Description

The global surface treatment chemicals market size was valued at USD 5,800.5 million in 2020 to USD 8,831.8 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 6.19% from 2021 to 2027. Surface treatment chemicals are witnessing demand from across the world due to the growing end-use industries such as automotive, construction, aerospace, packaging, and shipping and marine sector. The adoption of surface treatments on various surfaces such as metals, plastics, ceramics, wood, and glass has been enhancing these materials' durability, aesthetics, corrosion resistance, and performance. As a result, the market for surface treatment chemicals has been growing at a healthy pace in recent times, consisting of a large group of manufacturers and suppliers of these chemicals for the end-use industries. Also, there have been good business relationships between the market players of both of these domains, driving the market for surface treatment chemicals.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to the development of new surface treatment chemicals for combating the virus. For instance, the MIRO UV-C product, developed by ALANOD GmbH, has effectively killed the COVID-19 virus and is used as a material for reflectors in sanitizing devices. Solvay's supply of high-performance and medical-grade transparent film to Boeing for producing face shields has been another critical development in combating the COVID-19 virus.

Porter's Five Forces framework is used to understand the level of competition within an industry and business strategy development. This framework is used to analyze a business situation and helps the company or an individual identify whether new products, services, or businesses can be profitable. The threat of new entrants refers to the risk which new competitors pose to the existing competitors in an industry. Porter's analysis is helpful to determine if a new competitor has the potential to threaten an established company in a specific sector.

Global Surface Treatment Chemicals Market Dynamics

Drivers: Growing Demand for Various Types of Surface Treatment Chemicals

The surface treatment chemicals market is expected to witness high growth due to the rising plating business. This can be attributed to their ability to enhance/reduce photosensitivity, striping of paints and other tough stains, electroplating the metals' surfaces, and corrosion curing. In terms of base materials, surface treatment for plastics is expected to grow at a rapid rate. This can be attributed to the increasing usage of plastics in the automotive and aerospace industries. At present, nearly one-third of the total components of an automobile are plastic. They help in weight reduction and increment in fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Examples of such plastics used in cars are polypropylene, polyurethane, polyamides, and polyvinyl chlorides. Plastics are less prone to corrosion as compared to metals, thus increasing the life of the vehicle.

Besides automotive, the aerospace industry has also been witnessing the increasing usage of plastics, as plastics help in weight reduction, increasing fuel efficiency, improve corrosion resistance, impact resistance, chemical resistance, and durability. The plastics used in the aerospace industry are polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyether ketone (PEKK), thermosetting polyimide, polyamide-imide (PAI), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), among others. Plastics are used for interior applications of aircrafts such as air ducts, cabin partitions, overhead luggage bins, and floor panels, sensor-based applications such as avionics sensor plates, ventilation impeller blades, and component mounting brackets. In structural applications, parts such as wing ribs and spars, fuel tank covers, pylon fairings, radomes, and landing gear hubcaps are composed of plastics.

Restraints: Strict environmental norms from the developed nations

Surface treatment chemicals have been polluting the environment by releasing harmful chromium contents, such as hexavalent chromium. Therefore, various regulatory bodies such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and REACH regulate the usage of surface treatment chemicals. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) prohibits the use of hexavalent chromium in electric home appliances, and automotive parts have been prohibited by the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). As a result, these factors are restraining the growth of the surface treatment chemicals market.

Opportunities: Emerging applications and significant growth in the emerging countries

Surface treatment chemicals have been witnessing increasing demand from new and emerging applications such as glass and wood industries. Glass surfaces are coated for improving safety and stability. In this regard, Linde provides glass surface treatment through its HYDROPOX flame treatment process, which increases the brilliance of the glass, eliminates seams and edges, and heals microcracks and failures. Inwood, the surface treatment is done to protect the wooden surfaces from moisture and make their appearance deeper and more prosperous. Some of the recent wood finishing techniques are surface finishing, penetrating finishing, dyes, varnish, lacquer, shellac, oil finishes, stains, and water-based finishes. KRUSS GmbH provides surface treatment solutions for wooden surfaces. The growing industrialization, especially the automotive sector in emerging economies, such as China, India, and South Korea, has propelled the demand for surface treatment chemicals.

Scope of the Report

The study categorizes the surface treatment chemicals market based on chemical type, surface type, application, and regions.

