According to Frost & Sullivan, the global PLC market has witnessed positive growth across all regions. The market, which experienced a strong decline in the early part of the decade, has bounced back strongly and is expected to reach $14.58 billion in 2018, up more than 40% from five years earlier. This growth includes the mature markets of North America and Europe, where uncertainty about economic standing had precipitated the earlier decline. Of particular interest is the Frost & Sullivan note that “the small and medium PLC segments will be instrumental for market development.” Those segments are the domain of traditional PLCs.
Much has been made in recent times about the impending demise of PLCs, expected to meet their end as the inexorable digital advance renders them obsolete with the advent of process automation controllers (PACs) and more advanced computer-based controls.
To learn more about PLCs, read “Is the PLC’s obituary premature?” from Control Design.