- Italy and Germany lead European cable manufacturing
- PVC still the dominant polymer
- Ratio of sites manufacturing automotive cables has increased
- Report from AMI gives production details of 355 cable manufacturing plants in Europe
Plastics industry consultants, AMI, has just published the 7thedition of its directory: Cable extruders in Europe. The new edition lists 46 new production sites, providing an indication of the recovery and growth the industry is now enjoying.
Italy and Germany lead European cable manufacturing
Europe remains a leader in technology and innovation, to a large degree setting the standard for the entire world. The cable manufacturing industry is no exception and latest figures from AMI’s research confirms that Italy and Germany lead European cable manufacturing with 70 and 64 of the sites listed respectively, followed by Spain (36 sites) and France (35 sites). The UK is looking to rebuild its cable manufacturing operations with 31 production sites listed in the latest directory whilst Poland is now an important player in the European cable manufacturing industry, accounting for over 8 % of the sites listed.
Although Italy has the largest number of cable manufacturers, it is Germany that has the larger market accounting for 19% of polymer demand for cable production. Producers tend to be larger in Germany and France. Even though France has only 35 sites listed in AMI’s database, resin consumption for cable extrusion is about 12% which is equal to Italy where in total 70 sites are listed.
PVC still the dominant polymer
In terms of materials used in the cable extruding industry in Europe, the report confirms PVC is still the dominant polymer. It is used by 307 of the 356 sites listed, whilst low smoke zero halogen (LSF0H) materials are being used at 224 of the sites covered in this report. Cross-linked PE (XLPE) is the third most popular material being used at 195 of the sites listed.
Ratio of sites manufacturing automotive cables has increased
The ratio of sites manufacturing automotive cables has increased from 28% to 31% since the previous edition, reflecting the recovery in the automotive industry since the Great Recession. However, data cables has had a slight decrease in terms of the number of the sites manufacturing them; dropping to 41% of the sites producing them now compared to 43% in 2012 as well as computer cables dropping from 31% to 28%. Conventional power cables are being extruded at84% of the sites listed. The rolling stock cables sector is also showing signs of growth and its demand for cable applications will offer encouragement to the European cable industry.
Consumption of polymer for cable production in Europe
