The European blow moulding market lost 7.8% of its value last year due to the pandemic. A slight recovery is now forecast for 2021, with an increase of 3.2% compared to 2020, according to a study by Interconnection Consulting.

Blow moulding can be used to produce hollow plastic components. Important products are for example plastic bottles, plastic canisters, washing water containers, fuel tanks, etc. Even before the crisis, the European market had the weakest growth dynamics compared to all other regions worldwide. To make matters worse, the regions of Western and Southern Europe in particular were more severely affected by the pandemic than many other regions in the world and recorded a decline of 11.9% and 9.2% respectively. Consequently, the greatest momentum in the future will not come from these regions, but from the CEE region and Eastern Europe. In the CEE countries, the annual increase forecast until 2024 is 5.3%, with the study also predicting similar dynamics in Eastern Europe. For Western and Southern European countries, it will take at least until 2023 before the market level of 2019 is reached again. In terms of machine types, stretch blow moulding machines (linear and rotary) dominate the market across Europe with 60.9%. This is followed by extrusion blow moulding machines with around a quarter (22.5%) of the total market, and injection blow moulding machines with a share of around one-sixth of the total market. Extrusion blow moulding machines in particular were able to gain market share in 2020, as they lost less than other product segments with a decline in sales of 6.2%.

Tougher Competition For Market Leaders

Accordingly, producers in the extrusion blow-moulding machine segment also gained market share, such as BBM. The Japanese injection stretch blow-moulding machine manufacturer Nissei was also able to strongly expand its market share in Europe. The undisputed market leader, however, remains Krones. The top ten companies in Europe hold more than half of the total market (57.9%).

Sustainability Is An Opportunity For Europe

A major issue for the blow-moulding industry is the global trend towards banning the use of single-use plastic materials and the focus on sustainability and recyclable plastic materials. Especially the highly developed industrialised countries in Europe – favoured by strict laws and regulations – are leading the way. In the EU, at least 25% of PET plastic bottles are to be made of recycled plastic by 2025. By 2030, this mandatory target is to be increased to 30%. “Big brands are being forced to minimise the use of non-recyclable single-use plastic materials,” explains Daniel Kollar, the author of the study. Increasingly strict laws are also leading to bioplastic packaging gaining more and more ground. However, due to the diversity in the material, new blow moulds as well as blow moulding machines are needed for processing, Kollar explains. “The trend is driving the development of the technology and the market.“

Regions analyzed:

Northwestern Europe (UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland)

Western Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg)

Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Baltics, Bulgaria, Russia, the Ukraine, CIS)

Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy)

Link to the report

11/10/2021

Copyright: Interconnection, Publication free of charge for coverage regarding the study and InterConnection Consulting.