Innovation Promotes Development of Plastic Assistant   


Driven by the rapid growth of China's plastic product sector, the development of the plastic sector has been accelerated and assistant products are now becoming more multi-function, high performance, high in molecular weight and environment-friendly. With the implementation of RoHS, WEEE and REACH by the European Union, production enterprises in China are faced with greater challenges. How should they manage such challenges? And what is the potential market volume of plasticizers, flame-retarding agents, antioxidants and light stabilizers at home and abroad?

Enhance competitiveness of the plastic additive sector through technical innovation

Chen Yu  
Deputy Director of Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry

The demand for plastics in the spaceflight, electronics, agricultural, construction, automotive, packaging and high-tech sectors has increased constantly in recent years. High growth in sales of plastic additives has therefore been sustained. Demand for plastic additives is expected to increase globally at an average annual rate of 4% in the next four years and the growth of demand in China for plastic additives will reach 10%. Consumption of assistants in plastic products was 2.31 million tons in China in 2006, an increase of 12.7% over the 2.05 million tons in 2005. The total consumption in 2007 is expected to be more than 2.50 million tons.
   The development of the plastic additive sector is influenced by changes in upstream and downstream markets. On the one hand, the sustained growth of plastic additives results from the dramatic increase of output and brisk market demand. On the other hand, however, a profit reduction in the production of plastic additives caused by increasing oil prices had considerable impact on the plastic additive sector worldwide. In such a scenario, large plastic additive producers worldwide have responded by market shifts, industrial reformation, price increases and new profit sources in new products and new technologies. Globally, more and more stringent environmental protection laws and regulations have brought unprecedented competition pressures and business opportunities to production enterprises.
   The consumption of plastics in China is in a period of rapid growth. Nevertheless, if production enterprises in China intend to gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive plastic additive sector, they must rely on innovation in technology, operation and management, establish their own product systems with intellectual property rights, develop plastic additive markets through implementing national standards and industrial standards, rectify the present chaotic order and direct their investments in plastic markets that have a high entry threshold and demand high quality and high levels of technology and performance.

Accelerate technical innovation

Under the huge pressure of climbing raw material prices and the compulsory implementation of environmental protection laws and regulations, plastic additive producers with capabilities to innovate have increased their investment in research and development and developed new plastic additives to bolster profit growth and protect the environment.
   Many plastic additive producers also use product differentiation and after-sale services to increase the selling price of products and offset the profit impact of raw material prices. Some producers are making attempts at developing products and solving problems in special applications in collaboration with their clients. Many companies are trying to develop new products with high value. For example, Dow Corning is making breakthroughs by seeking unique products and new supply methods. Ciba Geigy of Switzerland is improving comprehensive properties of products such as durability, nice appearance or biodegradability through quality innovation.
   Foreign firms have considerable advantages over domestic producers in product research and development due to their rational and sustained innovation and investment in research and development. High-end plastic additives are almost monopolized by foreign enterprises. Only by entering the high-end market can domestic enterprises hope to get considerable advantages for their own sustained growth in this fiercely competitive sector. So it is necessary to adapt to the rapid growth of the economy and China's huge market demand, and develop patented plastic additives and technologies.

Strengthen specialized and well-targeted production functions and applications

With the constant emergence of new sectors and the more detailed classifications within the same application sector, the targeting of demand for plastic additives has become sharper. This is reflected in the detailed classification of product functions, the detailed classification of product applications and the appearance of new application sectors.
   The quick development of functional plastic additives according to the structural features of products and the performance requirements and environmental characteristics of application sectors indicates the degree of production enterprises in the linkage of their ability to constantly tailor research and development to the ever-changing market. In interfaces of overlapping sectors or in new sectors, production enterprises can get new growth points by matching their existing products with new application environments and new functional requirements.


Conduct independent research and development and promote sound development of PVC heat stabilizers

Shi Xunruo
Director of the Plastic Assistant Committee, Heat Stabilizer Branch

Prevention of lead and cadmium pollution:
an inevitable trend

The environmental problems caused by lead and cadmium pollution in China have become quite serious. The consumption of lead-containing heat (thermal) stabilizers in the processing of PVC plastic products alone is 120 000 tons a year. Three million tons of discarded lead-containing PVC plastic products have huge impacts on the environment. Besides, the mining, dressing and transportation of 10.0 million tons of lead ore also cause huge environmental pollution and energy consumption.  
   The reduction of pollution and hazards to both the environment and human bodies arising from the production and recycling of lead (cadmium)-containing PVC products is a great trial for the PVC plastic product sector of China. To meet the more stringent requirements in the world's environmental protection laws and regulations, domestic enterprises should fully understand and observe those laws and regulations, strengthen production process control, avoid importing substances already prohibited for use and conduct rational and environment-friendly packaging and transportation. PVC plastic product manufacturers and plastic assistant producers therefore need to organize all-round cooperation and make joint efforts to cope with the dual pressure of environmental protection and cost increases. They should improve their comprehensive ability of innovation, highlight the basic research and systematic research of products and develop new environmental protection products with intellectual property rights and original core technology.

Independent research and development: key to the development of heat stabilizers

Environmental protection-related heat stabilizers in China can be considered in three major categories, namely, organic tin varieties (including compound varieties), calcium/zinc compound varieties and rare earth compound varieties. In terms of output and user acceptance, calcium/zinc varieties hold the first place. Compound multi-functional organic tin heat stabilizers are the major development tren