What Is Heavy Industry?

Sometimes, manufacturing companies use the term “heavy industries” in their name. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are just a few examples.

What does “heavy industry” mean? Why are some industries classified as “heavy”, and others as “light”? In this guide, we will explain what heavy industry is and its common attributes. Moreover, we will also give some examples of industries that fall under this category.

“Heavy industry” is often compared with the “light industry”. Be sure to check our What Is Light Industry? article to understand both terms better.

Heavy Industry’s Definition

Heavy industry is a sector that manufactures products intended for business/industrial use (B2B). It’s the opposite of the light industry’s definition – a sector that produces goods meant for personal consumption.

Heavy industry products typically need an extensive amount of materials and/or components to make, require a sizable workforce, and can only be produced in a large production facility with heavy machinery. Goods such as steel coils, container trucks, and liquified natural gas are good examples of heavy industry products.

It’s synonymous with heavy manufacturing – an equally popular term. In this guide, we will use both terms interchangeably. Heavy industry manufacturers also have several common traits, such as:

Industry-Oriented Products

Heavy industry products are made for industrial/business uses – and not for personal consumption. This is what separates them from their light industry counterparts. Hence, they’re commonly more powerful than their light industry counterparts.

To illustrate: most household freezers can only cool up to -23 °C. Meanwhile, industrial Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) freezers can go as low as -86°C. While regular freezers are only used to store food at home, ULT freezers can serve many other purposes. In the biomedical industry, for example, they’re used to preserve DNA samples and store sensitive drugs.

High-Capital Intensity

Heavy industry products must fulfill specific performance requirements to meet their clients’ needs. Thus, making these high-performing products is a capital-intensive process. To produce heavy industry products, it takes:

• Plenty of materials and/or components.
• A large workforce.
• Heavy machinery – which often needs a large floor space.
• Relatively more time than light industry products to complete.

Windmill turbines, train wagons, and industrial-scale batteries are good examples of heavy industry products.

Raw Material Processing

Some sectors in heavy manufacturing focus on processing raw materials into semi-finished goods. These goods will be used as materials in other industries.

The steel industry is a good example. It processes iron ores and combines them with other materials (sometimes with old scrap iron as well) to create steel. Steel is used in almost all industries, from consumer electronics to shipbuilding.

Besides steelmaking, here are examples of sectors that process raw materials:

• Cement industry (uses limestone, alumina, and other minerals & metals to make cement).
• Glassmaking (combines sand, dolomite, and other quarried materials to create glass).
• Petrochemicals (processes crude oil to produce finished goods like petrol and diesel or semi-finished goods such as wax and asphalt).

Larger Environmental Impact

Due to its capital-intensive nature, heavy industry manufacturers have a large environmental impact. We can break down this into 3 elements:

Energy Use

Heavy industries often use heavy machines to perform their production activities. For example:

• Sheet metal benders are used to create aircraft parts in the aviation industry.
• Drydock gantry cranes are used to move heavy objects in the shipbuilding industry.
• Welding machines are used to merge turbine parts in the heavy machinery industry.

Due to the powerful force that these machines must provide, they consume plenty of energy as well.

Additionally, heavy industry plants generally have a larger floor space than their light industry counterparts. As a result, their electricity, water, heating, and cooling consumption are also higher. Some heavy industry plants even have their own power generators to fulfill their energy needs.

Emission

Heavy industry is often associated with the term “dirty industry” – where production activities generate plenty of pollution. Some heavy industry sectors are indeed very polluting, such as

• Air pollution produced by combustion needed to refine crude oil in the petrochemicals industry.
• Water pollution due to heavy metal residues generated by the metal processing industry.
• Noise pollution from heavy weapons testing (e.g., artillery, bombs, and rocket launchers) in the arms industry.

Of course, not all sectors are as polluting as the ones mentioned above. For example, the heavy machinery manufacturing, automotive, and modular construction industries are generally seen as the less-polluting heavy industry sectors.

Plant Location

Due to its immense environmental impact, heavy industry plants can only be built on a small selection of designated industrial zones. Often, they’re located far from urban centers. In addition, heavy industry plants in many jurisdictions must pass an environmental impact assessment and comply with various environmental regulations.

Furthermore, it’s advisable for plants that process plenty of raw materials to be built next to these material sources. For example, cement factories are often built next to a limestone quarry.

If no quarries are nearby, cement factories are also commonly built near a port. This proximity makes getting raw materials & sending finished products a much faster process.

High Initial Investment

Starting a heavy industry business requires a higher upfront investment than in the light industry. This is attributed to the heavy industry’s capital-intensive nature.

These costs include opening a large plant, purchasing heavy machinery, and hiring a relatively bigger workforce than its light industry counterpart. Not to mention the stricter environmental regulations that must be complied with.

Moreover, the heavy industry sector is riskier than the light industry. Many heavy industry products are niche-specific. Instead of producing products that always have a stable demand, like food and clothing, heavy industry makes industry-oriented products.

Unfortunately, many heavy industry sectors are very volatile. The aviation industry is a good example. The 9/11, Covid-19 pandemic and other occurrences have hit the industry hard. As a result, aircraft demand from airlines slumped, which hurt aircraft manufacturers. Hence, starting a heavy industry business is a highly risky venture.

Heavy Industry Examples

The heavy manufacturing sector consists of many different industries. Here are examples of the most well-known heavy manufacturing industries:

Heavy Machinery

The heavy machinery industry is a vast sector. It includes all manufacturers that create heavy machines for industrial purposes, such as:

• Power-generating machines (e.g., gas turbines, solar panels, water boilers).
• Heating/cooling systems (e.g., furnaces, heat exchangers, industrial-scale fans).
• Industrial cutters (e.g., disc cutters, waterjet cutter machines, high-precision laser cutters).
• Robots for manufacturing (e.g., automated quality control systems, robotic arms for assembly, automated guided vehicles).
• Industrial-scale food & beverage machines (e.g., fruit peelers, bottle fillers, pasteurizers).

As seen from the examples above, this industry is extremely broad. It creates the machines & tools needed for industrial activities. If you saw a machine in a factory, it’s likely that it was made by a manufacturer from this category.

Chemicals

Similarly, the chemical industry is also a wide domain. It covers all producers that process natural chemical substances into finished products or semi-finished goods. Industries that fall under this sector include:

• Basic chemicals (produces chemical substances that will be used as materials for further production activities, such as alcohol, chlorine, and hydrogen.)
• Petrochemicals (processing crude oil into fuel, lubricants, and plastics).
• Industrial gasses (its products include oxygen tanks for hospitals, carbon dioxide for carbonated drinks, and xenon to be used in car lights).
• Agricultural chemicals (with products such as fertilizers, pesticides, and crop growth regulators).
• Coatings, paints, and dyes (can be used to protect and decorate buildings, vehicles, and clothing).