BOPA FILMS
Global market growth driven by rising demand for simultaneous stretching technology
The global market for bi-oriented polyamide (BOPA) films is worth an estimated USD 1.1 bn, with about 230,000 t having been consumed in 2013, a new report by PCI Films Consulting (Guilsborough / UK; www.pcifilms.com) has found. Demand is expected to reach 290,000 t by 2018, with growth driven by new end uses that require more balanced film properties.
Simon King, the author of the report titled “World BOPA Film Market Trends to 2018”, said, “In today’s BOPA film market users are telling us that a balanced film with better dimensional stability and less shrinkage is particularly important for some applications. It is not surprising then that over the next five years most of the new BOPA film lines to be installed are based on simultaneous stretching technology to meet the technical demands of these high-end applications.” PCI estimates that by 2018, 25% of global installed BOPA film capacity will use this type of technology, compared to only 16% in 2013.
Developed in the 1970s by a group of Japanese companies, early BOPA film production involved either bubble or simultaneous film extrusion and stretching techniques, PCI says. The material only started making inroads into flexible packaging applications once off-the-shelf, 2-stage sequential stretching lines were developed, which enable higher outputs at lower production costs. With demand from sectors such as retort processed foods and pharmaceuticals growing, the technical demands placed on film increasingly require the use of simultaneous orientation lines, the study says.
13.08.2014 Plasteurope.com [228942-0]
Published on 13.08.2014