Soft Starters

The Soft Starters Market Research Report delivers current market analysis plus a five-year market and technology forecast. The report is available in multiple editions, including worldwide, all regions, and most major countries.  

New Generation of Smarter Products Accelerates Soft Starters Market

​Soft starters are used in industrial applications to start/stop electric motors and protect expensive motorized machinery from initial inrush current surges. Leading suppliers are striving to differentiate their products through deep application knowledge and increased intelligence and connectivity. Soft starters help reduce energy consumption while protecting pumps, motors, machines, and other associated electrical equipment. This, in turn, reduces operating costs and extends the useful service lives of the equipment to improve return on assets. Soft starters have also shifted to digital technology that encompasses microprocessors for providing customers with numerous advanced functions and features.

Soft Starters Strategic Issues

In addition to providing a five-year market forecast, the Soft Starters Market Research Report provides detailed quantitative current market data and addresses key strategic issues as follows.

Digital Transformation

Enterprise automation today is not what it used to be several years ago. Today, it goes far beyond simple robots and virtual assistants that take over repetitive back-office tasks. Industries nowadays are witnessing the emergence of full-fledged enterprise automation platforms that help make informed decisions, optimize operations, and improve customer experience. Automation is at the center of digital transformation initiatives in most businesses. Just a few decades ago, automation was only associated with manufacturing. But now, there is almost no industry left untouched by automation. Soft starters have shifted to digital technology that encompasses microprocessors for providing numerous advanced functions and features to customers. Many soft starters now include network options so that they can be connected to plant control systems and can transmit system data to the central database over communication platforms. The integration of digital technology into soft starters is helping suppliers develop soft starters that are compact, modular in design, and designed for customer flexibility, i.e., these soft starters will have the ability to provide advanced monitoring and protection, superior communications capabilities, and also have an “energy saver” mode that will help increase efficiency and reduce downtime.

More Power from a Smaller Package

A product development trend has been to increase the rated power or current of soft starter components while maintaining the same package size. The biggest challenge here is to manage the higher heat dissipation caused by the increase in power.

Buy Tough, Not Cheap

Soft starters are commodities because they are substitutable, meaning that components can often be exchanged for a device from another manufacturer. This gives buyers a wide choice of suppliers without the need to commit to specifications of a single supplier. However, soft starters are subject to both mechanical and electrical stress. Low-cost devices are available, but buyers should consider environmental demands and not routinely choose the lowest bidder.

Extend Asset Life

Motors require a large amount of energy when they accelerate up to full speed. A soft starter is used to reduce the inrush currents and limit torque, useful to protect your equipment, extend the life of the motor, and reduce motor heating with frequent starts and stops. While industrial motors are relatively cheap, they use a lot of energy, and unexpected failures that shut down production lines can negatively affect operational costs. Better monitoring of electric motors means less unexpected down-time and longer asset life.