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STA*Research and UHMW-PE

 
 

Background

Ultra-High Molecular Weight PolyEthylene was first introduced at the second trade fair of the German plastics industry – Kunststoffe – in 1955.From that time it has been known generally as a specialty engineering plastic that is extremely difficult to process but which nevertheless has some exceptional qualities, specifically impact strength, abrasion resistance, surface lubricity, biocompatibility, food contact clearance, plus the inherent chemical resistance of polyethylene. It has an aura of being virtually indestructible.

STA*Research has been following developments in the UHMW-PE industry since the 1980s and has completed many studies on the subject, including a number of multi-client studies (see below). As always, the core of these studies has been technology and the technology/market interface. Our analyses aim to reveal the direction of development and the future market potential of UHMW-PE production, processing & application in the light of technology development trends.

Processing & Applications

Most UHMW-PE is processed by sintering under heat and pressure as in compression molding or ram extrusion. The resulting solid plates & rods are cut into stock shapes and are then sold on to be machined into a wide range of end-use items from seals & washers to chemical pumps, to prosthetic hip joints & knees. Compression molded sheets are used as linings in bins & hoppers, chutes, truck beds, etc., to protect the underlying metal structures while eliminating solids hang-ups & bridging.

Market Development

There was not much change in market characteristics through the first 40 years after UHMW-PE was introduced. Markets and applications were developed that took advantage of the basic characteristics & properties of the resin, but these characteristics & properties did not change.

Over the next decade, the fifth, and into the sixth, techniques to make super-fibers out of UHMW-PE were perfected, and this stimulated growth by adding large new potential markets. Through the sixth and into the seventh (current) decades, however, new technologies have been developed both to make and to convert UHMW-PE that have dramatically altered the future potential of the resin:

  • New catalysts have been developed to make higher performance, easy-to-process UHMW-PE
  • Celanese, the global market leader, has tripled its UHMW-PE product portfolio
  • Processing aids that facilitate injection molding of UHMW-PE have been developed
  • Grades suitable for melt screw extrusion, without processing aids, have been commercialized
  • Well over a dozen companies are now producing melt-extruded UHMW-PE pipe
  • New markets have emerged that offer future potential up to five times the previous total potential
  • The global UHMW-PE market has entered an exponential growth phase

All of these substantial changes in the UHMW-PE market have been founded on technology. If you don’t follow the technology you don’t know where the market is going.

The Path Ahead

In April, 2020, EnerChemTek, Inc. in co-operation with STA*Research, published a 1,070-page report on the UHMW-PE industry to guide stakeholders as they face this market transition. The study has a core of technology, including analysis of the international patent database on UHMW-PE, and presents discussion & analysis of key emerging technologies that are driving the new exponential growth phase.

Demand in traditional markets for UHMW-PE is projected on the basis of historical/statistical models. The new and emerging markets have no statistical history and demand projections for these are therefore based on detailed analysis of underlying drivers, providing a new, independent and targeted resource for strategy development in this industry.

The new study is available to subscribers for immediate delivery once contractual details have been settled. For details please follow the link below. We believe that this study will be invaluable to stakeholders already involved in the industry as well as those considering entry to the industry or that expect to interact with the resin and its derivatives in the marketplace.

For details see:

Opportunities In UHMW-PE: Poised For Global Market Growth

For further information about the study, please contact:

 

Ken Sinclair, Principal

STA*Research

2849 Lakeview Drive SE

Lacey, Washington 98503

USA

(949) 600-6546