Description

Construction is one of the key industries of the world’s leading economies. Rise in construction spends is expected to drive the growth of building materials. Flooring systems are among the key building materials, and include hard and soft floor coverings. Apart from floor coverings, flooring adhesives have also been taken into account and together are defined as flooring materials in this study.

The flooring materials market in this study is analyzed for end-industries including commercial, residential, and industrial construction. The major end-user types are project management companies (PMCs), building owners, and tenants. Major materials involved in the market are resilient, non-resilient, and soft coverings; the materials commonly used in flooring are ceramics, vinyl, laminates, and carpets. Adhesives are selected for an application based on the flooring material. Commonly used adhesives are acrylics, cementitious, and polyurethane (PU).

The flooring materials market currently gains a large portion of its revenues from the residential construction segment that is driven by a robust growth in demand for remodeling as well as new construction due to economic prosperity in various regions. Additionally, a significant growth in development of the commercial construction segment propels the growth of this market in regions such as Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Non-resilient flooring materials dominate the flooring materials market, while resilient flooring is being driven by the growth of luxury vinyl tiles (LVTs). In the flooring adhesives space, water-based adhesives are gaining prominence due to the increasing need for environmental sustainability and a requirement for low volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting products. APAC is the biggest and the fastest growing region with high potential from the residential, commercial, and industrial construction segment. The market is also impacted by mega trends pertaining to the organizing of events such as World Expo 2020, Summer Olympics 2020, and FIFA World Cup 2022.

The flooring materials market is highly competitive and sees the participation of large and global manufacturers who are primarily established in the developed markets of North America and Europe. The competitive environment in the market is highly skewed towards smaller market participants who are predominantly regional based. However, the larger market participants increasingly engage in mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures among themselves and also smaller companies to acquire new products, technologies, and market shares, due to which the market points towards further consolidation in the coming few years.

The market faces regulatory pressures from organizations such as US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and Conformité Européenne (or the CE Label) that mandate the use of products with lower VOC emissions and call for the elimination of heavy metals. There is an increasing trend of customers moving to water-based flooring adhesives instead of solvent-borne products for want of lower VOC emissions, better specifications, and durability. Manufacturers are increasingly investing in product development to enhance environmental sustainability and product efficiency. Customers are increasingly looking for products that are easier to apply, lighter in weight, and regulatory compliant.