The global geomembrane market size was estimated at over 800 million square meters in 2014. Increasing expenditure for waste management in industries such as mining, oil & gas, and construction owing to growing environmental concerns is expected to drive the market growth. In addition, government expenditure and subsidies to the mining sector in key countries including South Africa, Chile, Peru, and Mexico is expected to propel demand over the forecast period.
Superior properties of the product including high tensile strength and high resistance to puncture and tear have made geomembranes the ideal choice for its use in water treatment, tunnels, aquaculture, and landfills. As a result, the demand for the product is expected to grow over the forecast period. However, properties such as self-sealing and chemical resistance have resulted in the substitution of geomembranes with geosynthetic clay liner which is expected to hamper the industry growth.
The demand for HDPE is expected to grow over the forecast period owing to ease in installation and excellent flexibility. LDPE is also used as a raw material for manufacturing geomembranes, and this segment is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period. EDPM is expected to witness the highest growth during this period owing to the properties such as high durability and weather resistance.
Tunnel and civil construction application is expected to witness substantial growth on account of increase in infrastructural development in developing countries across the world. Mining emerged as the largest application segment, accounting for over 35% of the global volume in 2014.
Increasing demand for the product in containment and landfill solutions due to increasing expenditure for environment protection is expected to drive the growth of this product over the forecast period. In terms of revenue, water management is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 4% in the period 2015-2022. This can be attributed to the increasing use of geomembranes as lining agents for reducing wastage of water in municipal and manufacturing sectors globally.
Extrusion technology, used for manufacturing geomembranes accounted for over 60% of the market volume in 2014. The technology produces materials with customized thickness, textures, and shapes that suit a variety of applications. Furthermore, increasing visibility of extrusion machines is expected to drive growth over the forecast period.
Calendaring application witnessed a demand of over 200 million square meters in 2014 due to increased adoption of this technology for the manufacture of the product. Other technologies such as spread coating are expected to account for low market share on the account for limited manufacturing scope.
North America emerged as the largest market player in 2014, accounting for the consumption of over 210.0 million square meters of the product. Increasing exploration & production of shale gas in countries such as Canada and the U.S. is expected to drive industry growth.The market in Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 2.5% from 2015 to 2022. This growth will be driven by stringent government regulations mandating landfill activities coupled with rising awareness towards environment protection by the energy and manufacturing sectors.
Asia Pacific geomembrane industry accounted for over 30% of the market share by volume and is expected to witness significant growth due to the presence of well-established mining industries in countries such as India, China, and Australia. In addition, rapid industrialization in these countries has resulted in the generation of waste which has further resulted in the increase in the demand for the product. The presence of petrochemical and crude oil industries in this region is also expected to favor the growth of the market over the forecast period.
Key players of market GSE Holdings, CETCO, Solmax, Agru America, Officine Maccaferri, Juta, and NAUE. The manufacturers in this market operate by product development to cater to the niche applications of the product. Certain companies have resorted to partnerships with fabricators.
In October 2014, Maccaferri S.p.A. formed a joint venture with Bekaert under the name, BekaertMaccaferri Underground Solutions. The joint venture is aimed at distribution of underground construction products including geomembrane, across the globe, except China and Latin America, where Maccaferri and Bekaert will operate separately.In February 2013, GSE Environmental announced the acquisition of SynTec LLC that enabled them to acquire SynTec’s technology for environmental and civil applications for geosynthetics.
