Europe still leads in global masterbatch business

According to the latest industry survey conducted by market analyst AMI Consulting (Bristol, England), the European masterbatch industry remains the world’s largest in terms of production and demand. According to the study, “Thermoplastic Masterbatches in Europe: Identifying Growth Opportunities in a Changing Market” (www.amiplastics.com), European masterbatchers produced 960,000 tonnes of product last year while the market demand was just over 800,000 tonnes. Europe is a net masterbatch exporter.

Overall the market has been showing solid growth in recent years, averaging annual increases of 3% since 2001, which are driven by the desire of processors to use engineering plastic masterbatches as a replacement for more expensive ready-to-use compounds. The greater use of color and special effects to differentiate products has also helped lift demand along with the requirement for improved plastics performance, such as UV stabilization and flame retardancy.

Most European countries have benefited from this growth, says AMI, with the exception of Great Britain, whose masterbatchers accounted for 14% of the total capacity in 1996 but dropped to 10% last year as its processor customer base has seen a decline through projects transferred to Central Europe and Asia.

The largest market in Europe is for white masterbatches accounting for 29% of the total demand. Both white and black masterbatches show maturity with demand for these growing at rates below other masterbatch types. Color masterbatches accounted for 24% of the market in 2006. Additive masterbatches are the fastest growing sector, now accounting for 24% of the total. AMI forecasts overall masterbatch demand will continue 3%/yr growth through 2010.

The greatest demand in 2006 came from Germany (18%), followed by Italy (16%), France (12%), and the U.K. (10%). The Benelux countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) together accounted for 14% of the total.—[email protected]