The globalisation of the polyurethane industry and the underlying factors supporting rapid growth in Asia, India and Eastern Europe, was the basis for presentations from panel members, conference attendees and the Governor of Utah at the opening day of this year’s Polyurethanes 2006 Technical Conference in Salt Lake City, USA.

Making the opening presentation at the event Jon Huntsman, Jr., governor of Utah, provided personal insights into China ’s rise to economic prominence on the world stage. Keynote speaker Paul Solman, business and economics correspondent for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, also provided some practical insights and advice for what he termed ‘The China Factor‘.

“China and the rest of the world seem to be catching up to the USA while we (the USA) seem to be letting more and more of our fellow Americans fall behind,” Mr Solman noted. He pointed to four major threats related to the rise of China over the next 30 years, including the USA losing its top spot on the economic ladder; the depletion of natural resources; world commodity prices being driven higher; and the impact of pollution on the global climate. He also advised the audience to “try, try and keep trying to turn the Chinese threat into an opportunity”.

In another presentation ‘Globalisation of the Polyurethane Industry‘, Angela Austin of IAL Consultants pointed to a continued shift of manufacturing and consumption for polyurethanes to three major regions: Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific and China. According to IAL research results, demand for polyurethane-related products in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and China have all increased significantly.

In China in particular, an emerging class of young, well-educated and ambitious consumers is partly responsible for the surge in demand, fed by an appetite for industrial and consumer goods that rely on polyurethanes.

According to 2005 industry estimates from IAL, the global polyurethanes market is a $30-35 billion industry with approximately 6.7 million pounds of total production. North America currently dominates production with 8.2 million pounds; Eastern Europe currently has 1.3 million pounds of production; while the Middle East and Africa currently produce 1.7 million pounds. IAL predicts that China will overtake the USA in terms of production by 2010.