Analysis | news
China, what we’re seeing at the moment is something like three times GDP in the sectors we’re in.”
In the medical market, there
are “huge unmet needs”, he said. Government action has involved doctors driving to patients, taking with them
Patrick Thomas will continue as chairman of Covestro’s management board after stepping
down as CEO in September 2018
small cardiovascular kits made with Covestro materials. The group’s polycarbonate is also used for liver dialysis cartridg- es, and with approximately 15% of Chinese people suffering from liver disease, this is a huge market, said Thomas. Keeping up with customer needs is also important in Covestro’s other key markets for polycarbonates. Its colour matching centre in Guangzhou is close to its customers in consumer electronics, a market where there are changes every six months as new products such as smart- phones are launched. Thomas said that external perceptions of China’s automotive market are also changing as quality improvements by Chinese car
Covestro's regional sales (€m) Region* Europe
North America Asia
Total
44% 28% 28%
12,082
2015 Share of total 2016 Share of total 5,357 3,356 3,369
5,126 3,169 3,609
11,904
Source: Covestro annual report 2016. * Europe = EMLA, North America = NAFTA, Asia = APAC
makers are leading to increasing exports. “I remember sitting at an
event like this 10 years ago and saying the Chinese automotive sector is all about the domestic market. That is changing now. They are going to be a powerhouse producing very competitive vehicles,” he said. China makes more electric
vehicles in a year than the rest of the world combined, he said. The government has
committed to making EVs as a way to reduce emissions in towns and cities, which shows the customer need behind EV growth is for smaller, urban cars. The benefit for Covestro is that EVs use three times as much of Covestro’s lightweight materials than a normal car. “A normal car will have 4-8kg of Covestro material in it. An EV will have 24-25kg,” said Thomas. ❙
www.covestro.com
43% 27% 30%
www.bayplasticsmachinery.com
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