ARC Advisory Group says the global toxic and combustible gas detector market is expected to reach US$823m ($1.05b) in 2013.
According to the ARC study, the market was at US$689m ($883.1m) in 2008, but will slow down due to the economy and the shift from large capital projects to upgrades of installed equipment.
However, ARC says the need for toxic gas detectors is an essential for protecting plant personnel and communities. Additionally, sales of toxic and combustible gas detectors are being driven by the need to comply with increasingly tough safety and environmental regulations.
There is a particularly big market in the oil and gas, refining, petrochemical and mining industries. High profile industrial accidents have reinforced the need for better process measurements and safety warning systems.
As such, industry is increasingly adopting SIL-rated transmitters, and devices with greater sensitivity and coverage to mitigate the risk of catastrophic events. Gas detectors are widely seen as a first line of defence, which could provide timely warnings to avert more serious problems
ARC Advisory Group says sales of smart transmitters will outpace those of conventional and low-cost devices, due to the importance being placed on visibility in plant safety and diagnostics. Regulations requiring archival of toxic gas emissions data and alarms means more high tech gas detectors will be in demand.