By Chemical Type Outlook (Thousand Units, Revenue, 2017-2027, USD Million)

• Corrosion Protection Coatings
• Cleaners
• Anodizing Agents
• Passivating Agents
• Others

By Surface Type Outlook (Thousand Units, Revenue, 2017-2027, USD Million)

• Metals
• Plastics
• Others

By Application Outlook (Thousand Units, Revenue, 2017-2027, USD Million)

• Automotive Industry
• General industry
• Industrial Machinery
• Coil Industry
• Aerospace Industry
• Other

By Region Outlook (Thousand Units, Revenue, 2017-2027, USD Million)

• North America (US, Canada, Mexico)
• South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Rest of Latin America)
• Europe (Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Rest of Europe)
• Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia & New Zealand, Rest of Asia Pacific)
• The Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Northern Africa, Rest of MEA)

Aerospace, by application, is estimated to be the highest growing segment during the forecast period

Based on the application, the global surface treatment chemicals market has been segmented into the automotive industry, general industry, industrial machinery, coil industry, aerospace industry, and others. Accounted for the fastest-growing segment with a CAGR of 6.76% in the global surface treatment chemicals market during the forecast period.

The aerospace industry employs the process of plating as a measure of surface treatment for enhancing corrosion protection, improving material's durability and longevity, increasing high temperature and oxidation resistance, enhancing electrical conductivity, and enhancing aesthetics. Some of the standard techniques of plating employed for surface treatment in the aerospace sector are zinc-nickel coating, cadmium plating, anodizing, electroless nickel plating, wet blasting, passivation, and chemical film. Some companies offering surface treatment solutions for the aerospace sector are Chemetall GmbH, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Nihon Parkerizing Co., Ltd., and PPG Industries, Inc.

Asia Pacific accounts for the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on region, the global surface treatment chemicals market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific accounted for a revenue share of 20.5% in 2020 and had a growth rate of 6.71% during the forecast period. The region consists of Japan, India, South Korea, and the rest of Asia Pacific, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The region has a healthy ecosystem of market players of the surface treatment chemicals and the market leaders of this domain. There has been good business harmony between the market players of the surface treatment chemical manufacturers/suppliers and the end-use industries. For instance, BASF SE agreed with Jaguar Land Rover Limited in July 2020 to support the Global Body and Paint Programme (GBPP) of Jaguar Land Rover Limited in the markets of Asia-Pacific.

The increasing construction and growing automotive industries in emerging economies, such as India, South Korea, and ASEAN countries, demand surface treatment chemicals. In South Korea, the market has been witnessing demand from the developing electronics and semiconductor sector. The pandemic COVID-19 has severely impacted the economy of the countries in this region, with substantial business losses and job cuts in various industrial sectors. As a result, there has been civil unrest in the countries followed by market sluggishness, which has led to the market downturn of surface treatment chemicals in the region.

Key Market Players

The leading players in the global surface treatment chemicals market include Aalberts Surface Treatment, ALANOD GmbH, Bulk Chemicals Inc., Chemetall GmbH, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, JCU Corporation, Nihon Parkerizing Co., Ltd., Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd., OC Oerlikon Corporation AG, PPG Industries, Inc., Quaker Chemical Corporation, SOCOMORE, Solvay, SurTec, and The Sherwin-Williams Company. These market players are adopting growth strategies to strengthen their position in the market. Product launches and partnerships are the key growth strategies adopted by different key players in the market.

Recent Developments

• In October 2019, Quaker Chemical Corporation acquired operating divisions of Norman Hay plc, a private-owned U.K.- based company that provides specialty chemicals, operating equipment, and services to industrial end markets.
• In June 2019, ALANOD GmbH acquired all metal-related businesses from WhiteOptics, LLC for strengthening its global market outreach.
• In April 2020, Solvay partnered with Boeing to produce face shields in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this, Solvay has started supplying high-performance and medical grade transparent film, manufactured by the company's Ajedium Films Business, to Boeing for its production of face shields.
• In April 2020, as per the agreement, Solvay will supply innovative composites and adhesives, CYCOM 5276-1 prepreg and SURFACEMASTER 905, to Honda Aircraft Company for its applications in business jet HA-420 for lightning strike protection.

Key Issues Addressed

• What is the market size by various segmentation of the surface treatment chemicals by region and its respective countries?
• What are the customer buying behavior, key takeaways, and Porter's 5 forces of the surface treatment chemicals market?
• What are the key opportunities and trends for manufacturers involved in the surface treatment chemicals supply chain?
• What are the fundamental dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges) of the market?
• What and how are regulations, schemes, patents, and policies impacting the growth of the market?
• What are the upcoming technological solutions influencing market trends? How will existing companies adapt to the new change in technology?
• The market player positioning, top winning strategies by years, company product developments, and launches will be?
• How has COVID-19 impacted the demand and sales of surface treatment chemicals in the global market? Also, the expected BPS drop or rise count of the market and market predicted recovery period.
• Detailed analysis of the competitors and their latest launch, and what are the prominent startups introduced in the target market? Also, detailed company profiling of 25+ leading and prominent companies in the market.