Recycling solutions — the key to European growth

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PECIAL FEATURE

the m Recycling solutions key to European growth C o m p o s i t e s s h i p m e n t s f r o m t h e EC countries will grow on average s o m e 2.5% a y e a r to r e a c h o v e r o n e m i l l i o n t o n n e s b y 1997, s a y s 'Composites: A Profile of the Worldwide R e i n f o r c e d P l a s t i c s Industry, Markets & Suppliers', a new market report from Elsevier. But unlike the US and Japanese markets the s i t u a t i o n is far f r o m clear, i n t e r n a l markets differ widely for each country and few organizations yet operate on a Europe wide basis.

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omposites shipments from European Community (EC) countries in 1990 totalled 964 100 tonnes of which 802 400 tonnes was thermoset based (83%). Germany is the largest market at 223 500 EC composites 1 9 9 0 total output.

Tonnes (000s) 250 r

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Belgium France Greece Italy Netherlands Spain Denmark Germany Ireland Luxembourg Portugal

Country •

Thermoset based ~

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REINFORCED PLASTICS JUNE 1992

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tonnes, followed by France (208 400 tonnes), Italy (180 700 tonnes) and the UK (150 100 tonnes). Market sector breakdowns for each country reveal that the construction, engineering and t r a n s p o r t industries each have j u s t under 20% of the German market, with a similar picture in France. Although in the French market transport is more important and the o t h e r two sectors slightly less significant. Engineering is the largest sector in both the Italian and UK markets, again followed by transport and construction. On average, across the EC, engineering applications account for 23.2%, followed by transp o r t (17.5%) and construction (17.4%), c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s (16.7%), a e r o s p a c e (13.1%) and chemical equipment (12.1%). In some of the smaller markets such as Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, etc, the industry is dominated by engineering applications, often accounting for up to 50% of the market. This is usually the result of poorly developed opportunities in the transport and aerospace sectors. A slightly different breakdown of European GRP markets is supplied by French glass fibre producer Vetrotex. However, its figures are based on 15 countries rather than 12, and t h e r e are s o m e differences in categorization which makes direct comparison difficult. The following values are given for market sectors in 1991: transport including large boats 27.4%, construction 14.5%, electrical applications 18.1%, industrial applications 18.0%, c o n s u m e r goods 10%, sports equipment including pleasure boats 6.7% and, military and other applications 5.2%. Electrical applications are currently on t h e increase p a r t i c u l a r l y for t h e r m o s e t materials. In t e r m s of t h e a u t o m o t i v e market Vetrotex predicts that within the n e x t few years reinforced plastics will account for 6-7% of all automotive materials. Currently this sector is split 50/50 b e t w e e n t h e r m o s e t s and thermoplastics. Reinforced thermoplastics will continue to

0034-3617/92/$3.50 © 1992, Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.

grow, in p ar ticu lar in several major underb o n n e t applications such as intake manifolds, p u m p s and coolers. Semi-structural parts, such as the mu c h publicized glass m at th e r m o p l as tic (GMT) front end for the VW Golf, will also increase. IAL C o n s u l t a n t s of London, UK, has recently carried out a study of the m a r ket for u n s a t u r a t e d p o l y e s t e r (UP) r e s i n s (Reinforced Plastics, N o v e m b e r 1991). Polyester consumption, some 80% of which is used in composites, will grow by 2.9% a year until 1995. The fastest growing sector will be electrical applications, with growth rates of 7% a year. Followed by building -3.3%, tanks and pipes -- 3.1% and, sports a n d l e i s u r e -- 3.0%. B ut d o u b t s o v e r recyclability will damage prospects for automotive polyesters and growth is e x p e c t e d to be as low as 2% per a n n u m for cars and 1.7% for commercial vehicles, says IAL.

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Breaking the mar k et down by process r a t h e r t h e application, Vetrotex e s t i m a t e s t h a t manual processes such as h a n d lay-up and spray-up are still the single largest sector, accounting for nearly 30% of the market. The use of such techniques is declining for large parts but no significant change has been seen in the size of the sector over the pas t few years. Sheet and bulk moulding comp o u n d (SMC/BMC) processed by compression or injection make up 20-25% of the market. Currently SMC is experiencing low levels of growth, 2-4%, while those for BMC are higher. This largely the result of niche applications such as injection moulded BMC h a t c h b a ck doors for Citroen and front strips for Renualt, and BMC h e a d l a m p reflectors. C o m p o u n d e d thermoplastics also account for a significant sector, currently a r o u n d 25% a n d growing. O t h e r p r o c e s s e s s u c h as f i l a m e n t winding, p u l t r u s i o n a n d resin transfer moulding (tfl~¢I) are so small t h a t a single large project can change their share of t h e overall market. For e x a m p l e t he a m o u n t of material processed using RTM experienced a decline when much of the Renault Espace was converted to SMC. F u r t h e r work on th e future of automotive SMC has been carried out by IAL. The firm predicts p o o r prospects for the material and says t h a t recycling pressures will stimulate the E u r o p e a n SMC/BMC m a r k e t to move

