Intumescents are the substances which expand when exposed to extremely high heat and fire, increasing in volume and decreasing in density. The intumescent coating layer expands and produces a ‘char’ which insulates the material inside from flames by cutting off the oxygen necessary for combustion. Due to these properties, intumescents are used as a coating material to protect substances from heat and fire damage. The intumescent coating has diverse applications in a number of different industries as a fireproofing agent and its market is growing at a fast pace. The rising demand from various end-use industries is expected to fuel the intumescent coating market to growth at a CAGR of 4.6% over a period from 2016 to 2024.
Intumescent coatings are used for passive fire protection, fire proofing and fire-stopping. It has various applications like gasketing, window casings, fire-stopping pillows, fire-stopping putty products, etc. The oil and gas industry, offshore constructions, civil constructions, aircraft and ships are some of the industries where the intumescent coatings have a wide end-use. Intumescent coatings are also used to protect architectural structures, while maintaining the aesthetics and to protect steel and wooden structures from fire damage. Many intumescent coatings solutions are being used in data center constructions too, due to their ability to prevent spreading of fire.
The intumescent coatings market is expected to grow rapidly owing to major exploratory activities in the oil and gas industry as well as the shale gas production landscape. The increasing demand from the civil construction in developing countries may create numerous opportunities for market growth. The stringent Government regulations and laws concerning the health and safety and the standardization of fire protection frameworks, may contribute further to market growth. The market for intumescent coatings may be affected adversely by the inconsistency of the available products in the market. Also, as the existing products have to pass different stringent laws of different regions, their penetration may still take time.
The Intumescent coating market can be segmented into two segments according to their source, the hydrocarbon based intumescent coating and the cellulosic based intumescent coating. The hydrocarbon based coatings, often known as epoxy based coatings, surpass cellulosic based coatings in terms of market share in revenue generation. Whereas the cellulosic based coatings market are expected to grow at the fastest rate due to its varied applications in construction, automobile and marine industry.
On the basis end-use, the intumescent coating market is segmented into three segments namely, oil & gas segment, construction segment and automotive segment. Of these, the oil and gas market segment is the most dominant segment owing to new explorations in the oil and gas field as well as the shale gas exploitation opportunities. The construction segment is expected to grow rapidly due to the growing construction infrastructure in South Asian countries. The stringent laws regarding the car safety and consumer awareness may fuel the growth of automotive segment.
While there are various opportunities to grow in the intumescent coatings market, superior product performances and a longer lifetime are the attributes that help in product differentiation. A closer working of product manufacturers with the regulatory bodies is necessary for greater product conformity. There is also an integration from manufactures to distributers and then to end- use customers creating a well developed value chain and hence posing a barrier to new entrants in the market.
Though there are many manufacturers and distributors in the intumescent coatings market , the market is dominated by a few major players as they can provide for the specific and specialty raw materials at a low cost. The important companies in the market are, AkzoNobel, Jotun Group, Contego International, Hempel Marine Paints, No-Burn Inc., Null Fire, Sherwin-Williams, Carboline, Albi Manufacturing, Leighs Paints, Isolatek International, Flame Control, LLC, Rudolf Hensel GmbH, Firetherm, Bollom Fire Protection, Crown Paints Ltd, PPG Industries and 3M.
