In 2009, the domestic instrumentation and meter industry continued to be in a golden period of development. According to the latest statistics from the China Instrument and Meter Industry Association, the output value of the instrumentation industry from January to May 2009 reached 104 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28%; sales revenue reached 98.1 billion yuan, an increase of 28.1% year-on-year; profits reached 6.8 billion yuan, year-on-year Increased by 44.5%.

Dong Jingchen, deputy secretary-general of the China Instrument and Meter Industry Association, predicts that the growth rate of the instrument industry in 2007 will remain at a high level, and will at least keep pace with last year's growth rate. The growth rate may even be 2-4 percentage points higher than last year.

At this point, the instrumentation industry has maintained a high level of economic operation for six consecutive years.

“This is somewhat inconsistent with our forecast last year. We originally expected this year's growth rate to decline, but from the current situation, the growth rate of the instrument industry has not slowed down. I think there are two main reasons. First, The country’s economy is still operating at a high level; according to past experience, if the GDP growth is above 10%, the growth rate of the instrument industry will be between 26% and 30%.Second, the impact of the national macro-control on the instrument industry In the lag period, meters are often delivered only after the end of the project. Therefore, investment that is reduced due to macro-control policies will not have much impact on the instrument industry this year, said Dong Jingchen.

However, although the instrument industry in 2009 continued its rapid development, it also showed some new trends.

Foreign-invested enterprises have adjusted investment in China. Strategic foreign-funded instrument and instrument companies have begun to change their investment methods, which were originally based on sole proprietorship. This change is mainly reflected in two aspects. First, it has begun to focus on acquisitions and mergers and acquisitions of outstanding domestic production companies. Second, the proportion of commissioned production has continued to rise.

In the past year or two, foreign-funded enterprises have made extensive contacts with outstanding domestic companies and proposed acquisition intentions. However, there are not many successes. So far, the well-known companies in the domestic instrument industry have only been partially acquired by GE. However, according to people familiar with the situation, this acquisition did not bring about rapid development of Xinhua after the acquisition.

In fact, it is not easy for foreign companies to acquire outstanding domestic companies. At present, the government's support for the instrumentation industry is growing. Last year alone and in the first half of this year, the Ministry of Science and Technology has set up six research topics on instrumentation, and government financial support has exceeded 100 million yuan. This unprecedented level of support allows domestic excellent instrument manufacturers to have a broader space for development.

In addition, more and more foreign companies have begun adopting methods of commissioning processing in the country. Siemens and Honeywell are looking for domestic companies to commission their products. Dong Jingchen stated that this is a good thing for the domestic instrument manufacturing companies. In the process of commissioning production and processing, according to the quality requirements of internationally renowned companies, the company's own technical level can be continuously improved. The most typical example is that, as the entrusted production unit of Siemens electromagnetic flowmeter, the current electromagnetic flowmeter products manufactured by Beijing Ripu Sanyuan Co., Ltd. have already begun to export to Europe.

Low value-added products facing transformation Dong Jingchen said that in the first half of 2009, the instrument industry had a distinct feature, that is, the growth rate of low-value-added products decreased significantly. From January to May, the growth rate of the output value of electrical instruments was only 18.8%, which was significantly lower than the industry's growth rate of 28%.

Electricity meter as a single product exports billions of dollars in the fist product, the development of the first half also encountered obstacles: its export output growth was only 19%, much lower than the average growth rate of instrument industry exports. Dong Jingchen believes that at present, foreign markets have imposed higher requirements on the performance of meter products, and traditional mechanical meters have been unable to meet the needs of foreign markets.

At present, domestic electricity meter manufacturers have basically completed the transition to electronic power meters. The output value of the electronic watt-hour meter has exceeded the output value of the mechanical watt-hour meter and has become the mainstream product of the watt-hour meter.

Domestic enterprises are optimistic about the rapid growth of the export value of the instrumentation products in the international market in the first half of this year, an increase of nearly 38% year-on-year. However, the export value of the instrument industry is not very high. In 2008, it was only US$6.8 billion. However, this situation may change. Dong Jingchen analyzed that the technical level and quality of domestic instrumentation products are continuously improving. In the mid-range product area, the performance-price ratio has a certain advantage, and it also has considerable competitiveness in the international market. At the same time, according to the China Instrument and Meter Industry Association, the growth rate of the domestic instrument industry in 2008 is likely to slow down. In such a large environment, domestic instrument manufacturing companies have turned their attention to the international market and made up for the country’s reduced market share by expanding exports.

In Dong Jingchen's view, the work to be done by enterprises is not limited to this. Enterprises should also start with technological innovation and improve services. On the one hand, new products are used to increase the added value and sales, and on the other hand, system integration and solution are provided. Programs and other services, extend the service content of instrument products, and continuously improve their own level of benefits. At present, in order to increase economic efficiency, large-scale users often outsource the maintenance of automated instruments, and service outsourcing has become a trend. It is understood that Wuzhong Instrument Co., Ltd. has set up more than a dozen repair sites throughout the country, and the maintenance income for one year alone reached more than 30 million yuan. "Instrument manufacturers must be good at grasping such opportunities," said Dong Jingchen earnestly.