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Lightweight boat demand to help marine composites market

16 Apr '13

2 min read

To create lightweight boats has become imperative given the need for lower operating costs and higher fuel efficiency. Therefore, recreational boat manufacturers must focus their efforts on "lightweighting" increasing the incorporation of composites and foam core materials. These materials will help offset some of the weight of the recreational marine crafts and assist OEMs in enhancing fuel efficiency, reducing GHG emissions and decreasing overall material costs over the lifetime of the vessel.

The emerging trends in the global marine composites market will be discussed in Frost & Sullivan's web conference, taking place on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 3 pm BST. Chemicals, Materials & Food Industry Analyst Sandeepan Mondal will lead a teleconference that will scrutinize the demand scenario in marine composites globally and how different regions are performing in terms of adopting marine composites.

The recreational boat market is struggling to recover from the aftermath of the financial crisis, which resulted in over a 25 percent annual decline in market value and forced many small boat-builders to exit. "In the future, it is unlikely that such a situation will repeat itself, but market recovery will be slower than usual because of consumer caution, lower purchasing power, decreasing margins, and a negative economic outlook", anticipates Sandeepan Mondal .

North American marine composites market will recover faster than Europe due to good rebound in recreational boat demand.

"Growing confidence in the benefits of composites and latest technological advances have led many Tier-I suppliers and OEMs to incorporate higher amounts of GFRPs and CFRPs in marine primary and secondary structures. However, given the less than expected demand over the last 3-4 years, the demand for marine composites is expected to pick-up substantially only after 2014, when new boat production increases considerably ", observes Mr Mondal.

This briefing will benefit component manufacturers, resin and fibre suppliers, and recreational boat OEMs by discussing emerging trends and providing forward projections for the global marine composites market.

Frost & Sullivan