The global composites industry has been resilient and shows strong adaptability during the COVID-19-induced crisis, says a survey by Explori, an audience listening platform of the JEC Group. On a global scale, the composites industry has resisted much the impact of COVID-19 and one out of two companies remains optimistic about the future, the survey found.
The survey covered 1.500 respondents globally in May and October 2020.The global composites industry has been resilient and shows strong adaptability during the COVID-19-induced crisis, says a survey by Explori, an audience listening platform of the JEC Group. On a global scale, the composites industry has resisted much the impact of COVID-19 and one out of two companies remains optimistic about the future, the survey found.#
Sixty four per cent of the companies are operating at 76-99 per cent of their capacity, showing a positive sign of recovery after COVID 19.
Half of the respondents showed concerns over business opportunities. The crisis has pushed them to reinvent themselves shortly to support production capacities and avoid downturns.
Only a quarter expressed concerns regarding innovation and research and development (R&D). Their main objective is to turn to more investment in R&D to innovate in the future.
The survey revealed that half of the respondents changed materials suppliers to cope with supply chain issues. Many have changed their foreign providers to turn to local ones to avoid supply chain delays, and 70 per cent plan to remain on the same path in the future.
A quarter has switched production to manufacture healthcare equipment in May, and 30 per cent of those will continue in the long run showing a growing interest in this sector.
Half of the respondents considered entering a new activity sector, sustainability and renewable energies being main ones.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)