Domestic technical textiles Industry Segment-wise consumption of ...

The Tedlar film renders the PVC sheet non-weldable. This problem is overcome by butt welds.
Tedlar topcoated material is comparable in price to PVDF but substantially less costly than PTFE
coated glass fiber.
• Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coated glass fabric
PTFE coated glass fabric is a frequently specified material due to its life expectancy of 30 years,
depending on conditions. The woven fiberglass is incombustible, strong and does not undergo
significant stress relaxation. The PTFE or Teflon coating is incombustible and has good self-
cleaning ability.
Fabrication of a PTFE membrane requires slow and specialized welding techniques under
controlled environmental conditions. It also requires extra care in handling and packaging due to
susceptibility to cracking and self-abrasion. These properties contribute to its high cost and to the
need for additional tensioning hardware for the finished fabric structure. The tensioning of PTFE
glass fabric is a slow process, as it requires incremental adjustment over long periods of time on
site. This factor also contributes to its higher cost.
Market dynamics and key growth drivers
In India, stadiums, airports, restaurants, hotels, residential complexes and shopping malls account for
majority of application of architectural membranes. According to industry experts, tensile structures
are now well accepted by the architects and builders on account of their light weight, aesthetic
superiority and the design flexibility offered by the product. The market for architectural membranes
is at a nascent stage. The demand surged over the last two years growing at a rate of 30% on account
of increased awareness about the product and booming infrastructure projects. The demand for
architectural membranes is expected to further increase on account of its increasing popularity and the
boom in infrastructure projects.
Market size of architectural membranes
Based on discussions with industry experts, the current market size of tensile membrane fabric is
estimated at Rs. 1.1 lakh square meters valued at Rs. 16 crore. The market for tensile structures is
expected to grow on account of its increasing popularity among the architects as well as booming
infrastructure in the country. The demand of fabric is expected to increase to 2.75 lakh square meters
by 2012-13 (growing at a CAGR of 20%). The market potential in 2012-13 is expected to be Rs. 40
crore. No inflationary increase has been assumed for the price of the material.
The current and future forecast of the consumption of architectural membranes is given below:-