I. Industry-related definitions

PLC full name is programmable logic controller (ProgrammableLogicController). It is a device that uses programmable memory to store instructions, perform functions such as logic, sequence, timing, counting and calculation, and control various machinery or production processes through analog or digital input/output components, and is the core control equipment of industrial equipment, production systems, and major infrastructure.

ALE111-S00 PLC is mainly composed of CPU, memory, input/output interface and power supply. 1) The CPU, also known as the central processor, is the control center of the PLC, which is connected with the memory and various interfaces through the bus (including the data bus, the address bus and the control bus) to control their orderly work. The performance of the CPU has a great impact on the working speed and efficiency of the PLC, so the large PLC usually uses a high-performance CPU. 2) The function of memory is to store system programs, user programs and data generated when the program is running. 3) Input/output interface, also known as I/O interface or I/O module, is the connection between PLC and peripheral devices. PLC I/O interface can accept the number of input and output signals called PLC I/O points, I/O points is one of the important basis for choosing PLC.

Second, the industry market development status

ALE111-S00

1. Market size

PLC has a common application scenario in automation equipment and production line, benefiting from the upgrading of manufacturing industry and the development of high-end equipment, 2018-2022, China’s PLC market size increased from 12.131 billion yuan to 15.091 billion yuan, and the CAGR of 2018-2022 was 5.61%. Among them, in 2019, due to the slowdown in China’s economic growth and the impact of Sino-US trade friction, the PLC market size declined year-on-year, 2020-2021, thanks to the substantial growth in demand for mask machines and the supply chain advantages of Chinese manufacturing under the epidemic, the PLC market rebounded significantly in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, under the repeated pressure of the epidemic, the PLC market reflects strong resilience, China’s PLC market size is 15.091 billion, and the PLC market size shows a steady growth trend, and the resilience is reflected in the pressure of the internal and external environment in 2022.

2. Availability

ALE111-S00 According to the “China PLC industry development in-depth research and investment prospects Analysis Report (2023-2030)” released by the Research Report network, for a long time, PLC has always been in the main battlefield in the field of industrial automation control, providing a very reliable control application for a variety of automatic control equipment. The main reason is that it can provide safe, reliable and relatively perfect solutions for automation control applications, which is suitable for the current needs of industrial enterprises for automation. On the other hand, PLC must also rely on other new technologies to face the impact of the gradual reduction of market share, especially the impact of industrial PCS. The problems that PLC needs to solve are still the adoption of new technology, system openness and price.

From the perspective of the entire output, with the progress of technology, the basic PLC product technology maturity, modularity level, in recent years, China’s PLC industry output has grown rapidly, the output has increased from 43.375 million in 2019 to 71.616 million in 2022. PLC controller industry output and demand growth difference is mainly due to exports, with the expansion of industry production scale, general basic product production automation level, cost-effective advantage is more significant, in the global low-end market competitiveness significantly enhanced, export volume growth.

It is worth noting that China’s PLC imports have also maintained a relatively stable growth, mainly due to the lack of supply of domestic high-end products, downstream traditional industries and the sustainable development of new industries, the demand for high-end PLC products growth, the industry’s imports continue to grow.