Vibration Level Switch Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Vibration Level Switch Market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.82% over the forecast period from 2021 - 2026. Vibration level switches offer several advantages such as they are easy to install, setup and commissioning is possible without medium and provide reliable point level measurement independent of installation position, pressure, temperature, foam, viscosity, and grain size. The extensive use of vibrating level switches across various process industries is a testament to the technology's reliability. The devices protect against overfill, indicate low and high points inside tanks, and are useful over a significant range of temperatures. A sturdy design, combined with product variants that include selectable probe length, a variety of sensor materials, and specialized output features, make vibrating fork switches applicable in several operations where the level indication is needed. Chemical processing, mining, food and beverage, water, and other industries utilize the switches due to their customizable designs and consistent performance.

Key Highlights

• Not all applications can utilize an absolute level sensor as the tank may be too deep, or the contents are not liquid. In these cases, a level switch is used instead, which can be thought of as a logical switch indicating if there is anything around the switch. Multiple switches can be attached to the side of a container, which is useful for determining if the tank requires refilling or if a pump connected to the bottom is running dry. However, highly viscous liquids are generally not good candidates for applying a vibrating fork level switch. Some liquids present the potential for material accumulation between the forks, which could result in poor performance. Both of these limitations are addressed by multiple design features incorporated by different manufacturers.
• To help solve common issues found with level switches, in May 2020, Baumer announced their latest level switch; the PL20. The PL20 utilizes frequency deviation technology to detect a medium and can ignore viscous substance build up on the sensor head. The adaptive trigger mechanism allows the sensor to self-configure itself to the detected medium with no need for parameter setting. The switch can work with the vast majority of substances, including those found in the food industry, such as liquids, pasty, viscous, or solids. The PL20 excels in the food industry due to its food-grade design. Food materials such as pasty, which tend to stick to sensors and other materials that can buildup electrostatic charge, cannot affect the PL20s performance.
• In April 2020, OleumTech launched two Explosion-Proof Tuning Fork Level Switch models and the Hardwired H Series instrumentation product line. Designed for preventing overfill or dry run conditions in liquids, granular plastics, fine-grained solids, gravel, and powders, these products are useful for operational awareness and increased safety in all industrial markets. In September 2019, AutomationDirect added ProSense Vibration Fork Liquid Level Switches to its product portfolio. Suitable for the usage in vessels, tanks and pipes, the VFL series is a suitable alternative for applications where other liquid point level technologies such as float switches or conductive, optical and capacitance sensors are not ideal due to turbulence, conductivity, buildup, air bubbles, foam, temperature, pressure, and viscosity changes.
• With the outbreak of COVID-19, most end-user industries such as chemicals, food, and beverages, oil, and gas, where there is a significant usage of vibration level switches, were considerably affected. For instance, COVID-19 continued to make an impact on the food industry and its supply chains. However, the rise and shift in customer and consumer demand from the foodservice channel to retail, driven by increased at-home usage due to coronavirus sheltering-in-place precautions, will result in some consumer packaged goods manufacturers seeing a significant increase in volume, revenue, and profit. Also, food manufacturers could upgrade or renovate their facilities to better address flexibility in producing a variety of product sizes, which could result in increased vibration-level switches during the manufacturing processes in this sector.

Key Market Trends

Chemicals Industry is Expected to Hold Significant Share

• Chemical manufacturing demands instrumentation as high as in no other industrial sector. Significant ranges of temperature and pressure characterize the processes; the sensors used must be made of chemically resistant materials and function reliably under the most demanding conditions. The manufacturing method of chemicals is done with most care in hygienic conditions to maintain safety and prevent explosions. The production of most chemicals is the combination of chemical reactions, absorption, and filtration. Level measurement is essential in bulk storage tanks, small storage and buffer tanks, reaction vessel, reactor, storage tanks for chlorine, toxic liquids storage, the distillation of primary products, storage and transfer of solvents, toxic liquids storage, process steam generation, silos, and separator vessel tank for recovery of raw materials.
• Chemicals are stored in cylindrical and round-shaped tanks that hold high pressure and vacuum and are capable of corroding the level switches when used with higher concentrations. To combat corrosion capacitive level switches with full PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), insulation will be fruitful. Vessels where chemical reactions are taking place and are usually jacketed by filling liquids present in a glass container to allow cooling. For the hygienic purposes, European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG) certified tuning fork level switches are suitable solutions. Glass reactors are utilized for vital chemical processes where resistance to corrosion is significantly essential. Tuning fork level switch for liquids with halar coating is perfectly suitable for this type of application.
• The chemical company, based out of the United States, supplies customized chemical solutions to manufacturers in various industries. A solution was required to detect the level and interface of water/acid in the acid decant tank. There is a layer of water present on the top of the acid in the tank for stability purposes. When the acid is decanted into containers, and water included in the acid could result in a scrapped batch. The emptying had to be stopped as soon as the water was introduced into the container. Top-down radar was not used because the microwave signal could not pass through the water layer present on top of the acid. Emerson's Rosemount 2160 Wireless Vibrating Fork Level Switch was installed in the acid tank. The forks' frequency changed depending on whether the forks were in the water or acid, and this frequency change gave a correct indication of the phase change from acid to water.
• The chemicals sector is likely to feel the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from every direction. Just as outbreaks are disrupting supply chains in critical regions, demand may fall due to uncertainty in the global economy and capital markets. Workforces are facing the risk of infection, and governments are beginning to enact restrictions on movement, which adds both a variable dimension to the crisis. To combat this situation, chemical manufacturing companies in China keep their businesses running in the face of this epidemic. Most of the closed chemical plants in early January 2020 have been reopened at the end of February. The majority of the petrochemical plants present in the southeast province of Zhejiang, a significant chemical industry hub in China, started their production facilities by the end of February 2020.

