Dedham, Massachusetts; June 18, 2006: India's economic expansion, ac-companied by its rising consumer demand, is propelling the country's manufacturing sector, which in turn is driving the programmable logic con-troller (PLC) market in India. India's PLC market reached close to $150 million in 2005 and is expected to grow at an astounding compounded an-nual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2% over the next five years, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study, "Programmable Logic Controller Out-look for India" (www.arcweb.com/res/plc-ind).

The country's growing middle class segment, which has more disposable income to spend, is creating a huge demand for a broad range of manufac-tured goods, fueling the growth of a variety of process and discrete indus-tries in India. "The manufacturing sector, which has been registering strong growth over the last five years, is thriving and intensely competitive. This makes manufacturers rely on automation to help them gain a com-petitive edge and improve profitability. With manufacturers increasing their automation spending, the outlook for the PLC market is extremely bright," according to Senior Analyst Himanshu Shah (hshah@arcweb.com), the co-author of the study.

Growing Industries

Investments in most vertical industries including automotive, construction, chemical & petrochemical, electric power, food & beverage, metals, oil & gas, and pharmaceutical are growing at lightening speed. The increasing demand for a wide range of goods is driving the growth of these industries, and the outlook for both process and discrete industries is expected to re-main optimistic. With PLCs remaining the key automation solution for discrete industries, and their application in process industries expanding, investments in these sectors are powerfully boosting the PLC market in In-dia.

Supplier Strategies

Manufacturers seek automation equipment that supports their business ob-jectives, such as improving the return on assets (ROA), enhancing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and achieving lean and flexible manufac-turing through real-time performance management (RPM). These manufacturers are realizing the role of PLCs in achieving these objectives, expanding PLC demand.

With numerous suppliers targeting the demand-driven marketplace, com-petition has intensified forcing suppliers to be responsive to the market challenges. Himanshu Shah adds, "Suppliers in India are adopting well planned strategies, such as expanding their local representative networks, establishing local manufacturing facilities, targeting OEMs, and focusing on growing industries, to exploit the opportunities."

The "Programmable Logic Controller Outlook for India" report addresses the expanding role of PLCs and also identifies overall PLC trends in prod-ucts, platforms, market sectors, and application segments where large investments take place.

For more information on this study, go to: www.arcweb.com/res/plc-ind.

About ARC: Founded in 1986, ARC Advisory Group has grown to become the Thought Leader in Manufacturing and Supply Chain solutions. No matter how complex your business issues, our analysts have the expert in-dustry knowledge and first-hand experience to help you find the best answer. We focus on simple yet critical goals: improving your return on assets, operational performance, total cost of ownership, project time-to-benefit, and shareholder value. Further information can be obtained from ARC, Three Allied Drive, Dedham, MA 02026, 781-471-1000, Fax 781-471-1100, E-mail info@arcweb.com, Web www.arcweb.com.

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