Soft-touch polyurethane coatings are advanced coatings that are manufactured by using polyurethane dispersions. These coatings offer a soft feel to the surface, better scratch resistance, heat resistance, and chemical resistance. This coating is classified into solvent-based and water-based. Moreover, these coatings are highly durable and also provide fast dry time. Soft-touch polyurethane coatings are widely used across automotive and aircraft interior components, consumer electronic devices such as TV, laptop and mobile phones, and interior wood surfaces that includes trim, furniture, and doors. Moreover, these coatings are also used across kitchenware and cosmetic cases.
The global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market is projected to surpass US$ 11.0 billion by the end of 2027, in terms of revenue, growing at CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period (2019 to 2027).
Drivers
Rising adoption of plastic in automobile interiors is raising demand for soft-touch polyurethane coatings which in turn augmenting the market growth. These coatings are widely used to coat the surface of the plastic in order to offer resistance to various environmental factors such as scratch, abrasion, chemicals, and heat. Soft-touch polyurethane coatings also provide a durable and lavish look to the interior component of the soft-touch polyurethane.
Increasing demand for soft-touch polyurethane coatings from the electronic industry for improving aesthetics and touch of electronic devices is expected to fuel the market growth. These coatings offer a rich feel and soft touch to the devices that give a premium feel to the product with enhanced handling. Apart from this it also offers a protective shield to the devices from any accidental scratch and damages.
Regionally, Europe dominated the global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market in 2018, reporting 47% market share in terms of revenue, followed by North America and Asia-pacific, respectively.
Figure 1. Global Soft-Touch Polyurethane Coatings Market, Revenue Share (%), By Region
Market Restraints
Threat from substitutes from other technology such as masterbatches as it is a new technology and mainly used across interior furniture and also interior parts of an automobile is expected to restrict the market growth. Moreover, masterbatches provide homogeneous color and remove the additional coating efforts and operating costs. Thus, the long-term benefits of masterbatch are expected to restrict the market growth of soft-touch polyurethane coatings.
Lack of awareness regarding the benefits of soft touch PU coatings among industrial manufacturers of developing is expected to restrict the market growth over the forecast period.
Market Opportunities
Growth of the automotive industry in BRIC regions is expected to provide enormous growth opportunity to the market of the soft touch PU coatings. According to the Coherent Market Insights analysis, the automotive industry is expected to expand at a growth rate of 3-5% during 2015–2020 in BRIC countries, especially in India and Brazil. This is expected to foster market growth in the near future.
Increasing use of soft feel PU coatings in the packaging industry for protective, attractive, and eco-friendly packaging solutions is expected to augment the market growth of soft feel PU coatings. This is used to coat plastic boxes, paperboard, labels and plastic tubes, etc. Moreover, this coating provides protection from environmental factors such as chemicals and scratches which is further fueling its market growth.
Figure 2. Global Soft-Touch Polyurethane Coatings Market – Opportunity Analysis
Market Trends
The rising focus of researchers to develop UV soft-touch coating that gets cured upon exposure to UV light is expected to foster the market growth of the Soft feels PU coatings. UV coatings offer resistance to insects, chemicals, crack and abrasion and is a new technology gaining adoption across various industries. Hence, the rising adoption of UV soft-touch coating is expected to augment the market growth over the forecast period.
Rising spending on the construction industry by the government of developed and developing regions is expected to be a major trend on the market. According to the Invest India, the Construction industry in value terms is projected to record a CAGR of 15.7% to reach US$ 738.5 billion by 2022. The industry contributes 55% share in the steel industry, 15% in the paint industry and 30% in the glass industry.
Figure 3. Global Soft-Touch Polyurethane Coatings Market, Revenue Share (%), By End-User Industry, in 2018
On the basis of end-user industry, transport & automotive dominated the global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market in 2018 with around 38% of market share in terms of revenue, followed electrical & electronics and wood & furniture, respectively.
Figure 4. Global Soft-Touch Polyurethane Coatings Market – Value Chain Analysis
Competitive Section
Key players operating in the global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market are The Sherwin Williams Company, Akzo Nobel N.V., PPG Industries Ltd Axalta Coatings Systems, Rust-Oleum - RPM International Inc., Aexcel Coatings., Sokan New Materials, and Jotun AS
Few Recent Developments
The Sherwin Williams Company
Soft touch polyurethane coatings are manufactured by using polyurethane dispersions which provides soft feel coating surface. Soft touch polyurethane coatings helps in providing better resistance to scratch, chemical and heat. In addition to this, they also provide enhanced durability with faster dry time. The coatings finds its application in various industries such as automotive interior components, wood surfaces and electronic devices like mobile phones, laptop and computer cases.
Market Dynamics
The global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market has witnessed significant growth in recent past years, owing to surge in growth of various end-use industries such as automotive, electronics and packaging industry. In addition to this, the increasing demand for plastics in the manufacturing industry is expected to drive the growth of the global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market during the forecast period.
On the basis of product type, global soft-touch polyurethane coatings market can be segmented into transport & automotive, electrical & electronics, wood & furniture, and others. This scenario is expected to provide lucrative growth to the market growth during the projected timeframe.
Key features of the study:
Detailed Segmentation:
“*” marked represents similar segmentation in other categories in the respective section.
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