Mechanical Seals Market Analysis | 2021-2026

Market Highlights

The Mechanical Seals Market is set to grow at an impressive CAGR of 4.1% over the next five years to reach US$ 4.5 billion in 2026.

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What is the mechanical seal?

A mechanical seal is a machine element that helps to connect different mechanisms or systems and its key functions are preventing leakage of fluids or gases, excluding contamination, and containing pressure. It is majorly used to seal the passage point of a rotating part. A mechanical seal is comprised of mainly five elements: one ring (usually the seal face) circulating synchronously with the rotating part (shaft), a secondary seal (usually O-ring) between shaft and ring, a stationary ring (usually the stationary seat) arranged in the stationary part (casing), secondary seal (usually O-ring) between these parts, and spring for the seal face.

The history of mechanical seals traces back to 1923, invented by Mr. George J. Cooke and was first used in the compressor of a refrigerator, but the first commercially successful mechanical seals were made by Ingersoll-Rand Company in 1928, which was used in a centrifugal pump. From then to now, the mechanical seal has traveled a remarkable journey concerning its design and mechanism in order to make it usable for various industries.

Market Dynamics

Mechanical seals accounted for a minuscule share of 6.0% in the overall seals market in 2020 and are likely to grow at a healthy pace in the years to come, generating huge growth opportunities for the market participants. Both pump manufacturers, as well as industrial users, have heavily been relying on mechanical seals in order to seal their major components.

Some of the factors driving the market are listed below:

• Expected increase in oil & gas production.
• Increasing usage of pumps and valves in various industries.
• Increasing energy needs owing to increasing world population.
• Exceptional benefits of mechanical seals, making them a preferable choice in rotary applications across industries.
• Development in designs of mechanical seals.

In the industry, a large number of players are proactively ramping up their capabilities to leverage the opportunity existent in mainstream applications among which John Crane leads the pack. The market is marked by a few global players that are operating all over the world and a large number of local players are operating regionally or in their particular country and addressing the demands of that region. The market for mechanical seals is comparatively much more consolidated than all other seal markets due to their technological complexity and application-specific requirements.

Segment Analysis

End-Use Trends

The market is segmented based on the end-use industry type as oil & gas, energy & power, food & beverages, chemical processing, metals & mining, automotive, and others. The Oil & Gas industry is estimated to remain the biggest demand generator for mechanical seals during the forecast period. In the oil & gas industry, seals are used in a multitude of applications including drilling, completion, production, distribution, and refinery. They are primarily used in pumps, compressors, and other rotating applications.

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Material Trends

The market is segmented into elastomer seals, thermoplastic seals, and metal seals based on the material type. Elastomer is expected to remain the most dominant material type in the market during the forecast period, owing to its excellent properties suiting all the major applications, such as pumps, compressors, valves, and other rotary applications.

Application Trends

The market is segmented into pumps, compressors, and others. Pumps hold a lion’s share in the mechanical seals market and are expected to maintain their dominance in the market in the foreseen future, owing to the usage of a large number of pumps during the whole process of extraction of oil & gas in both onshore and offshore. Compressors, the other major application, are likely to witness healthy growth in the coming years.

Regional Analysis

North America is expected to remain the largest market for mechanical seals during the forecast period in terms of regions. The USA remains the largest market in the region as well as in the world, driven by the country’s dominance in key markets of mechanical seals. Major seal manufacturers are located across the region to cater to the growing regional demand coming from a multitude of industries. Asia-Pacific will be the fastest-growing mechanical seals market over the same period, primarily driven by exponential growth in various industries in key economies such as China, Japan, and India.

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Key Players

The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, mechanical seals manufacturers, pump and compressor manufacturers, and end-users. The key players in the mechanical seals market are:

• A.W. Chesterton Company
• AB SKF, AESSEAL plc
• Dover Corporation (Waukesha Bearings)
• EagleBurgmann (Freudenberg Group)
• Flowserve Corporation, FLUITEN Italia S.p.A.
• Garlock (EnPro Industries, Inc.)
• John Crane (Smiths Group plc)
• Trelleborg AB.

New product development, regional expansion, and long-term relation with the customers are some of the key strategies adopted by the major players to gain a competitive edge in the market.

COVID-19 Impact

The global mechanical seals market grew continuously over the past years and was estimated to maintain its upward growth trajectory in 2020 as well. However, the outburst of the COVID-19 ruined the expectations. The pandemic has marked an indelible dent in the oil & gas, energy & power, and automotive industries, weakened the industries sales to their lowest figures of the decade.

Disruptions in supply chain and operating activities due to the lockdown in several countries have worsened the market conditions of 2020. As a result that the mechanical seals market has logged a decline of -8.4% in 2020, crushing the market sales near to their 2017-market levels. 

Automotive and Oil & Gas were among the worst-impacted industries by the pandemic. However, growth in several industries, especially food & beverage, has assisted the market stakeholders to partially offset the market decline in this trying time. As per the recent estimates of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, there could be a possible cumulative loss of US$ 9.5 trillion to the global GDP from 2020 to 2021 with the decline of -3.3% in global real GDP in 2020. Currently, the oil & gas industry accounts for a major chunk of the GDP for several countries. The mechanical seals market is strongly dependent upon the performance of the oil & gas and other major industries.

Despite the short-term catastrophic impact of the COVID-19, Stratview Research’s estimates suggest that the mechanical seals market is expected to recover in the long term, with recovery in the oil & gas industry. Overall, the demand for mechanical seals is likely to recover moderately from 2021 onwards, pace up from 2022 onwards to cross its 2019 levels by the end of 2022.

Target Audience

Here is the list of the group of customers that the mechanical seals market hopes to have the greatest opportunity to convert-

• Distributors
• Suppliers
• Manufacturers
• Logistics organizations
• Government bodies

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision-making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market.

What deliverables will you get in this report?

Research Methodology

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s mechanical seals market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2021 to 2026. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner in order to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate the growth strategies to expedite their growth process.

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders, and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data. We conducted more than 15 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to three players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to three players)

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

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