High-end transformation of instrumentation industry needs to overcome industry weaknesses

Since the second half of 2009, the instrumentation market has gradually recovered. The rapid development of emerging industries has driven the instrumentation industry out of the trough; and the progress in intelligent technology has enabled the instrumentation industry to accelerate the transition to high-end manufacturing.

New industries that have a major impact on the instrumentation industry are low-carbon industries. The low-carbon economy has become a hot spot in the world economy with its unique advantages and huge market, and it is closely related to the instrumentation industry. At the same time, instrumentation has the characteristics of “three highs and three lows”, namely, high technology, high input, high output, low energy consumption, low material consumption, and low pollution. The development of a low carbon economy is bound to drive up the demand for instrumentation.

For example, thermal energy meters and thermal energy meters are energy metering devices that can directly enter home or environmental monitoring departments to monitor carbon dioxide emissions. Their market prospects and market capacity are huge. Another example is automation control instruments, including thermal power grid automation control instruments, CBM power generation automation control instrumentation, smart grid system instrumentation, motor energy-saving instrumentation, energy automation control instrumentation, etc., all of which are becoming more and more important with the construction of smart grids. .

However, the total output value of China's instrumentation industry is low, and the scale of the company is also small, which is not conducive to the transition to the high-end. According to statistics, there are 1,887 large- and small-scale enterprises in the industry, but there are less than 15 companies with annual sales of more than 1 billion yuan, and there is a lack of "flagship" companies with comprehensive strength.

With the exception of a few key enterprises, most companies take the path of low-cost expansion. With the strong cooperation and supporting capabilities formed by specialized division of labor, many products have made the cost very low. It is precisely because of this low cost advantage that they overcome their opponents and seek development. However, this kind of low-cost expansion will affect companies’ sense of urgency for technological investment and talent absorption, and it is also not conducive to industry transformation.

In addition, investment in corporate technology development is generally insufficient. Since most domestic enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises, they cannot support sufficient and long-term technological innovation in human and financial resources. Taking scientific instruments as an example, the development investment of foreign companies in general accounts for 10% of sales, while China only accounts for 3%.

China's instrumentation industry is facing a rare opportunity for high-end transformation, but before seizing the opportunity, the industry and companies must first consider how to overcome the industry's own shortcomings.