New frontier for supplies, equipment has an Eastern accent.(Cover story)

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Though the global economy shows few signs to suggest a speedy recovery, there are sparks of life for some welding suppliers. Entities in the equipment and consumables market are always hungry for new opportunity. Right now, perhaps their biggest target are the industrial customers in Central and Eastern Europe.

In Poland, shipbuilding continues an established growth pattern, as does the manufacturing of pressure vessels for power generation. In Slovakia, a series of Tier One and Tier Two automotive suppliers are popping up to serve the demands of Volkswagen and Porsche.

According to new analysis by Frost & Sullivan, a business consulting and research firm, the Central and Eastern European welding supplies market earned revenues of over $355.3 million in 2007. It estimates that total will balloon to $548.9 million in 2014.

"Significant demand from the construction, power, pipelines and automotive industries have resulted in a mounting uptake of welding equipment and consumables in Eastern Europe," says Archana Chauhan, Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst.

This upswing in demand comes as a result of two significant factors: a drive toward lower labor rates, in which Western European countries reassign jobs and work to Eastern countries for lower labor rates; and, the addition of Central and Eastern European countries into the European Union, which has enhanced their trading opportunities.

Rising demand in heavy industries, including construction and power sectors, holds the potential for sustained demand for suppliers of welding consumables and equipment.