my country’s EPS foam board market demand continues to rise and industry concentration needs to be improved
EPS foam board, also known as polystyrene foam board, benzene board, and EPS board, refers to a foam board with a closed cell structure made from expandable polystyrene beads that are pre-foamed by heating and then heated and formed in a mold. EPS foam board has the advantages of corrosion resistance, aging resistance, excellent thermal insulation performance, waterproof, moisture-proof, and high compressive strength. It is in high demand in the fields of insulation materials, wall materials, etc.
The main raw material of EPS foam board is expandable polystyrene, which accounts for nearly 70% of its production cost. Expandable polystyrene, also known as expanded polystyrene, has the characteristics of low thermal conductivity, impact resistance, and heat insulation. Driven by market demand, my country’s expandable polystyrene production continues to increase. In 2021, my country’s expandable polystyrene production reached 1.623 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. Jiangsu Lishide Chemical and Jiangsu Jiasheng New Materials are the leading expandable polystyrene companies in my country. The above two companies occupy nearly 40.0% of the Chinese market. Benefiting from the sufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s EPS foam board industry has developed rapidly.
The EPS foam board production process requires pre-foaming, drying, curing, shaping, cutting and other processes. Molding is a key link in the production of EPS foam boards, including one-step molding method and two-step molding method. The one-step molding method refers to directly placing the expandable polystyrene into the mold and making EPS foam boards through pressure; the two-step molding method requires the expandable polystyrene to be pre-foamed first and then placed in the mold. Molded. The one-step molding method has the advantages of short production cycle and simple production process, but its process control is difficult. The two-step molding method is currently the mainstream molding process of EPS foam boards.
According to the “2022-2026 China EPS Foam Board Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Currently, EPS foam boards are mainly used as building insulation materials. Driven by the rapid development of the construction industry, my country’s market demand for building insulation materials is increasingly strong. In 2021, my country’s building insulation materials market will reach 182.14 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.6%. EPS foam board has a micro-closed cell structure, is lightweight and has thermal insulation properties. It has gradually replaced traditional building insulation materials, accounting for 90.0% of the market.
my country’s EPS foam industry has a low concentration level and is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Shandong Times Plastic Co., Ltd., Nanjing Dongchang Foam Products Co., Ltd., Qingdao Huaqilin New Building Materials Co., Ltd., Wuhan Huafei Extruded Board Factory, etc. are the main manufacturers of EPS foam boards in my country.
Industry analysts said that EPS foam boards have excellent performance and are widely used in the field of building insulation materials. As the prosperity of the construction industry continues to increase, , the EPS foam board market size will further expand. Benefiting from sufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s EPS foam board production has maintained steady growth. However, at present, competition in my country’s EPS foam board market is relatively fragmented, and local companies urgently need to speed up the adjustment of industrial structure layout to enhance their core competitiveness.