IS WHITE MASTERBATCH DOMINATING THE GLOBAL MASTERBATCH INDUSTRY?

The short answer is yes. It is, and it will remain a noteworthy term in the market of plastic application for decade later.

According to the newest report from Business Wire, the masterbatch market has reached $16 billion dollar in the year 2016, almost double the size of the silicone market (GVR, 2017). Plastic packaging industry’s producers are seeking this additive material in mass to reduce the cost of coloring raw polymer.

What is masterbatch?

Masterbatch is, in short, a solution to “dye” plastic goods. It combines a mixture of additives and pigment into a carrier resin. Usually, it is often presented in four group: white, black, colored and additive masterbatch. According to the BW report, nearly 30% of the global masterbatch revenue in 2016 is accounted by white masterbatch.

Why are they becoming so popular?

What drives the demand for masterbatch comes from the packaging industry, construction sector and automotive market. For decades, the plastic packaging industry plays as the source of demand for white masterbatch, since it is often chose as the base color to produce milk bottle, plastic bags, food packaging and pharmaceutical packaging. In 2017, Clariant, the world leader of plastic application announced the launch of new EP white masterbatch, specially targeted for the pharmaceutical packaging market.

However, what is changing now is a strong drive in the automotive market, especially from South East Asia and other emerging markets. This growth is due to the mass optimization of vehicle parts. Producers have been replacing metal pieces by plastic-made items in order to reduce production cost and enhance the long-lasting use of the components. Plastic parts are also easier to molded and exchanged when needed. In the end, it leads to cheaper costs for consumers and serves the purpose of increasing consumer base in developing country. In the automotive industry, though, the favors of producers do not fall into white color, but black masterbatch. Hence the rocket rise of black masterbatch in the recent years. With the expansion of middle-class in developing nation, this trend will continue to thrive in a decade later.

What trend to come in 2019?

Industry specialists have reported on the increasing trend in researching Nano-based Masterbatch. Though the topic may sound far-reaching and unfamiliar, the use of nano technology in producing masterbatch is not new. Pigments used in manufacturing masterbatch are not often considered to be nano-materials, but many meet the condition of nano-material classification. Using nanotechnology to control the ratio of color mix and particle size of the plastic particles has been under serious research by the British Plastic Federation.

Together with the rise in demand of producers for new material is the consumer’s increasing awareness towards plastic recycling. This can result in large investment flowing into the recycling sector and further change in national-level production regulation. Recently, British government announced their plan to shift all the cost of waste disposal to plastic packaging manufacturers, accounting them as the main culprit for environment suffering. Nevertheless, it leads to the question of whether plastic producers would increase their price as the result and eventually tipping the damage toward the customers themselves.