Coatings World - August 2011

Flam retardants market to reach
nearly $6 billion by 2018

Flame retardants are used in numerous everyday products such as cell phones, carpets and insulating sheets to prevent them from being burnt or at least to slow down a fire in an emergency. As more and more plastics and other flammable materials are used, flame retardants are gaining increasing importance. The new market study by Ceresana Research forecasts that global flame retardant revenues will rise to approximately $5.8 billion by 2018. Demand is above all growing in the Asia Pacific region, with China registering the greatest increase of seven percent per year.

“The development of the flame retar-
dant industry is greatly influenced by legal
situations and industrial standards,” said
Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana. “Almost
all countries are increasingly tightening
fire safety regulations. In addition, which
flame retardant is used depends on state
regulations on the protection of the envi-
ronment and health, above all in Western
Europe and North America.”
As environmental restrictions mainly
impact halogenated flame retardants,
less controversial alternatives are being
developed. The demand for organophos-
phates and different inorganic flame re-
tardants is rising by 3. 5 percent to 4. 3
percent per year, which is significantly
faster than for brominated or chlori-
nated flame retardants.

The demand for organophosphates and inorganic flame retardants is rising by 3. 5 percent to 4. 3 percent per year, which is significantly faster than for brominated or chlorinated flame retardants.

Pigments market to reach $45 billion by 2018

Ceresana Research forecasts that the global pigment market will earn revenues of more than $45 billion in 2018. In 2010, the Asia Pacific region was the largest market area, generating approximately 45 percent of the global demand for pigments. This was followed by North America and Western Europe.

Pigments are mainly used in well established industries, such as paint and varnish manufacturing and plastics production. Demand in individual countries follows the overall economic development. The construction industry, in particular, has a strong impact on the demand for pigments. Apart from coloring construction materials such as concrete, pigments are widely used in plastic products, paints and varnishes.

Ceresana Research expects Asia Pacific will continue to significantly influence market dynamics over the next years. Rapidly developing emerging markets have the greatest growth potential, above all China and India. Moreover, South America and the Middle East register above-average growth rates of 3. 6 percent to 4. 4 percent. Carbon Black pigments, which are used in a number of plastics, represent a strong growth market worldwide. Many emerging countries still have a low per-capita consumption of plastics,