The European market for liquid plastic floor coatings increased in value by 20.4% last year. However, sales increased only minimally with a plus of 1.4% in 2021. However, a strong increase in sales of 6.5% is expected for 2022, as a new study by Interconnection Consulting shows.

Different Demand Drivers for Liquid Plastic Coatings

The strong increase in sales in the industry was mainly due to the price increase, which in turn was caused by the shortage of raw materials. In addition to the production stops in Asia in 2020, the shortage was also due to the winter storms in Texas, where one of the largest warehouses for plastic resin was badly affected.

The growth is being driven, among other things, by a high level of construction activity, increased demands for aesthetically pleasing surfaces, stricter hygiene standards and outdated parking garages that now need to be renovated. Increased conversions of buildings are another market driver – in Germany, for example, the transformation of the automotive industry to e-mobility, which is why WHG coatings are increasingly being requested. There is also a strong trend towards anti-static (ESD) floors, which are becoming a requirement in more and more production facilities due to the increasing use of computer chips. Clean rooms and clean rooms in laboratories and production halls, for which manufacturers also develop their own solutions, represent another area that is gaining in importance.

A substitution of ceramic floors with liquid synthetic floors, for example in canteen kitchens, fast food establishments, or in the food industry, also harbors growth potential for liquid resin-based floor coatings. Especially in the food sector, 3-component products such as PU concrete floors are being used more and more, which meet the special requirements in this area due to their resistance (e.g. hot water resistance), whereby the use outside of DACH for this type of coating is significantly higher.

Due to high opportunity costs during standstill, fast-hardening resin floors are used more and more frequently, not only in canteen kitchens, on industrial areas, but also in parking garages (especially in the entrance and exit areas and ramps), whereby the high costs of polyaspartics /polyurea, but also emissions (VOC), which play a role in PMMA, limit an even more frequent use of these products, precisely because price is often a key decision criterion.

Substitution with Other Types of Floor Coatings Slows Down Growth

Market growth in Western Europe could be even higher if liquid plastics were not increasingly substituted here by cementitious products or, more recently, by hydrophobic impregnations to a certain extent. The former were also less affected by the scarcity of raw materials and the sharp increase in the price of raw materials for liquid plastic products, making them even more attractive in terms of price.

Germany with the Largest Share

The study examines the ten largest markets in Europe. With a share of 30.2%, Germany is by far the largest market, followed by France and the Netherlands. The countries Italy and Spain recorded the strongest increase in sales last year with more than 26%. Romania, on the other hand, has the greatest growth potential in the next few years with average annual growth rates of over 10%, although the market in Romania is still significantly less saturated than in other countries.

Industrial Floors Are the Main Customers

The dominant binder in all markets examined is epoxy resin. In Germany, this floor coating accounts for 51.1%. Austria has the highest proportion at 55.9%, while Belgium has the lowest at 37.1%. In addition to epoxy resins, the study also examined the importance of polyurethanes (PU), PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), acrylates, polyurea & polyaspartics, as well as “other product groups” (e.g. PU concrete. The customer segments are dominated by production facilities & factories – i.e. classic industrial floors in 7 out of 10 markets Only in Austria, Switzerland and Romania are the parking garages the largest sales segment.

Strong M&A Activity in the Market

In Germany, the market concentration of the top 5 companies is 72%. Sika in particular was able to significantly expand the group’s market position thanks to its already very strong position in many European countries through the recent takeover of the MBCC Group (also one of the top 5 players in many countries). Basically, the market is currently in a dynamic period with many takeovers. This is also the case in France, where Mapei, for example, recently gained a strong position with the takeover of Resipoly.

30/03/2022

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