The State of the Industrial Compressor Market

Abstract

The industrial compressor industry in the United States has been operating in a textbook example of a mature market. No truly new compressor technology has been introduced in the past thirty years and there is none on the horizon. Competitive pressures have pushed manufacturers to increase per-employee productivity and implement strict inventory and purchasing procedures to maintain profitability. Many major players that were in the rotary screw industry ten to fifteen years ago (Joy, Chicago Pneumatic, Worthington and Kellogg, to name a few) are gone. With Ingersoll-Rand's recent departure, Gardner Denver is the only U.S. company that manufactures an industrial, double-acting, reciprocating compressor. The dynamic compressor manufacturers face a similar situation. When inflation, small as it is, is factored in, industrial compressor prices have held steady or fallen in each of the past five years. With these market conditions, it is likely that the number of companies that manufacture industrial compressors will continue to decline. The companies that survive and grow will be the ones that offer solutions instead of just equipment.