Process & Technology

The process industries are those industries where the primary production processes are either continuous, or occur on a batch of materials that is indistinguishable. For example, a food processing company making sauce may make the sauce in a continuous, uninterrupted flow from receipt of ingredients through packaging. Or batches may be produced depending on the cook kettle sizes but immediately combined and re-routed. Examples of the process industries include food, beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, ceramics, base metals, coal, plastics, rubber, textiles, tobacco, wood and wood products, paper and paper products, etc. A shock wave in the form of a new industrial revolution is taking place. It’s reshaping the foundations of many industries. And it’s bringing down the walls between others as the boundaries between suppliers, producers and consumers and, in some cases, between whole industries shift. Technological change is creating historic shifts in industry footprints. Over the next ten years, we think this process will accelerate. Traditional industry classifications will need to be rewritten. Where industry boundaries begin, where they end and who are the main players will all be up for grabs in a number of sectors.