Global comparisons of metal finishing sectors: Part 3, estimate of world output

Abstract

The author has explored in two previous articles similarities and differences in national subcontract metal finishing sectors economically, structurally, operationally and in the processes offered by subcontractors. In this contribution an attempt is made to try to establish the size of the global surface finishing effort. It is especially timely since a very recent report from the KTN Materials Group has been published looking at opportunities for exploiting new applications of surface finishing/engineering in the UK economy. Early in the report the authors note ‘the global market for surface engineering is difficult to quantify’ and highlight data from other strategy reports giving historical and predicted values for different process families in the surface finishing sector. Among the data reported is a figure for the global market for electroplating expected to be US$ 13.64 Bn by 2015. However, Standard Industrial Classification SIC 2561 (Treatment and coating of metals) subcontractor annual outputs for electroplating and related processes (electroless, anodising, conversion coatings etc.) – taken as y30% total job shop metal finishing sector output – for subcontractors alone in the EU, USA and Japan yield figures of about US$ 7Bn, 9Bn and 4Bn, respectively, with China likely to at least equal that of the USA at US$ 9Bn. We can see, therefore, that as the KTN authors imply, some improvement in the quantifying of the sector’s global output would be welcome. Some previous reports have employed, at least in part, a methodology involving interviewing and questioning senior executives from a number of the major process and technology suppliers and practitioner companies. One of the potential problems with this approach is a practical limitation in the number of responses and possible variation in the answers, leaving the authors with an ‘averaging’ task in finalising the report. Is there another way of reaching the output solution which relies less on a relatively small number of opinions and more on solid data?