European infection moulding industry thrives as most markets recover

摘要

THE European injection moulding industry is thriving as most of its markets have recovered from the economic collapse which struck over a decade ago,according to a new study by leading industry.consultants,Applied Market Information Ltd(AMI Consulting).In 2018 the industry value from virgin polymer exceeded EUR85 billion,an average growth of 3% p.a.since 2007,supported by growing polymer demand and added value opportunities,together with increased polymer prices.The industry is also taking increasing advantage of the use of recyelate feedstocks which added about 8% to the industry value in 2018.The versatility of the injection moulding process lends itself to serving an extremely diverse market portfolio with demand,in terms of polymer volume,being led by the packaging,automotive and electronics sectors. Each market faces different opportunities and challenges,particularly as the plastics sector and the applications it serves comes under increasing environmental scrutiny.Since AMI Consulting's prior report on the sector in 2014 all the key market segments have grown,with packaging exhibiting the most sustained growth whilst automotive has seen most robust growth in the last 4 years.Overall demand for injection moulding has seen an average growth of.1.6% p.a.in virgin polymer demand taking it above 12 mln tons in 2018.