Flexible, Firm, and Light as a Feather: Ceresana Study on the European Market for Plastic Films

Because of the ban on imports of European plastic waste impeded by China at the beginning of 2018, Europeans urgently need to find another solution. The EU commission, for example, is considering a “plastics tax”. An EU directive against lightweight plastic carrier bags has already contributed to a reduction of consumption in many countries. Until 2030, all packaging in the EU ought to be reusable and made of recyclable materials. “Manufacturers do not need to worry about demand”, says Oliver Kutsch, managing director of Ceresana. The market research institute has analyzed the European market for plastic films. “Included in this market are plastic bags and sacks but also packaging films, shrink and stretch films, agricultural films as well as other films such as construction films”, explains Kutsch: “This market is likely to grow to about 14 million tonnes until 2024.”

Wafer-Thin High-Tech Products

Packaging should be light, visually appealing, and microwavable; they ought to present the content well, help to increase the durability, and contain the intensity of flavor over a long period of time. Accordingly, the pressure on film producers to meet the continuously rising requirements regarding optics, handling and barrier properties, as well as conservation of resources and sustainability is high. Requirements increase also for agricultural and other films. In defining the individual products, all kinds, from wafer-thin films to thick, rigid boards, can be found. The new study by Ceresana focuses on flexible films.

Numerous Influential Factors Lead to a Complex Market Structure

Besides the trends of the consumer goods market, numerous other factors influence the demand for plastic films on several national markets as well. Many EU countries in particular try to contain the demand for light-weight carrier bags. The implementation of the respective regulations, however, varies considerably from country to country. In contrast, demand for secondary and transport packaging such as shrink and stretch films depends on the macroeconomic development and the consumer climate of the respective country. In some countries, the efforts to intensify agriculture propel the use of agricultural films. The demand for construction films corresponds to the order situation of the respective construction industry.

BOPET and BOPP Keep Things Fresh

The plastic BOPET (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate) provides a high transparency, high-quality visual appearance, and a high tensile strength – ultra-thin and light films can be made thereof. For further reduction of thickness and weight of packaging (downgauging), BOPET plays a major role. BOPET helps to increase the durability of perishable food with its barrier properties and is, for example, used for aroma-proof packaging. Thin BOPET films of about 8 to 50 µm are mainly used for FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) packaging, thicker films of up to approx. 350 µm are rather used for stationary or electronic goods.

BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) is mainly utilized for foodstuffs packaging. However, BOPP films are not readily heat sealable. As this is a prime requirement for packaging films, BOPP is normally given a surface coating of a heat sealable polymer such as a coextruded polypropylene random copolymer. Copolymers for heat seals need to exhibit a high gloss and transparency. Coating or coextrusion increases the barrier properties of BOPP film, decreasing its permeability to gases. Common barrier polymers are ethylene vinyl alcohol, polyvinylidene chloride, and polyamide.

The Study in Brief:

Chapter 1 analyzes demand and production as well as revenues in regard to plastic films for 25 countries. Furthermore, the study analyzes the demand for plastic films split by the several plastic types as well as split by the individual application areas.
Chapter 2 offers a detailed presentation of various application areas of plastic films: Data on demand development in the applications packaging films, bags & sacks, shrink & stretch films, agricultural films, and other films.
Chapter 3 examines the demand for films split by the types of plastic PE, PP, PET, PVC, and other plastics.
Chapter 4 provides company profiles of the largest manufacturers of plastic films – clearly arranged according to contact details, revenues, profit, product range, production sites, and profile summary. Extensive profiles of 87 manufacturers are included, such as Exxon Mobil Chemical Company, DowDuPont Inc., Mitsubishi Corporation, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Toray Industries, Inc, Evonik Industries AG, Covestro AG, Bolloré Divisions Films Plastiques, Amcor Ltd., Eastman Chemical Company, and Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH.

Further information: www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/packaging/plastic-films-europe/

Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector. For more than 15 years, it has been been supplying 10,000 customers from 60 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Ceresana's clients profit from implementation-oriented consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 100 multi-client market studies. The Ceresana business analysts are specialists in chemicals, plastics, industrial components, and packaging.
More about Ceresana at www.ceresana.com

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Fax: +49 7531 94293 27
Press Contact: Martin Ebner, m.ebner@ceresana.com

This release was published on openPR.