High-Performance Thermoplastic Films Market | Industry Analysis 2020-2025

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s high-performance thermoplastic films market realities and future possibilities for the forecast period of 2020 to 2025. After a continuous interest in our reports on the High-Performance Thermoplastic Composites Market, Composite Surfacing Films Market, and High-Temperature Composite Resins Market from the industry stakeholders, we have tried to further accentuate our research scope to the high-performance thermoplastic films market in order to provide the most thorough picture of the market. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most comprehensive 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 low-hanging fruits available as well as formulate growth strategies.

High-Performance Thermoplastic Films Market: Highlights

Thermoplastic is a plastic polymer material that is moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. There are three types of thermoplastics that include standard thermoplastics (for continuous use under 100°C), engineering thermoplastics (for continuous use between 100°C-150°C), and high-performance thermoplastics (for continuous use above 150°C). Thin layers of high-performance thermoplastic are called high-performance thermoplastic films. These films can stretch over 200% with extrusion being the major production method. High-performance thermoplastic films offer better temperature stability, chemical resistance, and mechanical properties in comparison to standard and engineering thermoplastic films but at a higher price.

The year 2020 is likely to be burdensome because of the recent outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has already started hampering various industries with a colossal adverse impact on economic growth. All major end-use industries, such as electrical & electronics, automotive, aerospace, and construction, have already started portraying huge shortfalls with many manufacturing facilities being temporarily shut down for an undetermined timeline due to the outbreak of this virus. The high-performance thermoplastic film market is also not untouched with such severity owing to the halt of operations of many manufacturing facilities of the major markets, such as China, the USA, Italy, and France. Currently, the assessment of the real impact of coronavirus on each industry is unpredictable as the disease is continuously spreading and imprinting its dreadful impact on mankind. However, we expect the market to gradually recover in the coming years with long-term market outlook to be favorable.

The high-performance thermoplastic films market remains salubrious with consequential growth opportunities in the long-term scenario. The market for high-performance thermoplastic films is estimated to reach US$ 802.8 million in 2025, expecting a healthy rebound from 2021 onwards after registering a steep fall in 2020. The growing interest towards the use of thermoplastic films on account of their recyclability, trend of miniaturization in the electronics industry, superior injection molding properties assisting in the reduction of part cycle time, and films’ suitability as an insulator in the electrical & electronics industry are some key factors keep fueling the growth of high-performance thermoplastic films in the major end-use industries. Further, the leading players are also forming long-term contracts in the market to smoothen their supply bottlenecks. For instance, in 2019, Solvay and Safran went under a long-term agreement for the supply of Halar^®, ECTFE high-performance film, for Safran’s LEAP aircraft engine acoustic panels.

The market is firstly segmented based on the material type as PPS, PAEK, PSU, LCP, PEI, HPPA, and others. HPPA is expected to remain the most dominant material type over the next five years. The high share is attributed to the huge demand from the automotive and electrical & electronics end-use industries, owing to properties of HPPA films such as good flexibility, excellent insulation, and superior heat resistance. LCP films also hold a significant share of the market. These films are a preferred choice for flexible electronics applications, such as flexible solar cells and electronic circuit boards for computers as well as mobile phones, owing to their superior electrical characteristics, dimensional stability, low moisture absorption, and excellent heat resistance.  

Our analysis on another market segmentation, which is based on the end-use industry type, suggests that the electrical & electronics segment is likely to remain the biggest demand generator for high-performance thermoplastic films among automotive, aerospace, electrical & electricals, industrial, and others during the forecast period. High-performance films are preferably used in printed circuit boards as they fulfill key requirements, such as thermal conductivity and low moisture absorption. There is also an urge in the market demand for high-performance films from flexible electronics applications, especially from consumer goods electronics such as computers and mobile phones.  

In terms of region, Asia-Pacific is projected to remain the largest as well as the fastest-growing region for high-performance thermoplastic films during the forecast period. The high growth is attributed to the growing electrical & electronics industry in the region especially in India and China. The presence of major electronic device manufacturers (Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, and LG) and growing demand for flexible electronics are substantiating the market growth for high-performance thermoplastic films in the region. Further, there is also a continuous shift of the electronics industry from the developed western economies to the developing Asian economies. The outbreak of COVID 19 in major Asian economies may fade the growth trajectory temporarily, especially in 2020, but the region’s attractiveness among all regions remains ubiquitously in terms of market growth and size.

The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, high-performance thermoplastic film manufacturers, distributors/tier players, and end users. The key players in the high-performance thermoplastic films market are The 3M Company, Covestro AG, Honeywell International Inc., Evonik Industries AG, Solvay SA, Dow Chemical Company, Toray, E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Company, Eastman Chemical Company, and Sealed Air Corporation.

Some of the Key Merger & Acquisition and Strategic Alliances in the Market: The market’s attractiveness has led to a series of acquisitions of small fishes by the big guns, rolling the market towards greater consolidation.

• In January 2015, Solvay completed the acquisition of the Ryton PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) business from Chevron Phillips Chemical Company for US$ 220 million. The acquisition enhanced the company’s portfolio of high-performance polymers and also led the company to gain a strong foothold of Ryton PPS in high-growth applications of automotive and electronics.
• In 2019, Sealed Air Corporation acquired MGM’s flexible packaging business. The acquisition led the company to expand its capacity and footprint in the Asian market (especially in South-East Asia) for a flexible packaging business.
• In 2016, GE and Sealed Air Corporation went into an agreement and created a new film suitable for use across GE’s portfolio of healthcare and life sciences business.

Some of the Key New Product Launches in the Market are:

• In 2017, Honeywell introduced Aclar UltRx 6000 that is an ultra-high barrier PCTFE film developed for pharmaceutical packaging.
• In 2019, Evonik developed the world’s widest ever high-quality PMMA film, which came on stream at its new manufacturing plant located at Weiterstadt (Germany).

Research Methodology

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. More than 1000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact book, press release, journals, investor presentation, 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 five regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.    

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, 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 high-performance thermoplastic films market is segmented into the following categories. 

High-Performance Thermoplastic Films Market, By Material Type:

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

High-Performance Thermoplastic Films Market, By End-Use Industry Type:

• Aerospace (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Automotive (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Electrical & Electronics (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Industrial (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

High-Performance Thermoplastic Films Market, By Application Type:

• Barrier 
• Safety & Security
• Microporous 
• Others 

High-Performance Thermoplastic Films Market, By Region:

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

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