Growth Opportunities in Global Surface Treatment Chemicals Market, Forecast to 2026

R&D by Manufacturers to be Influenced by the Rising Demand for Reduced Application Costs from End Users

Global manufacturers of surface treatment chemicals have been focusing on developing competitive product chemistries that help end-users reduce their operating and application infrastructure costs. Manufacturers are also focusing on developing products that would cater to a diverse set of applications and those that would provide long-term regulatory compliance. On a global level, the market is consolidated, with a small number of local and regional participants, with global majors competing for a large share.

Corrosion and weather protection chemicals, cleaning chemicals, plating chemicals, and other chemicals are the product types in the surface treatment chemicals market. Automotive, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronics are the major applications of surface treatment chemicals. The key product types pertaining to every application area have been considered during the course of the research. Applications have been quantitatively explained for all key regions for every application market with regard to the total surface treatment chemicals market. All regional markets have been broken down further into key sub-regions.

The surface treatment chemicals market is continually challenged by increasing market demands. Multiple requirements by end-users such as environmental sustainability of products, enabling lower energy costs, and chemicals suiting increasingly varied metal combinations used in applications, pose a challenge to manufacturers for niche product development.

Manufacturers have been focusing on developing products that prevent environmental degradation, which could be caused through eutrophication of rivers and lakes by phosphates from surface treatment chemical applications. Additionally, regulations on the use of substances such as nickel and boron, which are harmful to human health and environment, are also being enforced by regulatory agencies such as ECHA and EPA in Europe and the US, respectively, impacting manufacturers, end-users, and importers.

In the next few years, there would be further diversification in materials, designs, and manufacturing of components involving metal substrate use in the automotive industry. The increasing complexity of components and treatment technologies with regard to car design and manufacturing is expected to translate into rising demand for new metal substrate surface treatment chemistries that would match specific substrate type application requirements.

For instance, metals such as steel, aluminum, iron, and titanium used in the automotive industry are increasingly requiring surface treatment for different purposes, including aesthetic appeal, electrical insulation, and thermal insulation, which is expected to help the market grow. Surface treatment chemical and paints and coatings manufacturers are increasingly incorporating cloud software, which provides facilities to accelerate chemistry development, sales, and service.

KEY ISSUES ADDRESSED

• What are the product and end-use application trends in the surface treatment chemicals market?
• What are the major challenges that participants in the surface treatment chemicals market face?
• What are the key factors that drive or restrict growth in this market?
• What are the major surface treatment chemical applications?
• Which are the key market participants in the surface treatment chemicals market?
• What are the regional trends in the market?