Market
LEADING A GROWING MARKET
Troax is the market leader on a global niche market for metal-based mesh panels. Our products are mainly used to give personnel a safe working environment, especially in businesses where machinery is used. We focus on machine guarding, warehousing and storage.
MACHINE GUARDING
Modern industries are often highly automated, which requires a high degree of safety. To protect people from potentially dangerous machines, and to protect the manufacturing process, the two are separated using mesh wall solutions, for example. Our customers within machine guarding are mainly integrators, the automotive industry, manufacturers of industrial equipment, and industries in general.
GROWTH FACTORS
The market for machine guarding is expected to grow in the region of 7–8%. Growth is mainly expected within the industries that use large industrial robots. Examples include the automotive industry, mining and steel, pharmaceuticals, food, and the workshop industry.
CUSTOMERS
• Municipal and private housing companies, along with housing associations
• The construction industry
• Professional storage rental companies
WAREHOUSE AND INDUSTRIAL WALLS
Our products for warehouse and industrial walls include partitioning, cages, mesh shelving, and slide protection. Troax is also strong within the automated warehouse segment. Our customer base is broad and dynamic, from pallet stacker manufacturers and other integrators to companies within e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, and logistics. There are also customers within data and server hall construction.
GROWTH FACTORS
This part of the market is expected to grow around 3–4%, driven very much by the development of large retailers and their need for storage. The e-commerce trade is also a rising growth factor. E-commerce grows by and large at around 10% per annum.
CUSTOMERS
• Pallet stacker manufacturers and other integrators
• E-commerce, catalog, and pharmaceutical chains
• Logistics companies that complement transport services with warehousing solutions
• Data and server hall builders
STORAGE
Troax supplies customisable solutions for unique storage areas, designed to fit and fulfil the storage needs of our customers. Property owners all over the world provide their tenants with storage space using storage systems from Troax. Apart from private and municipal properties and housing associations, we also help the construction industry and professional storage rental companies.
GROWTH FACTORS
This part of the market is dependent on housing construction, and thus partially on political decisions. Growth is expected within the range of 2–3%.
CUSTOMERS
• Municipal and private housing companies, along with housing associations
• The construction industry
• Professional storage rental companies
METAL-BASED MESH PANELS
The estimated market growth of around 5% per annum means that the global market is expected to be worth around EUR 1,100 million. Troax believes that the market will continue to grow at that rate, given that the international boom does not significantly weaken.
An estimate of the world market can be made according to the following:
Europe – 45% of the world market, or approx.
EUR 500 million. The market roughly breaks down into machine guarding 55%, warehouse and industrial walls 31%, and storage solutions 14%.
North America – 41% of the world market, or approx.
EUR 450 million.
Asia – 14% of the world market, or approx.
EUR 150 million.
Troax has around 15% of the world market and is the biggest of the known players. Our goal is to achieve over 18% within 2–4 years. Our European market share is estimated at just under 25%, a clear market leader position that can still be improved. The competition still consists of a large degree of metalworkers and small workshops. That implies that Troax still has plenty of opportunities to find new customers, as our products are clearly to the benefit of the customer compared to a local metalworker. The latter is less common in the Nordic countries, but in southern Europe and in the growth markets (including the USA), such suppliers can account for up to 40%.
THE MARKET IS CHARACTERISED BY:
• high requirements for safety in exposed environments, which drives growth
• customer needs for support and help to choose the right safety solution within mesh walls
• norms and standards that increase requirements, e.g. ISO 14120
• demand for short delivery times
• safety solutions are often a minor part of total investment
• growth within e-commerce solutions (which ramps up the need for warehouse solutions)
KEY DRIVING FORCES
Tougher streamlining requirements increase automation within the manufacturing industry and logistics. As the use of robots grows, the requirement for people to be able to work in a safe environment grows too, even though the manufacturing process is automated. Mesh wall solutions are the safest and most competitive alternative.
ENCREASED SAFETY
The main requirement is to prevent personnel from entering hazardous zones or work areas. That requires considerable understanding of physical safety, and the need to safeguard processes. The solution is often a combination of metal-based mesh wall solutions and electronic locks that ensure the production process cannot be disrupted in an uncontrolled manner.
A key machine directive is in force in Europe in the form of the EU (2006/42/EC), which regulates several important aspects of safety. This directive helps to standardize the approach to safety and drives requirements for safety in practice. Troax believes that this directive, along with ISO 14120, are key elements for the protection of future jobs. Our products still exceed the ISO requirements in the most relevant parts, which means we also stand strong and ready when international companies, mainly in the USA and China, begin to adapt to ISO.
COMPETITORS
There are few competitors that can be regarded as global, or even partially global. There are also a number of regional and local players. However, they do not have the geographical reach customers want. There are also a large number of locally-based metalworkers, who do not have the same understanding of the safety solutions required. Historically, such companies have been losing market share. They are most common in southern Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific.
