Innovations by Abrasive Manufacturers Will Significantly Propel the Global Abrasives Market Until 2020

“The global coated abrasives market is highly competitive. Therefore, abrasives manufacturers are focusing on the development of innovative products to gain a competitive edge in the market and increase profit margins. Manufacturers have undertaken many strategic initiatives to survive in this intensely competitive market. For instance, manufacturers are pursuing forward integration strategies in the abrasives value chain,” said Chandrakumar Badala Jaganathan, one of Technavio’s lead industry analysts for metals and minerals.

“Rapid development in the e-business trading platforms is compelling vendors to directly market and distributing their products to eliminate intermediaries in the value chain. For example, sia Abrasives and Norton Abrasives are seeking to expand their distribution channels by taking the online route to build their international brand. This steps are envisaged to help vendors increase their revenue and maintain their profit margins over the next four years,” added Chandrakumar.

Some of the other driving forces behind the growth of the global abrasives market are as follows:

Product innovations and growing acceptance of complex medical devices

Augmented demand for abrasives in automobiles

Growing use of abrasives in electronics industry

Growth in global industrial production

Product innovations and growing acceptance of complex medical devices

The global coated abrasives market falls under the red ocean category, whereby competition among global and regional manufacturers is extremely intense. Manufacturers are focusing on the development of innovatively coated abrasive-based products to gain a competitive edge.

For instance, in the wood industry, vendors are introducing fabric-based and polyester-based abrasives. Further, automotive and metal fabrication sectors are also focusing on the development of advanced coated abrasives systems.

In the medical industry, abrasives are used to clean and provide finishing to devices such as osseointegrated implants. These complex devices are required to maintain high standards of cleanliness to adhere to health and safety requirements. Abrasive blasting is therefore used in cleaning implantable devices, catheters, guide wires, tubular components, needles, vascular stents, surgical instruments, and medical molding as it provides precise and efficient cleaning.

Augmented demand for abrasives in automobiles

The global automobiles market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5%-6% during the forecast period. Rapid urbanization and increased spending power of from emerging economies propels the growth of the automotive industry. Significant economic and industrial development, especially in APAC, is also cited as a key reason that augments the need for better transport services, which consequently increase the demand for automobiles.

Efficient finishing in automobiles requires the use of abrasives. These are used for sizing engine parts, deburring, and cleaning. Abrasives are also used to repair and maintain auto body, interiors, and accessories. Abrasives are used to smoothen welds, clean the interior of pipes, and roughen or smooth surfaces and edges.

The growth has been rather steep in the emerging economies of India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, and China. China alone accounts for about one-fourth of the global automotive demand, and its share is expected to rise further over the forecast period. This continuous rise in demand for automobiles is therefore driving the expansion of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which play a crucial role in the automotive value chain. This expansion in OEM base is driving the demand for industrial raw materials, particularly production machinery and abrasive tools, for finishing and fabricating purposes.

Growing use of abrasives in electronics

The demand for coated abrasives is high in the electronics industry owing to low costs and provision of efficient finishing. Rise in the sales of electronic devices is likely to boost the demand for coated abrasives in the electronic industry during the forecast period, especially in the consumer goods sector. In the consumer goods sector, coated abrasives are used to polish fiber-optic connectors and to provide finishing to edges and flat surfaces of electronic devices and semiconductors.

The electronics and semiconductors sector is expected to grow steadily during the forecast period due to the increased demand for consumer electronics, including mobile phones, computers, and related electronic equipment from the emerging economies.