Frost & Sullivan: Growth of beverage production in sub-Saharan Africa stokes demand for ACS

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IBG - SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide

January 2014 News

The growing demand for beer, carbonated soft drinks and other beverages in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to expand the sub-region’s beverage manufacturing sector through to 2019. In turn, the construction of production plants in Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique, and the refurbishment of existing production facilities translate to new installation orders for automation and control solutions (ACS).

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, ‘Analysis of the Automation and Control Solutions Market within sub-Saharan Africa’s Beverages Industry’, finds that the market earned revenues of $23 million in 2012 and estimates this to reach $32.2 million in 2019. In terms of product types, the PLC segment is expected to account for most of the region’s ACS market revenues, followed by DCS, scada, HMI and MES.

The SSA beverage market is beset with infrastructure and energy shortages, which impact the operational expenditure of the manufacturing sector. Due to this, production costs of beverage plants in SSA are higher than their Asian and European counterparts.

“Beverage manufacturers are making concerted efforts to improve operational efficiency to control costs,” says Frost & Sullivan consulting manager for the industrial unit, James Fungai Maposa. “ACS is a big asset in these endeavours as it allows manufacturers to monitor and control the production process.”

ACS enables the optimum use of resources and cost savings through reduced operational expenses and lower labour costs. Furthermore, it aids the delivery of real-time information to key decision makers, helping them to make critical decisions in the shortest possible time with regards to supply and demand.

Despite these outstanding benefits, the region’s ACS market faces a threat from lower priced Asian imports. Market participants are also grappling with a shortage of technical and engineering skills at both the end-user and supplier levels. The region has traditionally been a slow adopter of new technologies and the language barriers further restrict market growth.

“Cost-conscious participants are likely to purchase the lower priced Asian imports, which are reportedly of comparable quality to regionally supplied ACS systems,” noted Maposa. “To avoid losing shares to foreign participants, regional suppliers should aim to offer ACS solutions at affordable prices.”

Manufacturers can also negate the language barrier in the Portuguese-speaking African markets by establishing a team of Portuguese-speaking employees in those countries. They will benefit greatly by educating end users on the merits of installing and using ACS systems.

For more information contact Samantha James, Frost & Sullivan, +27 (0)21 680 3574, [email protected], www.frost.com

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Frost & Sullivan: Growth of beverage production in sub-Saharan Africa stokes demand for ACS

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