives to encourage users to opt for energy efficient technology, but the coming energy price hikes will change this".
"The forthcoming building regulations, with its more stringent requirements for ventilation systems, will also lead to an increase in the usage of drives in buildings".
• ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors): contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Engineeringtalk email newsletter
• Engineeringtalk Home Page
