From the Sector

After a long phase of continuous growth, the composites market has seen strong fluctuations since 2018. In 2023, the overall market for composites in Europe fell by 8%.

The current mood on the markets in Germany and Europe is rather negative within the industry. The main drivers are the persistently high energy and raw material prices. Added to this are problems in logistics chains and a cautious consumer climate. A slowdown in global trade and uncertainties in the political arena are fueling the negative sentiment. Despite rising registration figures, the automotive industry, the most important application area for composites, has not yet returned to its pre-2020 volume. The construction industry, the second key application area, is currently in crisis. These factors have already caused the Eu-ropean composites production volume to fall significantly in recent years. There has now been another decline in Europe for 2023.

Overall development of the composites market
The volume of the global composites market totalled 13 million tons in 2023. Compared to 2022, with a volume of 12.3 million tons, growth was around 5%. In comparison, the European composites production volume fell by 8% in 2023. The total European composites market thus comprises a volume of 2,559 kilotons (kt) after 2,781 kt in 2022.

The market is therefore declining and falling back to the level of 2014. Overall, market momentum in Europe was lower than in the global market. Europe's share of the global market is now around 20%.

As in previous years, development within Europe is not uniform. The differences are due to very different regional core markets, the high variability of the materi-als used, a wide range of different manufacturing processes and widely differing areas of application. Accordingly, there are different regional trends, especially with regard to the individual processes, although there were declines in all re-gions and for almost all processes in 2023. At almost 50% of the market volume, the transportation sector accounts for the largest share of total composites pro-duction in terms of volume. The next two largest areas are the electri-cal/electronics sector and applications in construction and infrastructure.

The entire market report 2023 is available for download: https://www.avk-tv.de/publications.php.

Increasing energy and resource efficiency in the construction sector will be key to the EU’s ambition of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. By enabling the manufacture of strong, durable and lightweight products, composite materials can help the construction sector improve its environmental sustainability, as well as reduce total lifecycle costs. The latest EPTA industry briefing, Pultruded composites contribute to a more sustainable future for construction, discusses how pultruded composites answer the need for materials offering high performance, faster installation, corrosion resistance and low maintenance.

The report is available to download from the EPTA website.

The future of construction
As one of the largest global users of energy and raw materials, the construction industry is under immense pressure to improve its sustainability. At the same time, it must respond to demands for improved performance and reduced total cost of ownership. New materials will be needed to minimise the use of natural resources, enable a reduction of carbon footprint and facilitate circular economy practices. Choosing the optimum materials required for durability throughout the lifecycle will be increasingly important. A shift to off-site production is also forecast, where factory-controlled environments and automated processes can improve quality control, lower waste, and reduce work on site.

Lightweight pultruded parts can be pre-assembled into modules or complete structures in the factory for faster installation on site. Lightweight profiles lower energy use during transportation and installation, and a longer service life combined with minimal maintenance can deliver a reduced through-life carbon footprint. Pultruded parts such as profiles, gratings, beams, tubes and planks are increasingly found in a range of building, construction and infrastructure applications. Examples include bridge decks, fencing, stairs and handrails, train platforms, cladding, utility poles, modular building concepts, and window frames.

One application offering large growth potential for composites is bridges. Composite bridges are being designed to provide a service life of 100 years and unlike steel bridges do not require regular repainting to protect them from corrosion. Over recent years, pultruded glass fibre composite has become a highly popular choice for pedestrian and cycle bridges. Pre-fabricated ‘easy fit’ bridge decking planks, pre-assembled bridge modules and complete bridge ‘kits’ are now available. Corrosion-resistant composite bridges are ideal for use near water or on the coast, and in remote locations where regular maintenance operations would be difficult. A composite bridge can deliver the same performance as a steel structure with a weight saving of up to 50% or more. This enables more streamlined bridge designs which require less substantial supporting structures and foundations, greatly reducing consumption of materials and energy. Lightweight also results in easier logistics and simplified installation. Pultruded are more easily transported to the construction site, with lower fuel consumption, and easier to move on site, often reducing labour requirements and the capacity of lifting equipment.

