The global polyurethane composites market is growing in line with the increasing application of polyurethane composites in several end-use industries, including electrical and electronics, building and construction, transportation and wind power energy. The increasing acceptance of polyurethane composites in the development of lightweight automotive components, which have superior mechanical and physical properties against competing materials, is expected to drive the demand for polyurethane composites, during the forecast period (2016 - 2022).
The polyurethane composites market has been segmented by fiber type, manufacturing process, end use industry and region. On the basis of fiber type, the market has been segmented into glass fiber polyurethane composites and carbon-fiber polyurethane composites. Based on manufacturing process, the market has been segmented into lay-up, pultrusion, resin transfer molding, injection molding, filament winding and compression molding. On the basis of end use, the market has been segmented into industry transportation, building and construction, electrical and electronics, wind power energy, petrochemical, sports and leisure and aerospace and defense.
Based on the fiber type segment, the higher growth of the glass fiber polyurethane composites segment could be accredited to the properties such as strength, flexibility, durability, stability, light weight and resistance to heat, temperature, and moisture of glass fiber polyurethane composites. This leads to increasing use of glass fiber polyurethane composites in the manufacturing of various products across various industries.
On the basis of manufacturing process, lay up is expected to witness highest growth in the global polyurethane composites market because of the low cost and ease of processing, which makes lay-up manufacturing process one of the important processes for polyurethane composites.
Geographically, the polyurethane composites market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the world. Asia-Pacific has been the largest market for polyurethane composites. The growth can be accredited to high economic growth rate, followed by heavy investments across various industries, such as automotive, building and construction, electrical and electronics and wind power energy. Moreover, governments, worldwide, have taken initiatives for the inflow of foreign investments to cater to the domestic demand, which is expected to drive the demand for polyurethane composites within this region.
The factors restricting the growth of the global polyurethane composites market include slow economic recovery of the European countries and North America, and recyclability issues of these composites.
The key market players operating in the global polyurethane composites market are BASF SE, Bayer AG, Hexcel Corporation, Huntsman Corporation, SGL Group, Toray Industries, Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd., Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., Owens Corning, and SGL Group, among others, all of which have adopted various strategies to increase their market shares.
