Global Engineering Plastics Market analysis

 

At present, the world's main engineering plastics manufacturers are Bayer, BASF, dupont, GE Plastics and Tykona (T i c o n a) companies. Engineering plastics industry structure for industry giants occupy more than half of the market share. Taking the most representative nylon as an example, the top four nylon producers in the world are Dow Chemical Company (24.4% of the global share), BASF Company (13.8%), General Electric Company (the former GE/Honeywell company has been acquired) (12.5%), Rhodia Company (9.1%). Other companies have a total market share of 40.2%. And the above companies are still increasing investment to meet the future growth of the engineering plastics market demand.

 

 

 

 

Section 1 The United States

 

 

 

Fredonia research report shows that polycarbonate will become the most widely used engineering plastics in the US market in the next few years. The report predicts that the demand for polycarbonate in the US market will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 3.8%, from 1.21 billion pounds in 2007 to 1.86 billion pounds in 2015.

 

Polycarbonate used in blends of other plastic products will replace ABS modified plastics as the most used engineering plastics. The study points out that the rapid growth of the polycarbonate market is mainly due to the increasing demand from the motor vehicles, medical products, and construction markets.

 

Although the U.S. auto industry is experiencing a significant slowdown in growth, it is expected that by 2015, U.S. auto production will have a "rebound" process, which will be beneficial to the popularization of nylon engine cover applications, as well as other engineering plastics. Demand for nylon will grow by 3.4% annually. The company expects to use an additional 12 pounds of engineering plastic per engine by 2015. The report also pointed out that the total demand for all engineering plastics is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.1%, from 4.665 billion pounds in 2007 to 5.425 billion pounds.

 

 

 

 

 

Section 2 Japan

 

 

 

In 1993, the non-phosgene process was successfully studied and industrialized by GE Plastics Japan. In the non-phosgene process, methanol was oxidized and carbonylated with O2 and CO2 to produce dimethyl carbonate (DMC), and then exchanged with phenyl acetate to produce diphenyl carbonate (DPC). PC was then obtained by transesterification with bisphenol A in the molten state and condensation polymerization.

 

The process has no by-products, basically pollution-free, especially does not use highly toxic phosgene, so it is deeply valued by major companies in the world and has been committed to development. GE first realized the industrial production of this method in Japan, with a production capacity of 25,000 t/a, and then expanded to 45,000 t/a to mass-produce CD grade PC resin. In 1997, GE built a 13,000T /a non-phosgene PC production plant in Spain. In 2002, Asahi Kasei of Japan built a 65,000 t/a non-phosgene PC production plant in Taiwan, China. At present, the world's non-phosgene PC production capacity has been close to 300000 t/a. The production of polycarbonate by non-phosgene melting process is a green process that is fully closed, has no by-products, little pollution, and meets environmental requirements. It has become the research direction of polycarbonate synthesis technology in the future, and is expected to gradually dominate the production of polycarbonate in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Section 3 India

 

 

 

The engineering plastics market in India has great potential, and international chemical giants have invested and built factories in India to enter the engineering plastics industry in India.

 

World-renowned chemical company, Eastman, has announced the construction of a new engineering plastics composite material plant in Ranjangaon MIDC Industrial Park, 60 km from Pune, India. The new plant will triple the production capacity of Akulon®PA6, Arnite®PBT, PET and Stanyl®PA46 plastics in India. These materials are widely used in automotive, electronic and electrical, consumer goods, and industrial supplies.

 

Dupont Engineering Plastics announced the creation of a center of excellence in India to accelerate regional growth in one of the fastest growing markets for its business and enterprise. The new Engineering Plastics Centre of Excellence will support the research and development and expansion of the latest engineering plastics technologies, and will share the results achieved across regional and industry teams to promote business growth. It will use the latest technology and cutting-edge engineering software to design and meet the application development needs of Indian customers.

 

 

 

 

 

Section 4 Vietnam

 

 

 

By 2010, Vietnam's plastics market is expected to grow by 18%, with total production exceeding 4.2 million tons. Several important local industries are in urgent demand for plastics, especially the packaging industry, which is the main export. Driven by several large projects, the proportion of north Vietnam's total plastic production is expected to rise from 26% to 31%, but the southern production will gradually decrease. Vietnam set out a blueprint four years ago to boost its plastics industry through a number of different plans, one of which is to expand local sources of inputs and to expand production of high-tech products, especially for exporters. The Vietnamese government is actively encouraging industry to invest in the production of materials to reduce dependence on imported materials, and hopes that by 2010, local production of materials can provide nearly 50% of the industry's needs. Chinese investors can take advantage of the opportunity to expand into this nascent market, and companies with relevant operations in the Pearl River Delta should have an even greater advantage. Demand for plastic products has increased dramatically, with the Vietnam Plastics Association saying that total demand for plastic products in the country climbed 13-fold between 1990 and 2000, and increased another 2.5 times between 2000 and 2007 to 2.13 million metric tons. The per capita use of plastic has also surged from less than 1kg in 1990 to about 25kg last year. Still, the size of Vietnam's plastics industry is tiny compared to other countries. The country's current per-capita plastic consumption is about 30 kilograms, far less than the 100 kilograms of developed countries. The Vietnamese government is committed to increasing the per capita use of plastic to 50 kilograms by 2010. The packaging industry is key to increasing the amount of plastic used. It currently absorbs 40 percent of total plastic production, and almost all of Vietnam's plastic packaging products are produced locally. Due to a shortage of skilled workers and outdated technology and machinery, Vietnam's plastics industry can only meet local demand for simple products. Moreover, the number of locally produced high-tech products is limited, so users must rely on imports. However, Vietnam's plastics industry will receive significant investment in technology and capacity, a development that will help increase output and quality and expand product range. Vietnam's plastic exports continued to expand, with the total value rising from $100 million in 2001 to $725 million in 2007. At present, Vietnam's packaging materials are exported to 41 countries and regions, accounting for 80% of the total value of plastic exports in 2007. This year, plastic exports are expected to total $1 billion, up 42.9 percent from last year. In terms of output, packaging and high-tech products are key areas of development that require substantial investment. In addition, from now until 2010, the production of packaging materials is expected to remain stable, accounting for 30% of total plastic production, with an annual growth rate of 15%. The demand for investment is particularly strong for plastics used in agricultural products, processed food, cement, chemicals and fertilizer packaging. Many existing enterprises are planning to build packaging materials plants, the next few years, plastic products production capacity is bound to expand, to increase to 1.2 million metric tons by 2010. The proportion of high-tech plastic products will also increase to meet the growing demand from other industries, especially the automotive and electronics industries. Plastic industry strength is limited, foreign investment has a lot to offer. At present, the United States, the European Union and Japan, the three major plastic markets, do not need to import plastic from Vietnam, because Vietnam's plastics industry is still small and lacks bargaining power.​ In terms of technology, Vietnam has only focused on plastic production, ignoring other parts of the plastics industry, such as feeding, molding and machinery. According to the Vietnam Plastics Association, there are nearly 2,200 plastics and rubber enterprises in the country, employing more than 114,000 workers, or 2 percent of the total number of workers engaged in industry. Most plastic companies in Vietnam are small and medium-sized enterprises, with backward technology and limited capital.​ Vietnam's plastics industry is also highly dependent on imports, importing about 1.5 to 2 million metric tons of raw materials each year, as well as a large number of auxiliary chemicals.​ However, due to Vietnam's strong expansion of light industry exports and price fluctuations in the oil and shipping markets, imports are suppressed, and it is difficult to meet the demand of the packaging and electronics industries.