SINGAPORE, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 2006 Asia Pacific Industrial Technologies Awards last week, Frost & Sullivan honored 28 recipients' for outstanding performances in the Electronics, Industrial Automation, Process Control, Energy & Power Systems and Environment & Building Technologies industries.

The awards offered were carefully reviewed and evaluated to reflect the current market landscape and include new emerging sectors. The award recipients are those who have leveraged best practices and demonstrated excellence in regional or countrywide operations in one or more business functions. Awards were presented to companies that have displayed superior accomplishments and exemplary achievements in areas such as market leadership, marketing strategy, business development strategy, market penetration, customer service, growth strategy, product line strategy, amongst others.

In his address on the Automation and Electronics sector, Sanjay Singh, Director of Industrial Technologies said that the smartcards market in APAC was estimated to be around 1 billion units in 2005 with a growth rate of around 20 percent driven by the major applications in telecom, banking and finance as well as transit and ID & security applications. "The RFID industry is also expected to grow at a CAGR of around 30 percent during the next five years driven by applications in Retail and Supply Chain Management, Security Access Control, Livestock, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals sectors. The APAC semiconductor sector in APAC is expected to witness a relatively more stable growth but segments like MEMS and Semicon packaging are expected to have a growth rate in double digits - between 12 percent to 15 percent," he added.

Satish Lele, Director of Industrial Technologies, who introduced the Industrial Automation and Process Control division and awards, said that the market for process automation is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% till 2009, with China and India's economic activity dominating the growth engine, whilst the oil and gas sector shows promising growth for automation in the near future. "The Southeast Asian Bearings industry which is almost $1.3b today will see stable growth with key growth drivers being the increasing movement of automobile manufacturing to countries like Thailand, Malaysia and the electronics sector in Singapore," says Lele. He adds that the mining sector in the Philippines and Australia will drive growth in specialty bearings.

Director for the Energy and Power Systems Group, Asia Pacific, Ravi Krishnaswamy, said that the booming demand for energy in the ASEAN region has boosted the growth of the power industry (generation, transmission and distribution) and that increasing power consumption growth rates across countries triggered by urbanization, commercial and industrial market growth demanded new technologies within this industry.

Sapan Agarwal, Industry Manager for the Environment & Building Technologies Practice said that environmental technologies markets in Southeast Asia and Australia are witnessing robust growth across segments due to increased awareness and concerns over issues such as air pollution and waste management. Growing population and urbanization are the key forces shaping these markets given the ever-increasing necessity to invest more in infrastructure and utilities to meet the demands.

Frost & Sullivan congratulates all these recipients of the 2006 Industrial Technologies Awards

1. Market Penetration Leadership - Smart Cards (China) - Watchdata Technologies Pte Ltd. 2. Market Penetration Leadership - RFID Tags (China)- Zhongshan Dahua Intelligent Technology Co.Ltd 3. Market Penetration Leadership - Smart Cards Telecommunication SIM Application (India) - Syscom Corporation Ltd. 4. Business Development Strategy Leadership - Smart Cards (China) - Eastcompeace Smart Card Co.Ltd. 5. Business Development Strategy Leadership - PC Link Readers (Asia Pacific) - Advanced Card Systems Ltd. 6. Vertical Market Penetration Leadership - Physical Access Control Application (Selected Countries in South East Asia) - HID Corporation 7. Vertical Market Penetration Leadership - Smart Cards Financial Application (Malaysia) - GHL Systems Berhad 8. Competitive Strategy Leadership - Smart Cards System Integrator (Asia Pacific) - Keycorp Limited 9. Marketing Strategy Leadership - RFID (Asia Pacific) -Intermec Technologies Corporation 10. Industry Innovation & Advancement Leadership - Smart Cards Payment Software (Asia Pacific) -Welcome Real-time 11. Market Leadership - RFID Tags (South Korea) - LS Industrial Systems 12. Market Leadership - Semiconductor Packaging (Southeast Asia) - STATS ChipPAC Ltd 13. Market Strategy Leadership - MEMS Market (Southeast Asia) - Mems Technology Bhd 14. Product Line Strategy - Process Automation (Southeast Asia) - Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte Ltd 15. Technology Leadership - Process Automation (Southeast Asia) - ABB Industry Pte Ltd 16. Product Quality Leadership - Bearings (Southeast Asia) - The Timken Company 17. Customer Service Leadership - Process Automation (Southeast Asia) - Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific Pte Ltd 18. Customer Service Leadership - PLC Market (Southeast Asia) - Rockwell Automation South East Asia Pte Ltd 19. Market Leadership - PLC Market (Southeast Asia) - Siemens Pte Ltd 20. Market Leadership - Industrial Boilers (Malaysia) - Vickers Hoskins (M) Sdn. Bhd. 21. Market Leadership - Reciprocating Engines in Oil & Gas Markets (Asia Pacific) - Caterpillar Global Petroleum Asia Pacific 22. Market Leadership - Power Rentals (Southeast Asia) - Caterpillar Asia Pacific Power Systems 23. Product Line Strategy - DC-DC Power Converters (Southeast Asia) - SynQor Inc. 24. Market Leadership - Small UPS Markets (Southeast Asia) - American Power Conversion 25. Market Leadership - Large UPS Markets (Southeast Asia) - MGE Pte. Ltd. 26. Entrepreneurial Company - Solid Waste Recycling Market (South East Asia & Australia) -Core Competencies Sdn. Bhd. 27. Growth Strategy Leadership - Air Pollution Control Equipment Market (South East Asia & Australia) - GE Energy 28. Market Leadership - Solid Waste Recycling Market (South East Asia & Australia) - IRI Philippines, Inc

The companies commended as award recipients are those with the diligence, perseverance, innovation and dedication required to develop a successful business plan and excel in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. As Asian economies grow, companies will have to deliver increasing value to customers to stay as leaders. The Industrial Technologies Awards will continue to capture these efforts and recognize excellence in various industries each year.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.awards.frost.com/

For further information on the Award banquets or recipients or for digital photos, please contact -

Media Contact: Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific

P: +603.6204.5832, E: djeremiah@frost.com

CONTACT: Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific of Frost
& Sullivan, +603-6204-5832, or djeremiah@frost.com

Web site: http://www.frost.com/
http://www.awards.frost.com/