Engineering market is generally divided into five different segments. Etteplan operates mainly in the industrial equipment segment.
The business environment in machinery and equipment design has undergone an intense change in the course of the last couple of years due to changes in operating environment. The design sector is still fragmented in its structure and there are plenty of small, local companies in this field. The consolidation of the industry that commenced in the beginning of the 21st century slowed down in 2009. Customers, however, have continued to centralize their purchases, and the structure of the sector is changing slowly as a consequence.
The business environment of our customers has changed rapidly. Increasing competition and shifting of the focus in demand to Asia in many sectors have led to more decisions by our customers to renew their production structures and operating methods. New demand for technical design services is being generated in Asia as a consequence of these changes in the business environment.
Our customers are developing their operations by concentrating on their core business and unifying their methods of operation. For technical design and product information services, this leads to requirements to provide saving opportunities, flexibility, and services that are independent of time and place as well as operating procedures that meet strict data security requirements.
Engineering service market segments
Trends guiding demand development of machinery and equipment design
Trends that guide the demand development of machinery and equipment design sector include rapid introduction of product innovations to the market and the growing need for information, for its management and utilization. The need for ever more ecologically efficient equipment solutions and advances in health-care technology are also doing their part to drive demand.
Stricter requirements with regard to the environment and eco-efficiency stress the importance of management of the entire life cycle of machinery and equipment. Life cycle management, for its part, creates demand for controlling technical design and product information at all stages. As health care becomes ever more technology-dependent, the need for design services for the machinery and equipment of the medical technology equipment manufacturers will increase.