Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Equipment (Magnetron, RF Solid State Amplifiers), By Application (Food, Paper Industry, Wood & Derivatives), By Type, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030

Market Size & Trends

The global industrial microwave heating equipment market size was estimated at USD 1,229.8 million in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2024 to 2030. The microwave heating equipment is used for numerous industrial applications such as drying, sterilizing, tempering, and blanching in the end-use industries such as Food, chemicals, plastics, and paper, among others. The rising consumption of processed food products by various demographic groups across the world is expected to surge the demand for industrial microwave heating equipment over the forecast period.

In the U.S., the escalating consumer purchasing power and hectic and sedentary lifestyle are greatly influencing food consumption patterns. Various consumer groups across the U.S. are increasingly consuming food that is ready to cook or has gone through some kind of process. In food processing, microwave heating aids in processes such as cooking, tempering, gelation, pasteurization, sterilization, drying, and cracking for both solids and liquids.

According to the Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute, U.S. 2022 data, about 73% of the total food supply in the U.S. is ultra-processed. These ultra-processed food items include soda, candy, chips, etc. Therefore, the rising consumption of ultra-processed food products is expected to support the market over the forecast period.

The most common food items that undergo regular processing under microwave heating systems include foods such as meat, fish, spices, grains, vegetables, snacks, soups, sauces, coffee products, dried vegetables & fruits, and dairy-based beverages.

Further, the flourishing growth in the chemicals and plastics industry is also expected to boost the demand for industrial microwave heating. In these industries, industrial microwave heating equipment is used for the pyrolysis of plastic granules to produce liquid. In the chemical industry, microwave heating is used for rapid and selective heating purposes for chemical separation processes. The rising demand for chemical products and microwave heating is expected to propel over the forecast period.

Market Concentration & Characteristics

Market growth stage is medium, and pace of the market growth is accelerating. The availability of product substitutes is low to medium. The degree of innovation in industrial microwave heating equipment is medium. Innovation in the market is significant for energy efficiency and high heating performance, along with sustainable equipment designs.

The competitive rivalry is high in this market owing to the presence of a large number of international and regional players operating in the fragmented and mixed nature of the market. The key companies focus on expansion strategies, mergers & acquisitions, technological advancements, joint ventures, and expenditure on research & development to cater to the ever-growing and changing market demands.

Various rules and regulations impact the manufacturing and distribution of industrial microwave heating equipment across the world. Regional and international standards such as ISO, International Electrotechnical Commission, National Institute of Standards (ANSI), etc., specify the general and safety protocols for microwave heating equipment. The microwave leakage standard is one of the important criteria that affects the purchase of microwave heating equipment due to the adverse effects that may arise for the workers.

The end-user concentration is high in the market with the presence of industry players from different end-use industries such as food, rubber, chemical, pharmaceuticals, plastics, wood, paper, etc.

Manufacturers of industrial microwave heating equipment adopt several strategies, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, new product developments, and geographical expansions, to enhance their market penetration. For instance, in March 2020, Ferrite Microwave Technologies and Mega Industries announced about the merger. This merger is expected to mark the merged company as one of the global leader in the microwave systems market.

Equipment Insights

Based on equipment, the magnetron segment led the market with the largest revenue share in 2023. Magnetrons could be replaced by RF solid-state amplifiers over the forecast period, owing to several benefits offered by the latter. As a result, even though the magnetron segment captured the largest market owing to the advantages such as high efficiency, uniform heating, etc.

The RF solid amplifiers segment are expected to grow at a lucrative CAGR over the forecast period, attributed to the high demand due to various technological gains in end-use applications. The address RF solid-state amplifiers have several drawbacks associated with microwave systems using magnetrons. This includes benefits such as enhanced shelf life (more than 20 years without power attenuation), energy generation at new frequencies with compact form factor, enhancement of product quality, volumetric heating, and instant heat transfer.

Type Insights

Based on type, the continuous segment led the market with the largest revenue share of 65.4% in 2023. Industrial applications increasingly prefer continuous processes to retain high productivity. Food, plastic, chemicals, paper, pharmaceutical, etc. industries employ continuous machineries; thereby, demand for continuous industrial microwave heating equipment is high in the market.

The batch segment is expected to grow at the lucrative CAGR over the forecast. With the emergence of small and medium-sized enterprises and various startup companies in the manufacturing sectors, including plastic, wood, paper, and food, the demand for batch equipment is anticipated to grow over the forecast period. The limited capital investment and restricted production volumes of these SMEs suite batch equipment for industrial heating better. Thereby, batch microwave heating equipment in the industrial sector is expected to have positive demand.

Application Insights

Based on application, the food segment held the market with the largest revenue share of  37.65% in 2023, owing to the large demand for microwave heating equipment, both batch and continuous, for various applications in solid food and liquid food. Moreover, the segmental growth is attributed to the increasing consumption of processed food products.

