Global epoxy resin demand shifts

Due to the continued weakness of the construction market in developed countries, global epoxy resin demand is still 20% to 25% lower than before the financial crisis. Although some large-scale epoxy resin manufacturers have complained about the weak market, they also said that there are some bright spots in the process of recovery. In some special application fields, such as aerospace and energy markets, the demand for epoxy resin is increasing. Rapid growth.

Epoxy resins are mainly used in surface coatings, adhesives, flooring and paving materials, and composite materials. According to SRI Consulting's SRIC, due to the severe impact of the weak construction market in developed countries, the average annual epoxy resin consumption in the United States, Western Europe and Japan fell by 12% between 2006 and 2009. SRIC predicts that the demand for epoxy resins in the United States and Western Europe will increase at an average annual rate of 3.2% and 2.8% from 2010 to 2013, respectively.

Manufacturers said there are also some bright spots in the overall weak market environment. Kevin Tillner, head of Dow Chemical's global epoxy business, pointed out that the global wind turbine blade manufacturing industry has experienced strong growth in 2010, especially in the Chinese market. The use of epoxy resin on the fan blades improves the stability, stiffness and fatigue strength of the fan.

Composites are another highlight of epoxy applications. Paul Langemel, global epoxy resin market development manager at Momentive Specialty Chemicals, said that the demand for epoxy resins in the composites field has now returned to pre-crisis levels. SRIC expects that the demand for epoxy resin in the aerospace high-performance composites sector will increase at an average annual rate of 9% from 2010 to 2014.

The private-equity company Apollo Management Corporation merged Hexion Specialty Chemicals and Momentive Performance Polymers in September of this year, and named the combined Hexion Specialty Chemical Company as Momentive Specialty Chemicals. According to Langemel, Apollo Management is currently integrating Momentive Specialty Chemicals' epoxy business and Momentive Performance Polymers' silicone and silane operations to achieve synergy. Momentive Specialty Chemicals currently has more than 250,000 tons of epoxy resin per year.

Dow acquired Rohm and Haas Company in 2009 and began to integrate its epoxy resin business. Rohm and Haas's monomer business and Dow Chemical's acrylate and vinyl acetate monomer business comprise Dow Performance Monomer. The Dow Coating Company needed epoxy resin raw materials from Dow Performance Monomer. Currently, Dow Chemical's epoxy resin business is mainly distributed in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia, with a total production capacity of 270,000 tons/year.