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(Reinforced Plastics, April 1992). IAL estimates t h a t the E u r o p e a n market for SMC/BMC was 260 000 tonnes in 1990 and will grow at between 5% and 7.6% a year from 1990 to 1995. The rapid growth rates of 11-12% per a n n u m experienced in the mid1980s are unlikely to be experienced again in the near future, it says. Applications which m ust be targeted to ensure continued growth will include the electrical/electronic, security/building and safety sectors. Germany is r e p o r t e d to be Europe's largest market for polyester moulding c o m p o u n d s with 37.8% of the E u r o p e a n SMC market in 1990. This will rise slightly to a 38.8% market share by 1995. A more optimistic picture of the SMC/ BMC m arket was p r e s e n t e d recently by Hans Kelderman, m a n a g e r of recycling t h e r m o s e t s for DSM Resins and a representative of the recycling consortium ERCOM. He says t hat the E u r o p e a n m arket for polyester moulding EC composites 1 9 9 0 market sector

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68 43 15.5 148 4.7 1.8 142 4.8 6.9 5.0 9.4 13.9

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201 219 16.2 165 18.2 22 0 160 15 5 20 1 25.5 170 16 ~

27 9 438 178 199 44 1 423 21.9 500 280 43 9 325 22 2

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REINFORCED PLASTICS JUNE 1992

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12.0 43 20.0 18.9 112 5.2 181 95 12.2 2.8 16.0 17.9

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PECIAL FEATURE

The EUROPEANPLASTICSDIRECTORY(published June 1992)is now availableto readers of Reinforced Plastics at a SPECIALDISCOUNT PRICE of £65.00 UK orders and £75.00 (US$150.00) Overseas. The EUROPEAN PLASTICS DIRECTORY is-the most UPTO-DATE guide available for reference on plastics organisations within Europe. The Directory contains 2,500 detailed classificationsof materials,semi-finished products, machinery, processing, manufactured products and services. Over 10,000 companies are listed by COUNTRY under each classification so they can EASILY be crossreferenced to the alphabetical Company Information Section. To ensure that you have the most INFORMED and VALUABLE information on the plastics industry within Europe order your copy now.

Over 70% of EPD users are SENIOR MANAGEMENTwho use the directory to find essential PRODUCTSAND SERVICES. By placing an entry in The EUROPEAN PLASTICS DIRECTORYyou can ensurethat YOUR COMPANY'Sproducts and services are seen by those people who matter most. i

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HOW TO ORDER YOUR COPY

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Simply telephone Harpreet Lall on 071-490 0049 (ext 249) quoting ref EPD 7. Mastercard, Visa, Access and American Express credit cards are accepted.

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c o m p o u n d s was 275 000 tonnes in 1991, and predicts t h a t this will rise to 455 000 tonnes by 1996. A average annual growth of 10%. Automotive is currently the largest sector with a 40% share, followed by the electrical/ electronics and construction/industrial areas, each with a 30% share. Kelderman agrees with IAL ab o u t the i m p o r t a n c e of recycling in t he future growth of polyester moulding compounds. Without a concept, he says, consum pt i on of reinforced t h e r m o s e t s will peak in 1995 and rapidly decline thereafter. With a recycling concept, such as t h a t d e v e l o p e d by ERCOM, he believes t h a t a p p l i c a t i o n s for GRP will continue grow at the same rate. The IAL study on the m arket for unsaturated polyester also looked at the growth potential of the various composites fabrication technologies. Developments in processing technology and raw materials have c r e a t e d new p r o s p e c t s and m a r k e t s for polyesters, it says. In terms of processes, pultrusion will show the fastest growth rate of 10.9% a year. This is largely as a result of technical improvements. ' E n v i r o n m e n t a l l y unfri endl y' p r o c e s s e s such as spray-up and hand lay-up will fare badly. In contrast closed mould techniques such as RTM will show stronger growths rates, in excess of 10% a year in the case of RTM. IAL believes t h a t German legislation on automotive plastics recycling has affected the prospects for UP resins in the car market. Many producers are said to favour injection m oul ded and sheet s t a m p e d polypropylene in preference to thermosets.

In t h e future Trevor Starr, a u t h o r of the Elsevier report, forecasts t h a t total EC composites shipments will rise to 1 150 000 tonnes by 1997, an average annual growth rate of 2.5% per annum. This compares to an average yearly growth of 5.8% in 1983-1990. It is obvious from many of the co m m e n ts above t h a t for t h e r m o s e t composites to continue to grow there m ust be commercial recycling schem es in o p e r a t i o n . This is particularly t rue for aut om ot i ve applications. Electrical applications a p p e a r to be well positioned for growth as are thermoplastic composites. Starr believes t h a t the reinforced plastics industry in E ur o p e will continue to expand, although not at the rate it did in the 1980s. "There is no danger of the market reaching a plateau", he says. m