Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) have been experiencing above-average growth of around 4.5% a year in western Europe during the past few years. The highly fragmented market is not particularly transparent and is estimated to have a volume of 520,000 t/y. According to a report by market research institute Applied Market Information (AMI, GB- Bristol BS1 3QP; www.amiplastics.com), sports and leisure including footwear now account for 25% of TPE applications. In second place is automotive with 21%, followed by customised applications with 20% and the construction industry with 14%.

Compared with figures from an earlier AMI study (see PIE 26, 2004), the total western European TPE market is now thought to be about 120,000 t larger, which could indicate that due to the luck of transparency, some of the figures may not be reliable. The US Freedonia Group (Cleveland, Ohio / USA; www.freedoniagroup.com) put total western European TPE turnover at 490,000 t in 2004.

In its latest report on “TPE Compounders – a review of Europe´s largest players”, AMI surveyed 45 companies and presented their data in considerable detail, with figures on sales, earnings, TPE capacities, grades and applications together with additional company profile information.

According to AMI, Europe´s biggest TPE manufacturer is Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, D-51368 Leverkusen; www.bayermaterialscience.de) with annual production of around 37,000 t. However this is entirely thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). In second place is the Italian TPE compounder So.F.Ter (I-47100 Forli; www.softerspa.com). Its estimated production capacity of 30,000 t/y finds its way predominantly into the footwear industry (SBS). The company´s sales are put at EUR 74m (2003).

Advanced Elastomer Systems (AES, B-1140 Brussels; www.aestpe.com), part of ExxonMobil Chemical (www.exxonmobil.com), and the BASF subsidiary Elastogran (D-49448 Lemvörde; www.elastogran.com) are both thought to have an annual production volume of 25,000 t TPE. Like Bayer, Elastogran manufactures only TPU, while AES has a widely diversified TPE portfolio without TPU. This company´s sales in 2003 amounted to EUR 320m, of which TPE compounds accounted for about 35% in Europe.

In fourth and fifth positions are the Tessenderlo Group (B-1050 Brussels; www.tessenderlo.com) with 22,000 t/y of TPE compounds and Tecno Film (I-63011 S. Elpidio a Mare; www.tecnofilm.com) with 20,500 t.

Book Service: AMI´s “Corporate Performance and ownership among TPE Compounders – a review of Europe´s largest players”, 1st edition, 2005, 105 pages, softcover, EUR 510.00 + VAT: PIE-No. B 46953.