The plastic segment is anticipated to exhibit at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. Demand in the industry is expected to increase owing to the usage of industrial microwave heating equipment in numerous procedures, such as melting optical fibers with high polypropylene content, drying casting cores, heating epoxide pipes/tubes and heat-shrinkable molded parts, and preheating plastic profiles. According to the OECD data, global plastic consumption is likely to triple in 2060, reaching 1,321 million tons as compared to 2019 consumed amount of 460 million tons. This increasing demand for plastic consumption is also expected to support the market growth over the forecast period.

Regional Insights

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in North America is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period, due to strong presence of the key players in North America and the diverse portfolio of the companies in the end-user landscape is expected to have a positive impact on the market growth. The North America industrial manufacturing sector is characterized by highly developed and mechanized production processes. The production processes in end-use industries generally seek after continuous and efficient machinery such as continuous industrial microwave heating equipment.

U.S. Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Trends

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in U.S. accounted with the revenue share of more than 75% in 2023. With the highly developed nature of the country’s manufacturing sector and rising efforts to revive the economy by providing monetary support to manufacturing enterprises, the demand for industrial microwave heating equipment is likely to grow over the forecast period.

Asia Pacific Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Trends

Asia Pacific dominated the industrial microwave heating equipment market with the largest revenue share of more than 36.3% in 2023, which is significantly attributed to the well-established manufacturing sectors such as food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper, plastics, etc. Contract manufacturing in the Asia Pacific countries such as China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc., accounts for a huge share of the global manufacturing sector, resulting in high demand for microwave heating equipment.

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in China accounted with the largest revenue share of 38.9% in the Asia Pacific region in 2023, mainly attributed to the high industrial production in the country across food, ingredients, chemicals, and plastics industries. China is actively investing in expanding its manufacturing capacities across various verticals to strengthen its position in global trade.

The India industrial microwave heating equipment market is expected to grow at the lucrative CAGR over the forecast period, owing to the ambitious goals by the government and strategic initiatives by the private companies. The government is providing various incentives and tax exemptions to small and medium industrial companies to increase domestic production, which is anticipated to boost the demand market growth over the forecast period.

Europe Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Trends

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in Europe anticipated to grow at the lucrative CAGR over the forecast period. The industrial sector is poised to witness growth owing to the expansion strategies introduced by the European Commission to curb the dependency on imports from foreign countries such as China.

The Germany industrial microwave heating equipment market held the largest share of 29.6% in the Europe market in 2023. German industrial sector accounts for the majority of the share with the presence of well-known manufacturers such as BASF SE, Bayer, and Merck KGaA, etc.

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in UK is expected to positively grow with the increasing industrial activities and expansion strategies by companies. For instance, in July 2023, Upperton Pharma Solutions announced the completion of a USD 19.6 million expansion of a manufacturing facility located in Nottingham.

Central & South America Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Trends

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in Central & South America is a promising market for manufacturers owing to the increasing FDIs in the region. The growing food production and processing in Central and South America with the notable example of investment is by the Arla Foods in the Argentina Facility for dairy ingredients in October 2023. The facility is located in the Porteña site and engages in ingredients for infant formula products.

The Brazil industrial microwave heating equipment market accounted with the largest share of over 40% in 2023 in the Central and South America region, owing to the flourishing industrial footprints and favorable economic profits that attracts the new industrial investments.

Middle East & Africa Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Trends

The industrial microwave heating equipment market in the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow at the steady CAGR over the forecast period. The increasing establishment of the diverse industrial and manufacturing sector in the region is likely to drive the demand for industrial microwave heating equipment over the forecast period. Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, etc., are increasingly taking proactive initiatives to increase the economic dependency on industries other than fossil fuels.

The Saudi Arabia industrial microwave heating equipment market is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. This is attributed to increasing government support and Vision 2030 initiative to transform the country into a global hub for production and manufacturing. Under Vision 2030, the petrochemical sector is expected to flourish with a focus on increasing non-oil products. This drives the demand for microwave heating equipment.

Key Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Company Insights

The global market includes large-scale and small-scale industrial microwave heating equipment manufacturers. Key market players focus on inorganic growth strategies, such as joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, to sustain the competition and capture a larger market share. Moreover, they maintain their competitive position in this market by offering superior distribution channels and enhanced services.

Recent Developments

• In June 2023, Microwave Techniques LLC announced the acquisition of Valvo Bauelemente GmbH, a company specializing in the manufacturing of microwave and passive RF components, which includes circulators, loads, isolators, and among others. This strategic acquisition is likely to help Microwave Techniques LLC to strengthen its presence in the European market

Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Report Scope

Global Industrial Microwave Heating Equipment Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global industrial microwave heating equipment market report based on equipment, type, application, and region:

• Equipment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Magnetron

  • RF Solid Amplifiers

• Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Batch

  • Continuous

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Food

  • Paper Industry

  • Wood & Derivatives

  • Plastics

  • Chemicals

  • Others

• Region Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • UK

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • South Korea

    • Australia

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

    • Argentina

  • Middle East & Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE

    • South Africa