A lifecycle approach
As the construction industry looks to the future, the environmental and economic benefits of composite materials linked to easier logistics and installation, durability and low maintenance are becoming increasingly valued. More projects are demonstrating the benefits of composite materials and standards covering the design, fabrication and installation of pultruded profiles are making it easier for the construction industry to use them. With ongoing development and collaboration, pultrusion has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable future for construction and many other industries. EPTA will continue to promote the advancement of pultrusion technology and its applications and foster sustainable practices within the industry.

World Natural Fibre Production in 2022 is estimated at 32.6 million tonnes, down 1.1 million tonnes from the estimate one month ago. Production reached 33.3 million tonnes in 2021 and 31.6 million in 2020.

A drought in Texas where over half of cotton produced in the United States is grown, and flooding in Pakistan, the fifth largest cotton producer, account for the decline (www.ICAC.org).

• Nearby cotton futures on the Intercontinental Exchange rose 14% from the end of July and finished August at $2.60 per kilogram.
• The Eastern Market Indicator of wool prices in Australia, fell 1% from mid-July to mid-August to US$9.27 per kilogram.
• Prices of jute fibre in India quoted by the Jute Balers Association (JBA) at the end of August converted to US$ fell 4% from a month earlier to 79 cents per kilogram.
• Prices of silk in China equalled US$ 28.7 per kilogram at the end of August, compared with US$29.5 per kilogram in July 2022, a change of 3%.
• Coconut coir fibre in India held at US cents 21 per kilogram in August.

World production of jute and allied fibres is estimated unchanged at 3.2 million tonnes in 2022 compared with 2021. High market prices in 2021 motivated farmers to expand planted area in both Bangladesh and India, but dry weather during June and July will limit yields per hectare. Normal monsoon rains resumed in South Asia during August, too late for the 2022 jute crop (https://www.wgc.de/en/).

Production of coir fibre rose by an average of 18,000 tonnes per year during the past decade, and production was at a record high of 1.12 million tonnes in 2021. Production is expected to remain high in 2022.

Flax has also been trending upward, rising by an average of 27,000 tonnes per year, and production in 2022 is estimated to remain above one million tonnes.

World wool production is forecast up by 5% in 2022 to 1.09 million tonnes (clean), the highest since 2018. Wetter weather in the Southern Hemisphere, following eight years of drought, is allowing farmers to rebuild herds (https://www.wool.com/market-intelligence/).

Natural fibres are heavily-traded commodities, and supply chain disruptions are causing significant economic losses as freight costs remain high and deliveries are delayed.

About 40% of world cotton production moves as fibre in international trade each season. Over half of world jute production moves as fibre or product, and around 55% of world wool production is exported as raw wool. Abaca, flax, and sisal are also heavily traded.

Most natural fibre exports traverse back-haul ocean freight routes from the Western Hemisphere to East Asia and the Middle East, from South Asia to East Asia and Europe, from Africa to East Asia and the Middle East, and from Australia and South Africa to China. Such routes are relatively underserved in the best of times, and reduced sailings since the start of Covid are restricting trade volumes.

As of the end of August, Freightos (https://fbx.freightos.com/) quoted the cost of moving a 40’ container from the United States West Coast to East Asia at $793, compared with $1,020 in March 2022. Nevertheless, average freight costs on back -haul routes used by natural fibres remain approximately triple their pre-covid levels. In addition to ocean freight costs, inland transportation is also affected by high fuel prices and a lack of containers. As one example, charges for inland handling of export containers in Bangladesh, the largest exporter of raw jute, increased by 48 per cent during August.

The European Pultrusion Technology Association (EPTA) has published a report from its latest conference, which focuses on advances in sustainability and recycling.

More than 130 professionals from the global pultrusion community gathered at the 16th World Pultrusion Conference in Paris on 5-6 May 2022. Organised by EPTA in collaboration with the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the event featured 25 international speakers sharing insight on market trends, developments in materials, processing and simulation technologies, and innovative pultruded applications in key markets such as building and infrastructure, transportation and wind energy.

