Tomorrow's growth markets, today
PVC-U window & door profile markets in Europe
The European PVC-U windows industry has got used to bad news from Germany, but it came as a shock when, after a run of several good years, volume dropped sharply in the UK, Europe's biggest PVC-U windows market. It shouldn't have been a shock, it had been well flagged. But it is hard to imagine a steep fall when the market seems so strong.The PVC-U replacement casement window market in the UK is virtually saturated. Volumes are declining, and supply is greater than demand at every level. Total PVC consumption held up for so long because of new build housing, and strong growth from the public sector and conservatories. But even they are not big enough to make good the widening gap when the core replacement window market runs dry.
At every level - systems extruders, fabricators and installers - companies are cutting prices and competing for a smaller market. High costs don't help. There will still be winners of course, the strong always survive, but three systems companies have closed their doors so far in 2005, several are for sale, including one of the largest, and more will follow soon unless they look outside the UK to the growth markets of tomorrow.
German and Belgian systems companies have always looked beyond their borders for growth. Increasingly, other European systems companies are doing the same.
1.6 Million Tonnes of PVC Profile: Good Prospects, Great Opportunities
But just because some large older markets are fading does not mean Europe is history. Europe is at the start of what promises to be its biggest growth phase ever, if you know where to look, and what to look for.But which countries are worth investing in? There are more than sixty producers of window systems in over twenty five countries from Germany, the UK and Turkey at the top, to Russia, Austria and Spain in the middle ranks, and Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus and Croatia among the smaller countries. Which are big and expanding fast? Which have the greatest prospects? Who has what share of each country? Who are the winners and losers among systems companies?
Five European countries, including Germany and the UK, out of more than twenty five, account for over 80% of today's total output, but as some shrink and others soar, tomorrow's market will be quite different.
The five leading multinational companies that have dominated the market until now, Profine, Deceuninck, Veka, Rehau and Aluplast, are under pressure - from each other and from smaller rivals claiming their space in the sun. We have seen an enormous amount of merger and acquisitions activity among the leading systems extruders in the last ten years. We shall see more. Some will surmount the difficulties and maintain their leading positions, but one or two will not be around as we know them. Tomorrow's market rankings will look quite different. Europe is not only part of a truly global market, but Europe itself is a major regional market with huge potential. Ambitious companies, including fast growing new systems houses that grasp this will change the face of Europe.
In all the established markets we see increasing concentration. The big are getting bigger and increasing their lead. Seven multinationals with a combined share of 83% dominate Germany. Nine dominate the UK. But, where they are growing fast the markets are more open. Much of Europe is as it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the UK - fast growing, vast potential and up for grabs.
Cross border flows of PVC-U profile are huge, with around a third, over 1.1 billion euro, of Europe's total production profile criss-crossing the continent.
There is also a large trade flow of windows and doors with more than 600 million euro exported and 660 imported within Europe during 2003, much of it tracing the flow of profile but in reverse.
Concentrating on the key markets of the next twenty years
The early bird catches the worm. Get ahead of your competitors and order your copy of 'Tomorrow's Market, Today', our study of the PVC-U Window & Door Profile Markets in Europe.The report is in two volumes of 157 pages, with 68 tables and 6 charts. The report covers systems companies' consumption and use of PVC-U; who's growing and who's not; consumption and use of PVC-U in over 25 Countries; who's doing what where; trade flows of profile and frames across Europe by country; essential information on each country's population, housing stock and prospects; profiles of more than sixty systems companies including their main markets; forecasts; and a technical and environmental review.
The report also reviews the key issues existing producers must face up to if they are to survive.
Follow the growth; follow the money
The UK, which consumes the most PVC window profile in Europe, is changing rapidly. And Germany, which produces more PVC window profile extrusion than any other country in Europe, is heavily dependent upon exports, although Germany's main export markets now have strong or growing domestic industries. So, how long can Germany continue to export to these markets?Those companies who confine their focus to the UK will find it increasingly heavy going. Even the fastest growing most successful companies cannot outperform in a slow growing or declining market for any length of time. Ambitious companies and those who want to build a long term sustainable business must go where the growth is.
Whether your business is in PVC-U window systems, raw materials, machinery or in a related industry you can use the report to prepare your business and marketing plans for tomorrow's growth markets, and invest in the right markets to position your business for the next twenty years.
The cost of the report is £2,950+VAT. To order please call Lucia Di Stazio on (01453) 521621 today, or order online to get the facts on Tomorrow's markets, Today.
9th Aug 2005
