Acrylic Resins - The Freedonia Group

Industry Structure
Sample page from
Freedonia Industry Study
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company's position in the industry with
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• industry composition & market share
• competitive strategies
• industry restructuring
• marketing & distribution
• research & development
• cooperative agreements
Research & Development
INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
As in most chemicals and plastics businesses, research and development efforts are
an important part of any competitor’s acrylics business. By and large, research
efforts have focused on the development of new products, with improved
performance characteristics or wider application. In addition, a number of
companies have expanded their research and development efforts in order to widen
their product lines.
SAMPLE PAGE
The primary area of research has been the development of new products. For
example, a number of producers have developed methyl methacrylates which are
resistant to gamma radiation (for medical devices), ultraviolet stable grades (for
construction products) and specialized emulsions and suspensions (for coatings and
adhesives manufacture).
Additionally, companies have moved to expand their technological reach through
the licensing of production methods which lower manufacturing costs and/or reduce
environmental problems. For example, several Japanese producers (particularly
Asahi and Nippon Shokubai) license their methyl methacrylate processes
worldwide, although these processes are not yet in use in the US.
Asahi Chemical has developed a process through which methyl methacrylate is
manufactured via direct esterification. Asahi Chemical is currently the only
producer in the world using this process, at a 135-million- pound-per-year plant in
Kawasaki, Japan. The plant, which has been in operation since early 1999, will
soon be expanded to 220 million pounds. The process is expected to decrease
costs related to building MMA plants. A 65- million-pound-per-year facility,
which uses the acetone cyanohydrin process, has been closed.
Shell has developed a process for manufacturing methyl methacrylates (and other
methacrylates) which uses methylacetylene and propadiene as feedstocks. The
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