WPC seeeks new markets worldwide

Tag : plastic pelletizer


Demand for wood/plastic compounds is rising worldwide, thoughEuropean demand has lagged. This appears set to change, withinterest high in applications that replace existing fillers orreduce costly plastics’ use by adding natural fibers.
The path forward is not without obstacles though, with PeterSauerwein, director of the Association of German Wood Industries,noting prices for wood flour have jumped by 30% in the last year.But Machael Carus, area manager for renewable resources at the NovaInstitute (Hürth, Germany), which late last year organized thesecond Wood Plastics Composites (WPC) Congress in Cologne, Germanywith more than 350 participants, says WPC demand is on the rise inEurope. Just three years ago Germany produced only 5000 tonnes/yrof WPC; last year Europe was expected to produce 100,000 tonnes, ofwhich 20,000 tonnes came from Germany. By contrast, he says NorthAmerican WPC production in 2005 was more than 700,000 tonnes and isexpected to reach 1.6 million tonnes by 2010.
One reason for slower growth in Europe has been that qualitystandards only now are being put into place, he says. Europeancompounders mostly use virgin-pine wood flour rather thanlower-cost and -quality recycled wood, which can contain creosoteor other impurities. Kersten Kurda from the South German PlasticsCenter (SKZ; Würzburg, Germany) says European WPCs typicallyuse polypropylene (PP) as the WPC matrix rather than high-densitypolyethylene (HDPE), traditionally used in North America, or PVC inAsia. Kurda says European WPC processors want to substitute theirtraditional glass-fiber, talc, and chalk fillers with wood flour inPP applications. PP matrices make up 82% of the total European WPCmarket today, reports the SKZ.
The sector is seeing new developments that could help speed WPCgrowth. Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI; Linz, Austria), partof the Borealis Group, introduced what it says is the firstextrudable modified melamine resin, HIPE