The electronic housing industry, including housing of IT-related products such as personal computers and laptops, will be the major growth driver for the polymer blends and alloys market in Europe as global manufacturers of electronic and IT-related products move their manufacturing bases to Eastern Europe, which offers better quality control standards than Asia. Bio-based polymer blends offer equally good growth potential. Companies in that market are rapidly diversifying from bags and packaging-related applications to high performance applications, the major drivers behind the replacement of engineering and commodity plastics with bio-based or biodegradable plastics. However, blend manufacturers must identify new application areas for polymer blends. Polymer blends are more expensive than commodity polymers, due to higher processing costs. As companies tighten their budgets, they are opting to move towards modified commodity polymers like long glass fibre re-enforced Polypropylene or ABS, especially in high-volume applications like automotive. These polymers offer nearly the same performance as polymer blends. Thus, it is necessary to identify niche applications in which commodity polymers cannot replace polymer blends. Additionally, the growing presence of Asian polymer blend suppliers in Eastern Europe is stepping-up competition, making it more challenging for the European blend manufacturers to boost their market share. Although polymer blend manufacturers are unlikely to show growth in the current market scenario, demand should increase after 2012 once automotive and electronic manufacturers begin to free up their budgets compared to the 2008-2010 period. This will result in some manufacturers opting for polymer blends, which, though comparatively costlier, provide higher performance levels than commodity polymers. Until then, polymer blend manufacturers should work closely with customers to identify the niche opportunities in polymer blend applications. Bio-based polymer blends, for example, is a very promising investment for companies, as growing environmental awareness and government regulations fuel demand for sustainable products that can be used for engineering applications.
Global manufacturers of electronic and IT-related products are moving their manufacturing locations to Eastern Europe, which has better quality control standards than Asia. Several companies are expanding their operations in countries such as Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Hungary. Although it will be a challenge for polymer blend manufacturers to experience growth in the current market scenario, the demand for polymer blends is expected to increase after 2012. Polymer blend manufacturers should work closely with customers to identify the niche opportunities in polymer blend applications. Bio-based polymer blends is another area for companies to invest, as there is a requirement for bio-based materials that can be used for engineering applications.
As per a report by BCC Research, tThe North American market for engineering resin and polymer alloy/blend is expected to increase from 3.3 bln lbsin 2007 to an estimated 3.4 billion pounds in 2008 and 4 bln lbs in 2013, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1%. Polycarbonates have the largest share of the materials market with 887 mln lbs in 2007 and an estimated 912 mln lbs in 2008. This is expected to increase at a CAGR of 3.1% to reach 1.1 bln lbs in 2013. The nylons segment is the second largest by volume. Roughly 801 mln lbs were used in 2007, with an expected increase to 825 mln lbs in 2008. This should reach 954 mln lbs in 2013, a CAGR of 3%.