‘Bio-pultrusion’:  
Composites based on natural fibres offer a number of benefits, including low density and high specific strength, vibration damping, and heat insulation. The German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are developing pultrusion processes using bio-based resins and natural fibres. Projects include the BioMat Pavilion at the University of Stuttgart, a lightweight structure which combines ‘bamboo-like’ natural fibre-based pultruded profiles with a tensile membrane.

Applications for recycled carbon fibre (rCF):
The use of rCF in composite components has the potential to reduce their cost and carbon footprint. However, it is currently used to a limited extent since manufacturers are uncertain about the technical performance of available rCF products, how to process them, and the actual benefits achievable. Fraunhofer IGCV is partnering with the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA) in the MAI ÖkoCaP project to investigate the technical, ecological and economic benefits of using rCF in different industrial applications. The results will be made available in a web-based app.

Circularity and recycling:
The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) is drafting a circularity roadmap for the composites industry. It has collaborated with the European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU) on a position paper for the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) which outlines the benefits of co-processing end-of-life composites in cement manufacturing, a recycling solution that is compliant with the EU’s Waste Framework Directive and in commercial operation in Germany. Initial studies have indicated that co-processing with composites has the potential to reduce the global warming impact of cement manufacture by up to 16%. Technologies to allow recovery of fibre and/or resin from composites are in development but a better understanding of the life cycle assessment (LCA) impact of these processes is essential. EuCIA’s ‘circularity waterfall,’ a proposed priority system for composites circularity, highlights the continued need for co-processing.

Sustainability along the value chain:
Sustainability is essential for the long-term viability of businesses. Resin manufacturer AOC’s actions to improve sustainability include programmes to reduce energy, waste and greenhouse gas emissions from operations, the development of ‘greener’ and low VOC emission resins, ensuring compliance with chemicals legislation such as REACH, and involvement in EuCIA’s waste management initiatives. Its sustainable resins portfolio includes styrene-free and low-styrene formulations and products manufactured using bio-based raw materials and recycled PET.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announces that IDEA® – an event for the Nonwovens & Engineered Fabrics Industry – will be held every two years instead of three starting in 2024.

The upcoming dates for IDEA® under the new schedule will be March 28-31, 2022, as currently scheduled, and then April 23-25, 2024. Both will be held as live, in-person events at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida.

“INDA has three key reasons for making this change in event frequency,” said Dave Rousse, INDA President.  “First, the nonwovens industry has been a vibrant, innovative sector with new products, processes and materials every year, so providing an opportunity to showcase more frequently these new developments better serves the industry. Second, one of the major nonwoven events in Asia has declared they will run each and every year, impacting the past three-year cycle of major shows in the nonwovens industry. Third, coming out of the Covid pandemic, market research predicts for the near future that regional events are expected to be better supported than global events.”

The last time IDEA® was held in 2019 it broke all attendance records. INDA expects the 2022 edition March 28-31 to attract several thousand senior-level buyers and attendees from over 60 countries and several hundred exhibitors from a myriad of industry sectors, including absorbent hygiene, wipes, filtration, medical and surgical products, personal protective equipment, home and office furnishings, transportation, geosynthetics and building construction.

AMAC cooperates with ITA (Institute for Textile Technology of RWTH Aachen University and their ITA GmbH) for the business development in composites 

As of April 19th, 2021, AMAC is pleased to announce its cooperation with the Institute for Textile Technology, ITA, of RWTH Aachen University and their ITA GmbH. The aim of the cooperation is to strengthen and develop their business activities in composites.

