Motor, Generator, Pump, and Compressor Mfg Industry Profile

US manufacturing of electric motors, generators, pumps, and compressors involves about 1,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $30 billion. Major companies include AO Smith, IDEX Corp, Franklin Electric, and Tecumseh, as well as divisions of Emerson Electric, GE, and Ingersoll Rand. The industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 80 percent of revenue in each major market segment.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Industrial and manufacturing companies drive demand. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient production. Small companies can compete by specializing. While larger companies, like GE, produce mainly a standard line of products, smaller companies are more likely to adapt products for customers' special needs. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $330,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major product categories are electrical motors and generators (about 35 percent of industry revenue); pumps (35 percent); and air and gas compressors (30 percent).

Fractional horsepower motors (fractions of one horsepower) account for the majority of motor and generator production; followed by integral horsepower motors (multiples of one horsepower); "prime mover" generators (powered by prime movers like diesel or steam engines); and motor-generator sets. Almost all motors and generators are sold to industrial users (both as components in product manufacture and for industrial process use), as sources of power for industrial use, and as emergency electrical sources for commercial users. The three major types of pumps and compressors are rotary gear, centrifuge, and ...