ELECTROMECHANICAL SWITCH PRODUCTS: Asia-PACIFIC REGION WITNESSES STRONG GROWTH

VDC: The Asia-Pacific market for electromechanical switch products will experience the strongest growth within the regions covered in the report (including Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa). All Asia-Pacific markets are expected to grow more than 4.2% annually between 2005-2008, and three of the twelve markets will see growth of 4.9% during the same forecast period. The average growth within the Asia-Pacific markets will be 4.7% annually between 2005 and 2008.

Fastest-Growing Asia-PacificSwitch Consuming Industries/Applications(Ranked in Descending Order)

1. Industrial Automation/Process Control

2. Medical

3. Consumer Electronics

4. Transportation - Automotive

5. Instrumentation

The highest growth market categories include:

• Consumer Electronics. Growth of nearly 5.0% will occur in this market segment. This growth will be caused by an increased global demand for smaller and more technically advanced electronics' products such as audio players and PDAs/smartphones.

• Industrial Automation/Process Control. Contributing factors to strong growth within this vertical market are significant automation and control innovations that are requiring factories and manufacturing plants to upgrade their current resources or replace older systems with new solutions that are far more efficient.

• Medical. Strict regulations on medical devices and the increased utilization of technology will both contribute as key drivers for this market. Growth of 4.9% annually between 2005 and 2008 is expected in the Asia-Pacific region.

ELECTROMECHANICAL SWITCH PRODUCTS Publ 20060410