THERMOPLASTIC CONCENTRATES | MARKETS
Insights from masterbatch market experts
What are the major trends in the thermoplastics concentrates market? Jennifer Markarian interviews industry experts to learn about the forces affecting masterbatches and their producers
Insights into the current and future position of the masterbatch (thermoplastic concentrates) industry were shared by Hanne Jones, Senior Consultant at AMI, at the North American edition of the Com- pounding World Expo in Cleveland, US, in Novem- ber. In a keynote speech at the exhibition organ- ised by Compounding World’s publisher AMI, she noted that globally the approximately 16bn lb demand for concentrates is split nearly evenly between additive, colour, black, and white concen- trates. With packaging accounting for nearly half of global demand for concentrates, the pressure to reduce packaging waste plays a significant role. Additive concentrates are expected to have a
faster growth rate than other segments, with growing demand for stabilisers, compatibilisers and other additives to maintain properties of recycled materials and increase part durability. Changes in plastic part design as companies move to design- ing for recycling and to meeting the requirement to include more recycled material will offer challenges and opportunities for concentrates suppliers. “The global masterbatch industry continues to
experience unprecedented challenges; from fluctuations in demand to raw material volatility and constant changes in customers’ service needs,” said Jones. “The result of this is an ever-present challenge to executive decision-making and the
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management of participating companies.” Jones said that in response to the industry’s
needs, AMI is launching a new Global Masterbatch Dataset to provide a current and comprehensive analysis of the global thermoplastic masterbatch industry, which will be available in January 2025. The dataset provides comprehensive demand and production data for black, white, colour, and additive masterbatches by region, with break- downs by 14 polymer types and multiple industry sectors, including industrial and consumer packag- ing, agricultural applications, automotive and transport, and building and infrastructure. There had been some discussion a few years ago
that colour would be broadly removed from packaging to improve recycling. While there have been a few applications that have moved to colourless, this change has not materialised for most applications and colour demand remains strong. Many brands across packaging and other industries have realised the importance of custom- ised colours to increase visual appeal to attract consumers and retain consistent brand identity, said Doreen Becker, Director of Sustainability at Ampacet. “These needs are not new, but what is new is the need for brighter and more consistent coloration of PCR [post-consumer recyclate]. We have also noticed that the industry has widened its
December 2024 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 15
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK AI
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