McIlvaine says the oil and gas industry will be the biggest purchaser. There is substantial growth in unconventional fuels, including gas shale, tar sands, and gas-to-liquids. Direct liquefaction of coal in the U.S. and China promises to be one of the unanticipated hot markets, with turbulence in the Middle East, the Japanese nuclear meltdown, and breakthroughs in commercializing direct liquefaction providing incentive to move forward, according to McIlvaine.
The valve sizes and materials cover the spectrum, reports McIlvaine, with big subsea valves and small fingernail-sized valves used in fluid power applications.
The industry is comprised of several tiers of companies, with a few large companies accounting for more than $1 billion in valve sales. There is a middle tier of companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. The bottom tier comprises more than 10,000 small companies with special niche technology and applications, according to McIlvaine.