|
PVC has a very significant share, almost 65% of
the total plastics in the elastomeric wire and cable industry. Major
consumption is in the power sector, where PVC, on account of its
excellent mechanical properties, is the most cost effective solution.
Developed regions like North America and Western Europe also have
a very significant PVC dominance in this sector. A recent market
research report on the wire and cable industry in Western Europe
indicates that of the 1 million tons of polymers used in 2002 :
PVC has almost 62% share, Polyethylenes have 31% share, all the
remaining polymers have only 7% share. According to this report,
the wire and cable industry is divided in 3 major segments :
| APPLICATION |
%
|
| Power |
|
| Low
Voltage
Medium Voltage
High Voltage |
50
11
3
|
64
|
Telecom
|
25
|
| Others |
11
|
| Total |
100
|
While telecom sector predominantly uses Polyethylene cables, the power
cables, particularly in the lower voltage sector, continue to be dominated
by PVC. Cross-linked PE cables are increasingly being used for medium
and high voltage cables; Conventional cross linked PE along with Silane
cross linked systems comprise almost 12-13% of the polymer requirement.
Another area where PE cables are growing at a faster pace, is Low
Smoke & Flame Zero Halogen cables for power supply in pubic places,
where newer standards exert a demand on these types of cables as against
PVC flame retardant cables.
The shift in fiber optic cables from the old jelly filled cables
in the telecom sector has increased the requirement of MDPE/HDPE
in place of LDPE. There is also a shift from LDPE to LLDPE due to
cost constraints of LDPE. The newer LLDPE grades perform better
in the wire and cable sector compared to the conventional Butene
based LLDPE.
The distribution of PE cables in Western Europe in 2002 as described
in a recent conference in Germany was:
|
Type of PE
|
%
|
|
PEX
|
42
|
|
MD/HD
|
20
|
|
LSFOH
|
15
|
|
LDPE
|
13
|
|
LLDPE
|
7
|
|
Cellular PE
|
3
|
|
Total PE
|
100
|
In addition to the higher growth rates of PE, some shift will also
be seen towards Thermo Plastic Elastomeric Cables in the next few
years. Though PVC is expected to be the dominant player, its share
may go down marginally in the next 5 years
|