The global non-woven glass fiber prepreg market has been growing at a moderate pace over the past five years owing to the increase in demand for confectioneries and beverages. Currently, the global non-woven glass fiber prepreg market is dominated by various key players, such as Owens Corning (U.S.), SAERTEX GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Jushi Group Co., Ltd (China), PPG Industries Inc. (U.S.), Johns Manville (U.S.), Saint-Gobain Adfors (France), and Ahlstrom Oyj (Finland), among others.
Several new product developments/launches have been done in the past few years by various key companies, such as Owens Corning (U.S.), Jushi Group (China)., and Johns Manville (U.S.), in the global non-woven glass fiber prepreg market. The strategy of product innovations is among the key growth strategies adopted by the leading players operating in the global non-woven glass fiber prepreg market to gain an edge over their competitors. Product innovations address the increasing demand for non-woven glass fiber prepreg from the growing wind energy and electronics industries. The key players in this market are also focused on carrying out increased research & development activities for product innovation. For instance, Jushi Group introduced E7 glass fiber range for high-performance composites. It also introduced Compofil high-performance roving products. This included a variety of products made from glass fibers and thermoplastic fiber, including pre-preg products that are used in military, automotive, construction, and sports industries. Owens Corning launched SE1550 roving for fabrics and prepregs. These rovings can be used with unsaturated polyesters, vinyl esters, and epoxy resins. Fabrics made using SE1550 roving provide high mechanical performance in thermoset resin systems. This product improved the company’s position in the prepreg market.
The expansion was another popular development strategy followed by companies. SAERTEX GmbH & Co. KG built a new production facility in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which will increase its production of non-crimp multiaxial fibers from 5,000 tons to 15,000 tons. This will help the company to serve the South American market better. Johns Manville expanded its production of micro glass fibre nonwoven used for the air filtration media in its plant in Wertheim, Germany. This micro glass fibre nonwoven is used as media in aircraft insulation and HVAC filtration applications.
Acquisitions were also made by major players in the global non-woven glass fiber prepreg market to leverage the technologies, products, and production facilities of the companies being acquired. Owens Corning acquired the glass non-woven fiber business of Ahlstrom Oyj (Finland). This included glass fiber products for flooring and windmill blades applications. This helped the company in further strengthening its non-woven glass fiber business.
