Bookmark 11-27-2013

nova-Institute Publishes Study on WPC

Application fields of WPC in Europe in 2012 (Total production 260.000 t, all production processes) (figure: nova-Institute)

nova-Institute, Hürth, Germany, in cooperation with Asta Eder Composite Consulting (Austria/Finland) has conducted a study on the European biocomposite market.

The market report gives the first comprehensive and detailed picture of the use and amount of wood and natural fiber-reinforced composites in the European biobased economy. The analysis covers natural fiber as well as wood-plastic composites in extrusion, injection and compression molding in different branches and applications.

To achieve a reliable base of data, the study draws from a survey conducted in 2013 among the WPC and NFC industry, producers and customers. The rate of return was exceptionally high, especially for the WPC part of the study, more than 50% of the extruded volume produced took part in the survey – that means the study covers about 65 European WPC extruding companies in 21 countries.

350,000 t wood and natural fiber composites were produced in the European Union in 2012. The most important application sectors are construction (decking, siding and fencing) and automotive interior parts. Between 10–15 % of the total European composite market is covered by Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) and Natural Fiber Composites (NFC).

The total volume of WPC production in Europe was 260,000 t in 2012 (plus 90,000 t NFC for the automotive industry). The level of market penetration of bio-based composites varies between different regions and application fields. Germany leads in terms of number of actors as well as in production figures.

The report also gives an overview of the latest market development in North-America and Asia and an overview and forecast of the global WPC market situation, which has grown up to 2.5 million tonnes of production in 2012. China has the strongest growth rates with a production volume of 900,000 t in 2012 and is trying to catch up with the largest WPC production volume in the world, which takes place in North America and has grown to 1.1 million tonnes of WPC production in 2012.

The full report contains about 150 pages and covers almost all aspects of technical markets for natural fibers and WPC. Its results will be presented at the “Fifth German WPC-Conference”, 10 and 11 December 2013, Cologne, Germany.