European downturn believed to have bottomed out/ Complete recovery unlikely before 2013 / Reinforced plastics federation says production down by a third this year / Thermosets counter thermoplastics challenge

摘要

Like the plastics industry in general, the market for reinforced composites has been battered by the economic downswing that started in autumn 2008. European production probably will be about a third below 2007, Elmar Witten, managing director of the Federation of Reinforced Plastics (AKV, Frankfurt / Germany; www.avk-tv.de), said at the association's annual conference in Stuttgart / Germany. However, not all applications and players in this heterogeneous market have been affected to the same extent. "Sentiment is not downbeat at all companies," Witten remarked.