As the complexity of modern factory operations tends to stabilize, engineers only need to evaluate the control, feedback, and condition monitoring performance provided by high-end products. Therefore, a key area for established manufacturers is pneumatic valve manifolds integrated with network communication functions.

According to a new report, Chinese manufacturers of pneumatic valves and actuators are advancing into the U.S. and European markets in large groups, triggering a new round of industry reshuffling and changing the competitive landscape of the global market.

At present, the global pneumatic components market is dominated by a few large manufacturers, led by Germany's Festo and Japan's SMC. These two companies alone accounted for more than 48% of the global revenue of 9 billion U.S. dollars in 2012.

However, beneath this surface, a large group of emerging suppliers, mostly from Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, are already on the move. These companies are continuously advancing into new Western markets and are expected to compete fiercely with established suppliers. Chinese suppliers mainly focus on the production of standard traditional pneumatic valves and actuators, and have an absolute advantage in terms of price. They are setting their sights on larger markets such as Europe and North America, and gradually entering these markets through local distributors.

In the next five years, the sales growth rate of pneumatic valve manifolds is likely to reach six times that of single valves. In the future, the pneumatic components market will keep pace with the growth in demand for industrial machinery. The pneumatic components market initially consists of simple technical devices, and some major product substitution trends will affect the future development of this market. How suppliers respond to these trends will shape the competitive environment in the next few years.