Research and Markets: 25% of all Plastics used Worldwide are Plastic Films.DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c12617) has announced the addition of Plastic Film - Situation and Outlook to their offering Flexible films are defined as being planar A technique developed by Fairchild Instruments that creates transistor sublayers by forcing chemicals under pressure into exposed areas. Planar superseded the mesa process and was a major step toward creating the chip. forms of plastics, which may be thick enough to be self-supporting but thin enough to be flexed, folded and/or creased without cracking. Films comprise around 25% of all plastics used worldwide, around 40 million tons, and are thus a massive market sector. Commodity plastics dominate, with polyethylene and polypropylene together accounting for around 34 million tons. This is an expanding area with increased demand each year particularly in the developing regions of the world and with a move from rigid to flexible packaging. There are many material types used in films from single layer polymers to multilayer structures with tie layers and copolymers. Multilayers permit custom adaptation of material properties from barrier to strength. Technology, such as the orientation of polypropylene, has produced better properties and more valuable materials. High performance plastics are also being used in applications such as telectronics. The different materials in use in films are reviewed in this market report. There are details of the main suppliers including mergers and capacity. Films can be made via a number of converting processes: extrusion, coextrusion, casting, extrusion coating, extrusion laminating lam·i·nate v. lam·i·nat·ed, lam·i·nat·ing, lam·i·nates v.tr. 1. To beat or compress into a thin plate or sheet. 2. To divide into thin layers. 3. and metallising. Blown extrusion was the first process used to make films of polyethylene. These processes have advantages and disadvantages depending on the material type in use, the width and thickness of film required. Films are mainly used in packaging for foodstuffs foodstuffs npl → comestibles mpl foodstuffs npl → denrées fpl alimentaires foodstuffs food npl → , but there are also substantial market segments for medical, electronic, automotive and construction applications. Specific applications include decorative wrap, form-fill-seal, blood bags, flexible printed circuits, bed sheeting, diapers, and in-mould decorating of car parts (to replace painting and provide a more durable surface coating Surface coating A substance applied to other materials to change the surface properties, such as color, gloss, resistance to wear or chemical attack, or permeability, without changing the bulk properties. ). Carrier bags and garbage bags are big markets, with imports to Europe; there are environmental concerns about the use of plastic bags and these are discussed in the report. In construction, films are used in glazing, damp proofing Damp proofing in construction is a protective measure applied to the exterior of building foundation walls. Rising damp can arise for various reasons - the failure of an existing damp proof course (dpc), bridging due to the raising of external ground or internal floor , tarpaulins, geomembranes and similar applications. PE and PP are the main materials used in packaging films. PET is primarily used in magnetics, optics and telectronics. PVC PVC: see polyvinyl chloride. PVC in full polyvinyl chloride Synthetic resin, an organic polymer made by treating vinyl chloride monomers with a peroxide. is found in consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and and medical applications, while PVB PVB Polyvinylbutyral PVB Pressure Vacuum Breaker PVB Portametric Voltmeter Bridge PVB Potemkin Village Band (Potemkin Village, Canada) is mainly used in automotive and construction applications as glazing protection. Multimaterial films account for around 7 million tons of the films produced, with around 95% of this going into packaging applications. These are just some of the examples listed in this market report. Europe and North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. each account for about 30% of the total world consumption of plastic films. The plastic films supply structure and individual company information are summarised in the second half of this market report on Plastic Films in Europe and the Rest of the World. For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c12617 |
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