Motors and Generators
SIC 3621
NAICS 335312
The motors and generators industry manufactures electric motors and power generators for a diverse range of industrial applications, mostly as components for other manufacturers' finished products. Industry output includes motors and generators for trains, buses, and trucks.
Electric motors and generators provide much of the power for the world's industrial production. Typically, manufacturers purchase motors and generators for use in a wide range of products. The most widespread use of motors has been for integration into consumer and industrial appliances, including heating and air-conditioning systems, refrigerators, and cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaners.
Household appliances were projected to be one of the fastest growing markets for motors into 2005. According to Appliance Manufacturer, volume was projected to exceed 61 million units in 2005, a significant increase from 19 million units in 2000. Especially in the United States, the automotive industry is another important market for manufacturers of motors, generators, and related parts. Automobile manufacturers use motors as components for accessories such as air conditioners and windshield wipers.
In late 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that industry shipments were valued at US$8.0 billion. Fractional horsepower motors accounted for US$3.0 billion, followed by integral horsepower motors (US$1.3 billion), prime mover generator sets (US$2.0 billion), and electric motor generator sets (nearly US$929 million). According to the Freedonia Group, explosive growth is projected in the newer fuel cell sector, which is set to reach US$1.1 billion by 2008 and US$4.6 billion by 2013.
The motor and generator manufacturing industry was one of the key industries of the so-called second industrial revolution of the late nineteenth century. The pioneering and dominant countries for most of the industry's history have been the United States and Germany. In the post-World War II years, Japan joined these countries, becoming a leading producer and exporter. Most of the industry's largest firms were based in these three countries, and rank among the world's largest multinational companies.
Like many manufacturing industries, motor and generator production has been affected by environmental concerns. Specific issues facing this industry include energy efficiency, noise pollution, and the effects discarded motors have on the environment once they occupy landfills.
Standards of compatibility in the United States for the motors and generators industry were developed under the sponsorship of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). NEMA is a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Committee on Electrical Rotating Machinery. The committee serves as a forum to hear the views of motor and generator manufacturers, users of these products, and other concerned parties. Upon establishing a consensus, ANSI publishes national standards. Other organizations in the United States have also developed standards for safety and performance. These organizations include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Underwriters Laboratories Inc., the American Gear Manufacturers Association, the Edison Electric Institute, and the Hydraulic Institute.
European manufacturers of motors and generators produce goods to the standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). These different production standards were argued by the U.S. Department of Commerce to work to the advantage of European and other foreign manufacturers. The department based this argument on the larger size of the U.S. market, a situation that allegedly makes it more cost effective for foreign producers to tailor specific product lines.
The major competitors with U.S. firms in the domestic market in the 1990s were large internationally oriented firms, including the Toshiba Corporation, the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Hitachi, Ltd. of Japan; Siemens AG of Germany; and Asea Brown Boveri AG of Switzerland.
International trade for the leading producers of electric motors and generators is marked by strong patterns of regional specialization. For Germany, the most important export market was the rest of Europe; for Japan, most exports went to Asia and North America; for the United States, the most important export markets were North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico.
European manufacturers in the industry were served by the European Committee of Manufacturers of Electrical Machines and Power Electronics (CEMEP). The committee was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Paris. It seeks to represent members regarding standards, policies, and legislation affecting the industry.
Electric motors convert electricity into rotary mechanical energy, while generators do just the opposite. Technological advances have thus allowed the same machine to serve as both an electric motor and generator, with energy flowing in either direction. Generators have historically been most widely used in centralized power production facilities, although they are also used to generate electrical power in automobiles, ships, trains, and aircraft. The use of electric motors is more decentralized, ranging from home appliances to heavy industrial applications. Motors and generators are designated as either permanent magnet or electromagnetic, and typed as either alternating or direct current.
The electrical motors and generators industry originated in the 1880s, when firms arose in the United States to commercialize the inventions of Thomas Edison, Elihu Thomson, and George Westinghouse. The industry was one of the few in which the key inventors successfully commercialized their inventions and launched companies that became industry leaders. Compared with most manufacturing industries, these firms required greater numbers of technically trained employees. These employees were necessary not only for designing and producing commercially viable electrical machines, but also for marketing, installing, and maintaining them. Producers of electrical machinery also made large investments in research and development.
As a result of the great expense of manufacturing electrical machinery, producers found it necessary to establish substantial lines of credit to buyers. The largest German firms established banks to facilitate sales of their machinery. Buyers also purchased electrical equipment with their own stocks and bonds, leading some producers of electrical machinery to establish holding companies. Firms in the industry thus became vertically integrated across a wide range of activities early in the sector's development.
In these early years, the Thomson-Houston company established the industry's most sophisticated domestic and international marketing organization...
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