Expansions and acquisitions are the key growth strategies adopted of Microcellular Polyurethane Foam Market

The global microcellular polyurethane foam market is dominated by few key players such as BASF SE (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Huntsman Corporation (U.S.), Rogers Corporation (U.S.), and Evonik Industries (Germany, among others. These companies are considered as leaders in the rapidly evolving market.

Substantial investments have been made in the past few years by key companies such as BASF SE (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), and Rogers Corporation (U.S.) to address the future demand of microcellular polyurethane foam arising from the growing end use industries. Key players operating in the market are majorly focused on acquisitions and expansions for capacity expansion of existing facilities and installation of new facilities to achieve better performance qualities, economies of scale, product innovation, and to simultaneously address the increasing demand of microcellular polyurethane foam. BASF SE made investments in its existing facility at Pudong site, which was established in 2011. The new investment project included the expansion of the Cellasto Asia Pacific Technical Center, the establishment of three new production lines, and the technical improvement of existing facilities. The production capacity was estimated to double after the project’s completion in 2015.

Expansions and acquisitions are the key growth strategies adopted by the major players in the recent past. For instance, Rogers Corporation acquired a custom molding machine from PolyWorks Corporation (North Smithfield, Rhode Island) and a license to utilize PolyWorks’ technology for the molding of Poron formulations. This manufacturing facility was installed in Rogers-’ Suzhou, China manufacturing campus by mid-2011 in order to serve its global customers.

Apart from expansions and acquisitions, companies also made investments in the global market. This strategy accounted for 17% of the share out of the total developments in the microcellular polyurethane foam market between 2010 and 2015.  BASF built the world’s biggest single-train production plant for TDI in Europe. The plant has an annual capacity of 300,000 metric tons. The total investment including the precursor is over USD 1.23 billion. The TDI plant is located at Ludwigshafen site, Germany. TDI (toluene diisocyanate) is a key component for the polyurethane industry. A large proportion of it is used in the automotive industry for items, such as seat upholstery and interior linings, and in the furniture industry for flexible foams in mattresses & upholstery and wood coatings.