Market Insights

The core materials refer to the central component of sandwich construction. The well-known core materials used in sandwich construction are honeycomb, foam, and balsa. This core material absorbs the shear forces generated by out of planeloads, distributing between the skins and spreading them over a larger area, while maintaining the skins at a fixed distance. The core’s function is to support the skins so that they do not deform inwardly or outwardly to keep them in a relative position to each other. The core materials can be made of a variety of materials such as wood, aluminum, and a variety of foams. This study comprises only foam core and balsa core and completely excludes all kinds of honeycomb core materials.

The impact of the pandemic varies from industry to industry. For instance, wind energy and ground transportation were largely uninfluenced by the pandemic, whereas the aerospace & defense, and marine markets witnessed a deep plunge in 2020. Overall, robust growth in wind turbine installations has offset the decline faced by the aerospace industry, marking an overall impressive growth in the core materials market in 2020.

While the industry was on its path to recovery from the pandemic in 2021, the continuous strain on the supply chains, skyrocketing raw material prices, and disruptions to business caused by measures to combat the pandemic had disrupted the market with the sharp decline in the wind turbine installations during the second half of the year and the temporary halt in deliveries of B787 aircraft program troubling the aerospace & defense industry in 2021. On the contrary, other major markets, such as marine, and ground transportation, rebounded at an impressive rate after a ginormous decline in the year 2020.

Based on primary interview results, Stratview Research estimates that the market is subjected to plateau in the year 2022, driven by the growth in all the major markets. Wind energy, the biggest market, is anticipated to record 9.9% YoY growth in 2022 with the expected increase in wind turbine installations in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The aerospace & defense industry is set to rebound at an impressive rate after a dramatic decline in the year 2021. Other major markets, such as marine and ground transportation, continue their path to recovery, they commenced in 2021. As a result, the market for structural core materials is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% over the next five years to reach US$ 1.2 billion in 2027.

Segment Analysis

Based on the core material type, the market is segmented as PVC, PET, SAN, PMI, Balsa, and Others. Among these core material types; PVC foam core is likely to remain dominant in the market over the next five years, mainly driven by the exceptional growth in wind energy. PMI core material is anticipated to witness the highest growth in the foreseen future, driven by an increased acceptance in the aerospace & defense industry as well as in the medical, wind energy, and automotive industries. PET foam core is also likely to witness impressive growth in the market during the forecast period. All the leading players, such as Diab and Gurit, are setting up new PET lines to tap the growing market potential.

Based on the end-use industry type, the market is segmented as wind energy, marine, ground transportation, aerospace & defense, and others. Wind energy is expected to remain the biggest demand generator of core materials over the next five years. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) anticipates that about 557 GW of new wind energy capacity will be added from 2022 to 2026, which is equivalent to more than 110 GW of wind energy added each year till 2026. The demand for longer wind blades is adding a further stir to the demand for structural core materials. Aerospace & Defense, a relatively smaller segment compared to wind energy and marine, is likely to experience the highest growth in the post-pandemic market developments. An expected recovery in the production rates of key commercial aircraft programs coupled with an incessant increase in the penetration of composite materials is likely to create a huge demand for core materials in the coming years.

In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific is expected to remain the largest market for structural core materials during the forecast period. The region is also expected to experience the fastest growth during the same period. China is estimated to remain the largest market in the region as well as in the world, driven by rising wind turbine installations, increasing demand for recreational fiberglass boats, the opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus, and increasing demand for high-speed trains. North America is expected to remain the second-largest market during the forecast period. The region is the world's largest structural core materials market for the marine Aerospace & Defense industries. The region also generates a sizeable demand for core materials in the wind energy and ground transportation industries.

Key Players

The market for structural core materials is consolidating as the major companies are performing mergers & acquisitions. Among many acquisitions performed in the market, the acquisition of the Allusuisse Group AG including the Airex division by Alcan in 2000, followed by the acquisition of Baltek in 2003 by Alcan Composites at an agreed price of US$ 35 million is still the most noticeable ones. In 2010, Alcan Composites got renamed 3A Composites. This change follows the 2009 acquisition of Alcan by Schweiter Technologies.  Furthermore, in 2021, Diab agreed to acquire SABIC’s Ultem foam production lines and in 2019, PAI Partners and KIRKBI together acquired Armacell.

The supply chain of this market comprises several nodes including raw material suppliers, structure core material manufacturers, sandwich panel suppliers, tier players, OEMs, and end-users. The following are the key players in the structural core materials market:

• Evonik Industries AG
• Diab International AB
• 3A Composites GmbH (Schweiter Technologies AG)
• Armacell International S.A.
• Gurit Holdings AG
• Changzhou Tiansheng New Materials Co. Ltd. (China)
• Evonik Industries AG
• Maricell S.r.l.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision-making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

• Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.
• Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter’s five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.
• Market trend and forecast analysis.
• Market segment trend and forecast.
• Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, Product portfolio, New Product Launches, etc.
• Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.
• Emerging trends.
• Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.
• Key success factors.

The structural core materials market is segmented into the following categories:

Structural Core Materials Market, by Core Material Type

• PVC Foam Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• PET Foam Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• SAN Foam Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• PMI Foam Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• Balsa Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)

Structural Core Materials Market, by End-Use Industry Type

• Wind Energy (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• Marine (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• Ground Transportation (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• Aerospace & Defense (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World)

Structural Core Materials Market, by Region

• North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico)
• Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, The UK, Russia, Italy, and Rest of Europe)
• Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)
• Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: Latin America, Middle East, and Others)

Research Methodology

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s Structural Core Materials market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2022 to 2027. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner in order to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate the growth strategies to expedite their growth process.

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders, and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data. We conducted more than 15 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to three players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to three players)

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

Custom Research: Stratview research offers custom research services across the sectors. In case of any custom research requirement related to market assessment, competitive benchmarking, sourcing and procurement, target screening, and others, please send your inquiry to sales@Stratviewresearch.com