MAR 2018
The European engineering plastics market had been estimated at USD 20,015.42 million in 2017. The market is expected to register a CAGR of 3.92% during the forecast period, 2018-2023. PET dominated the European engineering plastics market, with nearly 27% share in Europe, while PEEK segment is estimated to register the fastest CAGR through the forecast period.
PET is majorly used in the packaging industry, primarily for packaging of water (bottled), food, and alcoholic beverages. It is a downstream product of crude oils, but with the growing environmental concerns, and depleting oil reserves, engineering plastic manufacturers are shifting toward the development of bio-based PET. However, the bio-based PET market is still in its growth stage and is commercially available as a partially bio-based product. The demand for engineering plastics in Europe have been at a rise, majorly owing to the increasing demand from the automotive & transportation industry. In the last two decades, the European automotive industry has perceived a lot of transformation with the digitization of vehicles. A further expected moderate growth is supported by the ongoing strengths in key economies, solid labor market, rising disposable income of people, and low interest rates.
With the growing demand for engineering plastics, companies are developing products that can be used for new applications. Engineering plastic manufacturing companies, such as BASF, DowDuPont, and Covestro, are consistently engaged in R&D activities to develop products that are eco-friendly and comply with regulations. Furthermore, they have been investing in developing new technologies to continually enhance their competitive advantage in the industry.
Germany has the largest share in the market, accounting for nearly 25% of the European market share in 2017. The market for Germany is driven majorly because of the increasing demand for engineering plastics by the end-user industries, including electrical & electronics and automotive & transportation. Along with huge investments made in automotive R&D sector by companies and with government support, the presence of automotive giants in the country is propelling the growth of engineering plastics in Germany.
Major Players: BASF SE, Solvay, DowDuPont, SABIC, and DSM. Other players include A. Schulman Inc., Arkema, Asahi Kasei Corporation, Ashland Corporation, Celanese Corporation, Chemtura Corporation, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Covestro, Dyneon LLC, Eastman Chemical Company, Evonik Industries AG, Ineos, Lanxess, Nova Chemicals Corporation, Polyplastics Co. Ltd, Rochling Group, Tinseo, and Teijin Limited, amongst others.
