JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013 - 31

growth, which is benefiting
particularly from a catchup effect in America and
Asia as well as the BRIC
countries. Strong exporting
countries (such as Germany) and highly diversified,
international companies, or
those that can respond rapidly to market developments
and changing conditions,
have the greatest chances of
survival and expansion. Recession and falling domestic
demand in countries such
as Spain impact on every
sector of the economy – not
just on those mentioned
above. The automobile
industry is affected but so
are the construction and
E&E sectors, which are also
relevant to GRP production.

Tab. 2: GRP production volumes in Europe and selected Middle Eastern countries broken down by country/
group of countries

2012*

2011

2010

2009

2008

kT

kT

kT

kT

kT

UK / Ireland

134

126

130

106

123

Belgium /
Netherlands /
Luxembourg

43

42

40

31

38

Finland / Norway
/ Sweden /
Denmark

44

52

50

52

69

Spain / Portugal

160

200

217

188

236

Italy

152

165

154

122

183

France

117

122

116

87

115

Germany

182

172

161

118

145

17

17

16

13

13

161

153

131

98

136

Austria /
Switzerland
Eastern Europe**
TOTAL
Turkey***

1,01

1,049
195

Saudi Arabia****

1,015
180
250

Egypt****

60

Iran****

75

sectors each consume one
third of total production
volume. Other sales markets
include the electro/electronics sector (E&E) and the
sport & leisure segment.
Alongside parts for automobile and commercial vehicle
construction, the transport
sector also comprises components for railway vehicles,
boat building and aviation.
In the construction sector,
important applications
include pipes and infrastructure projects as well as
industrial plant construction and the production
of rotor blades for wind
turbines.

815

1,058

kT = kilotonnes
2012* = estimated
Eastern Europe** = Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia,
Croatia, Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia
Turkey*** = Source: TCMA, approx. 10% (short fibre reinforced
plastics) has been deducted from the total composites volume of 200
kT in 2011 to aid comparison with the other countries
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran**** = Source: TCMA

The sport & leisure sector
is the only GRP segment
where products are primarily manufactured for the
consumer market. This
business-to-consumer
market offers considerable
potential for the development of new products due
to the high acceptance of
other composites and even
GRP among consumers.

GRP production in
2012: itemised by
country
The development of the
GRP markets in the various individual European
countries (see Figure 3)

depends heavily on a number of factors, such as the
major application industries
operating in those countries
and their respective general
economic conditions.
Continued falling car sales
expected in Spain, Italy
and France will exacerbate the weakness in these
traditional fortresses of the
automobile sector and have
a direct impact on GRP
subcontractor companies.
The latest forecasts suggest
the market will only reach
its nadir in 2013 with the
lowest car sales in Western
Europe. This downward
trend contrasts with global
No79 March 2013 /

In 2012, the strongest
growth in GRP production
in Europe appears to be
in Germany, the United
Kingdom and the Eastern
European countries considered in this report. In
Germany, the positive trend
in the production of GRP
parts mirrors the stronger
development of its overall
economy in comparison to
other European countries.
The serious decline in
Scandinavian countries is
primarily attributable to
problems in the important
boat building sector and
wind turbine rotor blade
industry. For example, in
Finland the transport sector
(including boat building)
consumes almost two thirds
of GRP production and the
construction sector around
one quarter. Over half
of these components are
manufactured using open

jec composites magazine 31
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013

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