SINGAPORE: Fuelled by the upturn in economic activities, new opportunities are unfolding for participants in the Asia Pacific generator sets market. The commercial and industrial end users are expected to be the major customer segments procuring generator sets for stand-by and prime power applications. Among the various distributed power generation technologies, generator sets are highly preferred and are poised to continue their dominance in the foreseeable future. Being one of the most proven technologies for backup power, they are also cost effective and have a simple operating mechanism and easy procurement channels.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific Generator Sets Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $765.3 million in 2009 and estimates this to reach to $1,121.1 million in 2016.

"As Asian countries are dominated by energy-intensive industries, the need for reliable and stable power supply is a top priority for this segment," says Frost & Sullivan Program Manager Suchitra Sriram. "To deal with unexpected power outages, all major industries and commercial buildings prefer to own generator sets."

Revival of stalled projects in the construction and infrastructure segments is expected to stimulate the demand for generator sets. Moreover, expansion plans in the manufacturing, mining, and process industries are likely to ensure that demand remains robust in the near term. The growing need for uninterrupted power supply has made generator sets indispensable as a stand-by application. Apart from this, the region's topography makes it difficult to provide extensive grid coverage for remote rural areas and far-flung islands. In such places, generator sets are used for prime power application.

Although the outlook for the market looks bright, trends point to a low annual growth rate and varying demand patterns in each country. Some challenges have clouded the market landscape; the well-developed infrastructure and availability of cheap electricity from utilities have impaired market progression. The investment cap on equipment by industries, commercial enterprises, and institutional end users has also proven to be a hurdle.

Aside from this, the generator sets market was severely affected by the global economic downturn and several projects were either pushed to the back burner or cancelled due to lack of credit. Increasing imports from China have made it challenging for multinational companies to sustain their market share.

"With issues pertaining to climate change and global warming gaining significant attention, end user awareness of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficient technologies has been ramped up considerably," says Sriram. "RE technologies such as wind, solar photovoltaic (PV), and biomass power are gaining popularity among the distributed onsite power generation technologies because of their long-term benefits that include no fuel costs, no emissions, no operational costs, and simple operating mechanisms."

Also, with new high-rise buildings under construction gravitating toward green energy, the growth of the generator sets market has been curtailed.

To remain successful in this highly price-sensitive space, generator sets dealers must fine-tune their after-sales strategies by providing ready accessibility to spare parts and ramping up customer support. Moreover, they must ensure timely attendance to customer complaints. Providing project finance and undertaking strong brand building measures will enable customer retention and help secure repeat business. Generator sets manufacturers must aggressively showcase the advancements in engine technology as well as illustrate the benefits of low initial investment costs associated with generator sets to expand the customer base.

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

Asia Pacific Generator Sets Market is part of the Energy & Power Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the European Generator Sets Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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