Plastic coating for synthetic leather

Citation

Bean, J. (1998), "Plastic coating for synthetic leather", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 27 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1998.12927eaa.003

Plastic coating for synthetic leather

Plastic coating for synthetic leather

Keywords Coatings, Plastics, PVC

According to a Frost & Sullivan market report (Tel: +44 (0) 171 915 7824) the main trend in recent years in the plastics coatings for synthetic leather market, covering the PVC (polyvinyl chloride emulsions) and PU (polyurethane) sectors, has been the migration in production of leathercloth away from Western Europe to lower cost countries of South-East Europe and Asia.

This shift in production has led to lower consumption of plastics coating for synthetic leather in Western Europe and increased competition from imports. Many leathercloth producers either have gone out of business or have withdrawn from the market. The market, estimated at US$198.5 million in 1997, is long established. It is expected to rise to a revenue level of £249 million by the end of the year 2004.

The Italian market, accounting for 41.9 per cent of sales in 1997, is the largest consumer of plastics coating resins for synthetic leather and dominates the PU coatings market in particular. Italian producers are strongest in the consumer and fashion goods segment of the synthetic leather markets. Germany is the second largest consumer and specialises more in applications for the automotive industry.

The plastics coating market for synthetic leather remains an extremely competitive market. Price competition, particularly in PVC coatings, is very intense. Coating resin producers are not only in competition with each other but also face competition from producers of substitute materials such as real leather and man-made fibres. The development of substitute products is expected to further restrain synthetic leather market growth over the next five years, Frost & Sullivan conclude.