Linear motors grow despite downturn

IMS Research says this was quite high compared to many areas of industrial automation. It also came despite reduced investment in two strong sectors for linear motors – the semiconductor and flat panel machinery markets. These sectors now account for around one-third of all sales; in 2004 their share was more than half of the market. A boom in demand for linear motors from the machine tool sector and in high-end applications has helped to offset this fall. Report analyst Rob Carter said: “Demand in medical, test and measurement, and photovoltaic machinery has increased dramatically over the last couple of years, with these markets accounting for 10-15% of all linear motor systems revenues in 2007. He added that these areas were likely to account for almost 20% of all linear motor revenues within the next five years.