Aerospace High Performance Thermoplastics Market Report

Market Insights

High-performance thermoplastics (HPTPs) represent a diminutive subset of overall thermoplastics market. They are preferably used in specialized applications where there is a greater demand for extraordinary properties including high-heat temperature tolerance, ability to withstand harsh environments, and excellent mechanical performance. PPS, PAEK family, PASU family, HPPA, and PEI are the major HPTPs, accounting for more than 90% share.

The role of HPTPs is more important in the aerospace industry than the other industries. Aerospace engineers keep on seeking materials that give them an edge to address the market’s emerging requirements in a better way. The role of HPTPs further increases as these materials offer opportunities to the engineers to shed weight off the aircraft by replacing traditional materials including steel. Over the past couple of years, there has been a remarkable growth in the usage of HPTPs in the aerospace industry.

In comparison to standard and engineering thermoplastics, HPTPs deliver better temperature stability, excellent chemical resistance, and higher mechanical properties.  When reinforced with fibers/fillers, the properties of these materials can be further enhanced to meet the diverse requirements of the aerospace industry.

Market Growth & Drivers

It is estimated that the aerospace high-performance thermoplastics market will grow at a lucrative CAGR of 6.5% during the next five years (2020-2025). Some of the key factors bolstering the growth of aerospace HPTP market are listed below.

• Increasing production rates of B787, F35, and A350XWB programs
• Increasing commercial and regional aircraft deliveries
• Rising demand for lightweight and corrosion-resistant parts
• Increasing penetration of composites in newer generation aircraft
• Low processing cost of thermoplastic composites as compared to the thermoset composites

The Market is Witnessing Gradual Consolidation

The market for aerospace HPTP is gradually consolidating as major companies are performing mergers & acquisitions to quickly gain the leading position in this briskly expanding market. Here are the most notable deals.

• Solvay S.A., a leading global supplier of advanced materials for a wide array of applications, acquired the Cytec Industries Inc. at a total purchase price of approximately US$ 5.5 Billion. After the acquisition of Cytec Industries Inc.; Solvay S.A. has become one of the major players in the high-performance thermoplastics market.
• Similarly, in 2018, Toray, the world’s largest carbon fiber manufacturer, acquired TenCate Advanced Composites Holding B.V. (TCAC), a fully owned subsidiary of Koninklijke Ten Cate B.V. at an agreed purchase price of 930 million Euro. TCAC is one of the leading suppliers of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes and high-heat-resistant thermoset prepregs to the aerospace industry.
• The M&As continue in 2019 as well with Saudi Aramco having acquired 70% stake in SABIC, one of the biggest deals in the chemicals industry.

Segment Analysis

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Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market Share by Platform Type

The report segments the market by platform type (commercial aircraft, regional aircraft, general aviation, military aircraft, spacecraft, and others). Commercial aircraft segment is expected to remain the largest and fastest-growing segment of the market during the forecast period. However, all the other segments also generate sizeable opportunities for HPTPs.

The most noticeable factors driving the demand for HPTPs in commercial aircraft are

• increasing penetration of composite materials in the latest aircraft programs including B787 and A350XWB,
• increasing production rates of the key programs,
• introduction of fuel-efficient variants of the best-selling aircraft (A320neo and B777x),
• upcoming aircraft programs (Irkut MC-21 and COMAC C919).

Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market Share by Resin Type

The key thermoplastic/resin types used in aerospace are polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), aromatic ketones (PAEK family), polyarylsulfone (PASU family), high-performance polyamide (HPPA), polyetherimide (PEI), and others. PPS is expected to remain the largest segment of the market during the forecast period. PPS resins offer various advantages such as high-temperature performance, dimensional stability, and excellent electrical insulation properties. This makes them the preferred material for a wide array of applications in the aerospace industry, such as clips, cleats, doors, refuelling and fuel systems, pipe holders, electrical components, and cable ducts where engineering thermoplastics prove to be unsuitable.

Regional Insights

Among all the regions studied in the report, North America is expected to remain the largest market for aerospace HPTPs during the forecast period. The USA is the growth engine of the region’s market with the presence of major aircraft OEMs, tier players, raw material suppliers, and part fabricators. Most of the major HPTP manufacturers have their presence in the region to address the emergent needs of the OEMs in order to be the partner for their upcoming aircraft programs or upcoming fuel-efficient variants of existing aircraft programs.

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Asia-Pacific is likely to witness the highest growth during the same period. The region's demand is driven by a host of factors including

• increasing demand for commercial aircraft to support rising passenger traffic
• the opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus in China for B737, A320 and A330 aircraft programs;
• upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft (COMAC C919 and Mitsubishi MRJ);
• rising aircraft fleet size; and
• increasing military spending by countries such as China and India.

Market Scope & Segmentation

The market is segmented into the following categories:

Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market, by Platform Type

• Commercial Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• General Aviation (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Military Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Spacecraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market, by Resin Type

• PPS (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• PAEK Family (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• PASU Family (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• HPPA (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• PEI (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market, by Form Type

• Reinforced Thermoplastics (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Unreinforced Thermoplastics (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market, by Application Type

• Interiors (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Exteriors (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Assembly Components (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aerospace High-Performance Thermoplastics Market, by Region

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

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Key Players

The supply chain of this market comprises several nodes including raw material suppliers, aerospace HPTP manufacturers, compounders, prepreggers, tier players, OEMs, airlines, and MRO companies.

The key players in the market are

• Solvay S.A.
• Victrex plc
• BASF SE
• DIC Corporation
• SABIC
• Toray Industries, Inc.
• Evonik Industries AG
• Arkema S.A.

All the major high-performance thermoplastic providers or compounders have different growth strategies based on their synergies, product portfolio, market reach, geographical presence, and market positioning. However, some of the most common strategies adopted by most of them are higher focus towards the development of new products addressing unmet needs, adopting more customer-centric approach rather than product-centric approach (custom-designed and application-specific products), execution of M&As to quickly gain market share, and develop vast product portfolio covering a good blend of all the three ladders of thermoplastics’ pyramid.

Report Features

This strategic assessment report provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s market realities as well as future possibilities for the forecast period of 2020 to 2025. After conducting a detailed study on the high-performance thermoplastic composites market, we have tried to narrow down our research scope to aerospace high-performance thermoplastics market in order to provide the most crystal-clear picture of the market. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for market participants as well as investors in the identification of attractive opportunitities and thereby, in the formulation of growth strategies.

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, product launches, etc.
• Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.
• Emerging trends.
• Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.
• Key success factors.

Research Methodology

For calculating the market size, our analysts follow either Top-Bottom or Bottom-Top approach or both, depending upon the complexity or availability of the data points. Our reports offer high-quality insights and are the outcome of 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. We leverage multitude of authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, government sources, trade associations, journals, investor presentation, white papers, and articles to gather the data. More than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts are usually executed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

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Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to five players)
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• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

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