In Europe, plastics companies have recovered.
That’s what the Composites Europe report tells us. The main reasons for this positive index are attributed to the great properties of composite materials, their performance, and the new uses that are being made of them.
What is happening in plastics companies today?
Today, in plastics companies, all possible new fields of application for composite materials are being experimented with, researched, and investigated with commitment.
The main sectors driving the rise of plastics are:
- Automotive engineering
- The aerospace sector
- The constructions
The production of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP), which with a 95 percent market share is still the most important group of materials, increased again by 2 percent in 2017 compared to 2016.
The winning features of composites
They are modern materials with multiple applications and often low cost.
- Lightweight
- Stables
- Corrosion resistant
- They require little maintenance
Thanks to these properties, the outlook for composites is increasingly bright for the European industry.
Who drives the market?
Germany constitutes Europe’s largest market for composites.
Growing slightly more than the European average. Overall, 1.12 million tons of GFRP were produced, according to the results of the current 2017 composites market report published by the German Federation of Reinforced Plastics.
Composites and the entire field associated with them have enormous potential, which in many cases has yet to be fully exploited.
An optimistic view also concerns Italian plastics companies
Also expressing a positive assessment of the performance of the Italian plastics company sector is Mario Ceribelli: country head of Covestro, a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-tech polymers.
The total investments destined for Italy are growing, thanks in part to the work being done in Research and Innovation. It is precisely in this direction that we must continue if we want to grow and experiment with new uses for plastics that will benefit industry and the environment.
