The continent is said to be the second largest consumer of these types of polymers in the world after North America, where carboxylated styrene butadiene is leading followed by styrene-acrylics and pure acrylics, all featured in copious amounts of personal care products and their packaging.
According to Kline, the personal care ingredients market in Europe is valued at €1.35bn with annual volume growth expected to stand at 2.6 per cent until 2014 and in particular, Russia and Turkey are pinpointed as having the most growth potential where styrene-acrylics dominate, followed by PVAc and redispersible powders.
Potential
The report also outlines that as a consequence of regulatory and voluntary initiatives in Europe, the switch from solvent to water-based paints is expected to continue with the majority of decorative paints sold in Western Europe already being water-based.
“This evolution is directly and positively affecting upon synthetic latex polymer demand.”
Furthermore, the market researcher reveals that the European market is being dominated by three international players, Dow, BASF, and Synthomer (including recently acquired Polymer Latex), which hold a combined share of approximately 55 per cent of the market.
Meanwhile, in the East, Kline says large multinational companies have started the production of polymer dispersions in an effort to be more competitive,
“Dow in Russia and Turkey, and Momentive in the Czech Republic are prime examples of this evolution,” states the report.
Downside…
Despite Europe's potential for growth, the market researcher says implementation within the industrial coatings sector is still lagging given that they are under stronger technical pressure to provide high performance finishes and, in many cases, only solvent-based finishes can presently meet these requirements.
“The generally depressed construction sector in most of Western Europe and the consequent curtailing of synthetic latex polymer needs contrasts with the positive situation in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Turkey.”
Free webinar
Further to its published report on 'Synthetic Latex Polymers Global Series: Europe Business Analysis and Opportunities', Kline held a free webinar focusing on the 27 member states on Tuesday, September 18 to further outline the breakdown of the market for SLPs.