Geosynthetics demand to be driven by construction sector

Growth in demand will be driven primarily by large-scale construction projects in developing countries.

The use of geosynthetic products in transportation infrastructure is also likely to grow rapidly in developing countries due to the large number of highways and railway lines which are being built in these countries.

Significant amounts of geosynthetics are also used in landfill -- and the landfill market is likely to grow at a fast pace due to environmental concerns and a desire among authorities in developing countries to adopt modern landfill designs.

Large scale infrastructure developments are taking place in China, India and Russia, and environmental protection regulations and building construction codes are evolving in these countries. As a result, these markets are expected to be where the strongest gains will occur in the near future.

China will be the dominant market because of the amount of available land in the country, the size of its population and the number of large scale infrastructure projects which are under way and planned for the future. In fact the increase in demand in the Chinese market is expected to account for almost half of the increase in global demand.

Growth in the geosynthetics market will also be driven by increased market penetration in developed countries.

Although the North American market has reached maturity, growth will come from new building regulations and environmental protection regulations, which make the use of geosynthetic products mandatory in certain projects.

Western Europe and Japan are comparable to the USA in terms of the level of maturity of their respective geosynthetics markets, as well as the type of regulatory environment.

Manufacturers believe that growth will stem from innovations, better marketing of geosynthetic products, sales promotions and improved manufacturing processes.

Growth will also come as manufacturers and distributors of geosynthetics continue their commitment to educating key market influencers -- such as civil engineers who specify the materials used for civil engineering projects -- on the benefits of geosynthetic products.

Technical Textile