European injection molding industry shrinks

There have been net declines of 14% and 21% in the number of injection molding sites listed for France and the U.K., respectively, according to a new series of reports on the European molding market, with nearly 200 companies gone in Spain and Portugal since the previous guide. Applied Market Information Ltd. (AMI) has been documenting and monitoring the European injection molding sector for more than 20 years, and its latest reports list the activities of more than 3200 injection molding operations in France, Spain, Portugal, and the U.K.

AMI reported a "notable drop" in the number of French and British molding operations, with more than 300 U.K. companies that were listed in the last edition of its guide having closed down or gone out of business. In France, 279 businesses have gone, with nearly 200 companies no longer operating in Spain and Portugal.

The sectors that AMI found to be most affected included the automotive industry, particularly suppliers of small and medium sized components, with small and medium sized electronic and appliance manufacturing also down significantly. A decline in polymer demand also illustrates the changes underway on the continent. Material consumption fell by more than half a million tonnes from 2007-2009, after peaking at nearly 3 million tonnes of thermoplastics injection molded in 2007.

The decline in polymer demand was most acute in the U.K., with the local industry enduring a 21% decline in polymer consumption from injection molders. Molders in the U.K. are now processing around 600,000 tonnes of polymer/year compared to 840,000 tonnes annually some 10 years earlier.

By market, packaging is a key sector for all countries, but is notably more significant in the U.K. than in France or Spain. The automotive industry is the next largest market, although its importance has shrunk within the U.K. where only 14% of polymer processed goes into automotive applications compared with 22% in France and 26% in Spain and Portugal. In all, 109 British shops identified with the automotive market, compared to 229 companies in France and 278 in Spain and Portugal.

In a 2010 report entitled The Future of the European Injection Moulding Industry, AMI said that the increasing globalization of customers and the drive to reduce costs and rationalize production had led to a steady decline of molders operating in Europe, dropping by 9% over the prior six years.