Industry Insights
Increased usage across domestic as well industrial applications is expected to positively impact the sand blasting equipment market growth over the next six years. In 2012, the global sand blasting equipment market was valued over USD 330 million. Further, increasing demand from several industries including construction, aerospace and automotive is also expected to be favorable for the market. High investment by key market participants across robotic technology is also expected to propel sand blasting equipment market growth over the next six years. Unfavorable government initiatives in countries including the UK, U.S. and Turkey, restricting the application abrasives that are blast cleaning-based and contain over 0.1% of free silica content may pose a challenge to the sand blasting equipment market. Silica inhalation is hazardous to health, which causes silicosis and several other lung diseases.
Ban on use of blast cleaning abrasives owing to the aforementioned hazards has positively impacted the demand for other abrasive materials such as crushed glass, shells, walnut and water. Shot blasting machines have successfully substituted sand blasting equipment across numerous applications so as to prevent contracting any lung disorders, which is thereby expected to hamper market growth. Shot blasting machines use metallic grits and shots as abrasives, making them more feasible. Sand blasting equipment market is highly fragmented in nature, with key industry participants investing in robotic sand blasting technology. In addition, manufacturers emphasize on providing safety devices to sand blasting equipment operators owing to the several health hazards they cause. Mergers & acquisitions and alliances remain to be major growth strategies adopted by several market players.
Product Insights
Based on target applications and size, the sand blasting equipment market is broadly categorized into: industrial and mini machines. Mini sand blasting equipment is portable, and are still in early growth stage. The segment is expected to witness high growth over the forecast period owing to substitution of manual labor along with increased adoption of sand blasting equipment to perform repairing, rust removal, and paint removal. In 2013, industrial machines contributed over 80% to the overall market, which can be attributed to multiple utility exhibited by these machines that led to their high volume purchases by several industries. Further, these machines help businesses address many surface preparation and metallic cleaning requirements.
Regional Insights
Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the most lucrative regional market over the forecast period. This is primarily due to the increased adoption of sand blasting equipment across end-use industries including aerospace, construction, infrastructure and automotive. Additionally, high demand in regions such as China, Japan and India is expected to drive the regional sand blasting equipment market growth. North America is also expected to exhibit growth over the forecast period owing to increased use of this equipment across home improvement and automotive applications.