ITA, as one of the largest institutes on the campus of the excellence University RWTH Aachen, Germany, develops complete solutions from the manufacturing of the fiber itself over the processing of textile intermediates with thermoplastic and thermoset resins, textile-based part manufacturing, capabilities such as braiding, pultrusion and in-situ impregnation of textile preforms. Top 3 focused industries are transportation and particularly the e-mobility sector, building and construction as well as the wind energy sector. Additionally, ITA GmbH is the partner of the industry in R&D, focusing on 8 business segments, providing technology and knowledge transfer, as well as offering comprehensive solutions along the entire textile value chain.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Gries, Director of ITA, explains the background of the strategic cooperation with focus on composites: „Our long-term experience and unmatched know-how with all aspects of continuous fibers, non-wovens and web-based reinforcements allows us to deliver to the composite manufacturers a complete technology and service offer around the development of technical textiles, from the development of glass and carbon fibers to the textile-based processing of composite parts. In all process steps of our research and developments, we focus on sustainable and recyclable solutions, an efficient cost-performance ratio, the possible use of bio-based materials and the reduction of the CO2 footprint. We are glad to cooperate with Dr. Michael Effing and AMAC in order to benefit from his door-opening network in the composites industry. “

Dr. Michael Effing, Managing Director of AMAC GmbH: „I am very happy to support the ITA to generate innovation thanks to further industrial networking and pre-competitive joint projects. ITA is indeed a one-stop source for composite solutions from the fiber to the cost-efficient manufacturing of final parts. In the context of the Covid-19 impact to the entire industry, it makes sense to bundle forces. Furthermore, ITA, with its long tradition and satisfied customers offers further valuable networking opportunities to the composites industry as well as access to relevant complementary fiber-based excellence and 250 different technologies in their machine-park with an outstanding infrastructure in Aachen.”

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) lauded Senate passage today of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“We are pleased the Senate voted swiftly to approve USMCA--a trade deal that we expect to significantly bolster textile exports to Mexico and the Western Hemisphere,” said NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas.

Mexico and Canada are the two largest export markets for the U.S. textile and apparel industry, totaling nearly $11.5 billion for the year ending Nov. 30, 2019, according to government data.

“USMCA is a win for the textile industry,” Glas said. “The improvements it makes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will only serve to generate more business for domestic producers and create more jobs and investment in the U.S.”
NCTO worked with the administration during negotiations on USMCA and secured several provisions in the trade deal including stronger rules of origin for certain textile inputs and increased U.S. customs enforcement.

U.S. textile executives are ramping up to take advantage of the modifications in USMCA and some plan to build new business or expand existing business in areas such as pocketing, sewing thread and narrow elastics.

“Our member companies, making some of the most advanced textiles in the world, have long supported USMCA and are eagerly awaiting implementation of the trade deal,” Glas added. “We urge quick implementation of USMCA and thank the administration and Congress for their hard work to get the deal across the finish line.”

The USMCA updates and modifies the NAFTA and makes significant improvements, including:

• Creation of a separate chapter for textiles and apparel rules of origin with strong customs enforcement language.
• Stronger rules of origin for sewing thread, pocketing, narrow elastics and certain coated fabrics.  Under the current NAFTA, these items can be sourced from outside the region – USMCA modernizes this loophole and ensures these secondary components are originating to the region.
• Fixes the Kissell Amendment Buy American loophole, ensuring that a significant amount the Department of Homeland Security spends annually on clothing and textiles for the Transportation Security Administration is spent on domestically produced products.

The H160 was designed by Airbus Helicopters to create added value for customers in terms of performance, economic competitiveness, safety and comfort. The use of Hexcel’s composite materials throughout the structure (fuselage, tail boom, tail rotor and main rotor blades) contributes to the lightweight fuel-saving design and performance optimization.
“Hexcel’s composite materials have been used in Airbus Helicopters’ programs for many years and we are honored to be continuing our long term relationship, based on innovation and continuous improvement” commented Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President Aerospace EMEA-AP. “We thank Airbus Helicopters for their selection and look forward to our ongoing supply of high performance, weight saving composites materials for this innovative rotorcraft”.
H160 configurations in development include offshore transportation, business and private aviation, emergency medical services, public services, and commercial passenger transport. The helicopter is planned to enter into service in 2019.