Asia Pacific is Expected to Witness Fastest Growth

• Growing industrialization applications involving level measurement in Asia-Pacific countries such as China and India drive the market's growth in the region. China is one of the largest producers of several chemicals and has significant scope for the implementation of vibration level switches across companies involved in the production of several high-risk substances. In recent times, with the present low crude oil price situation, the region's refinery capacity has witnessed a significant growth between 2014 and 2019. According to a report by BP Statistical Review of World Energy in 2019, the Asia-Pacific region has the largest oil refining capacity globally, processing approximately 34.75 million barrels per day in 2018, which is expected to create an increased usage of vibration level switches in oil and gas industry of the region.
• In Jiangsu Province, China, a chemical company, uses non-contacting radar to measure and control their tank levels but needed critical high-level alarms for their agrochemical storage tanks at their new production and recovery site. The tanks contain a product that is toxic and could cause environmental damage if an overfill occurred. The company also needed to ensure liquid presence in their pipes to prevent pumps from running dry. Reliability was the primary concern. Due to the corrosive property of the product, the company required switches with a special non-corrosive coating. Besides, stainless steel housings were needed to combat environmental corrosion. The company chose Emerson's Rosemount 2130 Series Vibrating Fork Level Switches and were supplied with stainless steel housings and ECTFE/PFA coated forks.
• The region is also witnessing various food and beverage manufacturing companies entering the marketplace. For instance, in May 2020, Nestlé has announced a series of investments to strengthen its footprint in China further and enable it to enhance its product portfolio further. In total, the investments include more than CHF 100 million, including the capacity extension of the company's pet food plant in Tianjin. In June 2020, Unilever announced that it had started construction of a EUR 100 million manufacturing site in Jiangsu Province, to enhance its position in the consumer foods sector. The site will continue to expand in becoming the company's food production base, providing manufacturing facilities for multiple products such as tea bags and seasonings. These investments are expected to create a positive impact on vibration level switches in the region.
• On the list of funded enterprises in the 2019 R&D funding plan announced by Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (SSTIC) in June 2020, Shenzhen Jiwei Automations Ltd. won the first batch of qualification. Generally, this is the second time in a row, and the third time, Jiwei obtained R & D funding from SSTIC. From establishment, Jiwei has achieved several achievements in R & D projects in Magnetic Level Indicator, Ultrasonic Level Transmitter, and Vibrating Rod Level Switch. Since these instruments were put into the market, with superior design and quality, all have performed well in complex environments such as high temperatures, strong corrosivity, flammability, and explosion conditions.

Competitive Landscape

The Vibration Level Switch market is quite fragmented and highly competitive. Moreover, the companies in the market have been continually launching or updating their product portfolios and forming mergers to increase their market share. Some of the key players in the market include ABB Ltd, Emerson Electric Co., Endress+Hauser AG, Siemens AG, etc.

• June 2020 - ABB Ltd. announced that it has agreed to acquire K-TEK Corp., a supplier of laser level transmitters, magnetic level gauges, and magnetostrictive level transmitters. K-TEK will be combined with the Measurement Products business unit within ABB’s Process Automation division. K-TEK offers a wide range of level detection instruments, as well as pressure and temperature switches.
• January 2020 - Endress+Hauser AG has released Liquiphant FTL51B and FTL41 vibrating fork level instruments. The FTL51B features IIoT and Industry 4.0 capabilities, which include access via wireless Bluetooth technology. It can be used in storage tanks, containers, and pipes for point level detection of all types of liquids.

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