10年内BRIC四国玻璃钢的使用达到了35%

    塑料工程协会（SPE）会议2010年4月7日在美国芝加哥举行，欧文斯科宁复合材料解决方案业务部总裁达纳对玻璃钢在巴西、俄罗斯、印度和（BRIC)的发展机遇发表了重要演讲。演讲中谈到在短短的10年内，四国对复合材料的需求已经从仅仅是行业的一小部分发展到占复合材料市场的近35%。
    “这些市场说明价值定位复合材料的交付和整个复合材料行业都具有巨大的商机，”达纳说，并指出欧文斯科宁在这些有12个工厂。
    “像欧文斯科宁这样的行业领导者的独到的见解是非常重要的，能够帮助我们的行业改变战略，以便业务在四国开展成功，大利益往往来自巨大的变化，”SPE热固性部门的主席兼副总裁Len Nunnery说，“了解我们产业的发展能力对进一步开发四国表现出来的巨大潜能是非常关键的。”
    达纳说在未来5年内，政府在配水、电力、能源和其他工业应用方面的基础设施的投资将继续推动这些市场显著增长。“在BRIC市场，政府投资的百分比和美国通常是截然不同的，”达纳说， “例如在，政府的投资大约占60%，消费者占40%。而在美国消费者的投资占大约70%，政府占30%。这对管道，桥梁，道路和基础设施应用市场而言都是难得的机会，在这些行业复合材料发挥了优异的性能。比如我们的硼产品，耐腐蚀Advantex® E-CR玻纤增强材料发挥了非常重要的作用，BRIC四国寻求更可持续的基础设施解决方案，要求更少的维修和更换。”
    虽然政府投资是一个关键的动力，BRIC四国的末端消费品市场也是相当强大的。 “目前的需求是生产更多的出口消费品销售给更发达的市场。”达纳说。 “不过，在这些市场的投资继续增加，我们将看到更多的申请活动如住房和游艇。” 
    达纳指出在交通方面使用的复合材料比较少，BRIC四国燃料效率标准不是很完善。 “鉴于轻质复合材料的性能，这些标准会逐渐增加”他说， “重量减少10%相等于燃油效率提高7%。我们也希望随着效率标准意识的增强，复合材料使用在汽车上的平均数量也逐渐增加。
    “对我们行业而言是激动人心的时代，”达纳说， “原来从未对复合材料的性能要求更多，公司乐意采取有针对性，周密的计划进入BRIC四国，他们可以继续转变材料市场，从巨大的潜在商机中获益。”

    At the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Conference in Chicago, Chuck Dana, group president of the Owens Corning Composite Solutions Business, delivered on April 7, 2010 a keynote speech about opportunities for fiberglass reinforced plastics in Brazil, Russia, India and China, or “BRIC” countries. The conversation is a critical one, given that in just a decade, BRIC demand for composite materials has grown from just a small fraction of the industry to nearly 35 percent of the global composites market (1).
    “These markets represent a tremendous opportunity for the value propositions composite materials deliver and for the composite industry overall,” said Dana, noting that Owens Corning is well positioned in these markets with 12 plants in these countries alone.
    “Additional insights from global industry leaders like Owens Corning are essential to helping our industry to refine our strategies for success in BRIC countries and most powerfully benefit from what is often a voracious and turbulent pace of change,” said Len Nunnery, SPE Thermoset division chair and vice president of sales and marketing Bulk Molding Compounds, Incorporated. “Our industry’s ability to understand this momentum is key in further harnessing the tremendous organic potential the BRIC countries represent.”
    In the next five years, Dana said that what is and will continue to fuel significant growth in these markets is government infrastructure spending on water distribution, power and energy, and other industrial applications. “In BRIC markets, government spending as a percentage is generally a reverse from what it is in the US,” said Dana. “In China, for example, about 60 percent of spending is by the government and 40 percent is consumer (2). In the US, about 70 percent of spending is consumer and 30 percent is the government. This is a unique opportunity in markets like piping, bridges, roads and infrastructure applications where the durable properties of composite materials deliver on performance. Products such as our boron-free, corrosion resistant Advantex® E-CR glass reinforcements play an increasingly important role there as these countries seek more sustainable infrastructure solutions that require less maintenance and replacement.”
    While government spending is a key driver, Dana notes that BRIC end use markets for consumer goods are also fairly strong. “Currently, that demand is more to create consumer goods for export to more developed markets,” said Dana. “However, as consumer spending increases in those markets, we’ll see increased activity for applications such as housing and pleasure boats.”
    As for transportation, Dana noted that the current use of composites is lower, given less aggressive fuel efficiency standards in most BRIC countries. “That will change, as those standards continue to rise, given the lightweight properties of composites,” he said. “A 10-percent reduction in weight can equal a 7-percent improvement in fuel efficiency (3). We also expect to see a rise in the average use of composites per vehicle rise as efficiency standards rise in the BRIC markets."
    “These are exciting times for our industry,” Dana said. “The world has never been more in need of the properties of composites. Companies willing to take a focused, thoughtful entry into BRIC countries can benefit from the tremendous opportunity they represent to continue to transform the materials market.”