Contamination Control Market to Double by Year 2000
By LISA A. COLEMAN
Northbrook, IL–By the year 2000, the market for con tamination control hardware and disposables is predicted to grow from $2.1 to $4.6 billion, according to a recent market research study released by The McIlvaine Co. According to the World Cleanroom Markets report, the rapid growth is due to the expansion of industries using cleanroom technology, and the development of new applications, such as flat panel displays, which use cleanroom hardware in the manufacturing process.
Today, over 50 million ft2 of cleanroom space is in use. By the year 2000, the square footage of cleanroom space worldwide is expected to double to 100 million. Most of this growth can be attributed to the semiconductor industry, which is predicted to make-up $2.1 billion of the $4.1 billion in total cleanroom orders in 2000. Besides the growth in space, the number of personnel working in cleanrooms is also expected to double. Currently, over 600,000 people are employed in cleanrooms worldwide. By 2000, this number is expected to be just under 1.2 million people. With the increased numbers of personnel, the market for disposables–garments, gloves and wipes–will also rise from 1995`s $.2.1 billion to about $4 billion in 2000. Half of the expenditures for disposables in 2000 will come from the semiconductor industry, while the pharmaceutical industry is predicted to be the next largest buyer.
The fastest growing cleanroom market is Korea, but Malaysia and Indonesia are following suit. The Asian market is a potential hotbed for cleanroom hardware and disposables. For example, the disk drive industry, which is centered in southeast Asia, is forecasted to increase its purchases of cleanroom hardware and disposables at a 20 percent annual level until 2000. Europe is slated to have the largest potential for food, pharmaceutical and hospital applications.
The two largest types of cleanroom space built in 2000 will be Class 10 or better and Class 100,000 cleanrooms–with each claiming 23.5 million ft2 and 29.8 million ft2 of cleanroom space, respectively. Of the Class 10 or better cleanrooms, the semiconductor and disk drives industries will occupy most of the space, while flat panels, automotive and other applications will make up the rest. Industries such as food, hospitals, medical devices and pharmaceuticals will use Class 100, 1,000, 10,000 and 100,000 cleanrooms. n