An overview of the European radiation curing market

Citation

(2001), "An overview of the European radiation curing market", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 30 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2001.12930daf.002

An overview of the European radiation curing market

An overview of the European radiation curing marketKeywords: IAL Consultants, Curing, Radiation

IAL Consultants have brought together the latest information available on the European radiation curing market. The report draws on the extensive database which IAL has developed in the course of over 20 years of research into this industry. It has been compiled from a comprehensive programme of interviews with key industry executives drawn from the principal radiation curing sectors together with their suppliers.

Coverage of the report extends to; main chemical raw material types, formulated products and equipment.

A directory of suppliers for these categories is given in each case.

Demand for the main curable chemicals (monomers, oligomers and photoinitiators) used in radiation curing systems of all kinds – UV, EB and cationic – has been estimated at a combined total of 49,400 tonnes. Those for the cationic curing sector constitute less than 1 per cent of the market, confirming its continued niche status.

The market for radiation-curable formulations has been estimated at 97,060 tonnes with the following breakdown by sector (Table I).

A breakdown by 16 countries (14 EU plus Norway and Switzerland) is given for the main applications set out in the table.

Increased legislation against the use of solvent-based coatings has been one of the drivers for the industrial coatings sector in recent years, but technologies will provide extra stimulus for market growth in the future.

Modern technologies, such as mobile phones, CDs and DVDs, and a growing demand for glossy, luxurious-looking goods ensure continued good growth, as the use of UV-curable finishes on plastic soars.

In the graphic arts sector, the strongest growth is to be expected in UV flexo inks, which have almost revolutionised the flexo printing industry in recent years.

Demand for all UV inks is estimated at 10,335 tonnes for 2000 and is expected to rise to 16,580 tonnes by 2005. Market sizes for the top four UV ink-consuming countries in 2000 and 2005 are estimated, as shown in Table II.

In adhesives, the bulk of the market is in the non-structural adhesives sector. The greatest growth will be found in tapes rather than labels, as 50 per cent of adhesive tape manufacture still uses solvent-based adhesives.

Opportunities which have been identified in the industry include the use of tuneable resins and rapid prototyping technologies, with burgeoning application areas for the radcure sector likely to include; sprayable UV curing coating, spot cured automotive refinishes, ink jet printing and DVD adhesives.

This market report (125pp) is now available at a price of $2,500 from IAL Consultants, 109 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London W5 5TL. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8810 0919; Fax:+44 (0) 20 8566 4931.