Rigid Transparent Plastics

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

Use of the terms transparent and clear is subjective. Most definitions of the terms express the clarity of plastics to the percentage of light transmission as defined by American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test D-1003. Light transmission percentages above 85 are generally accepted as transparent although many suppliers claim clear grades with percentages of 80 or lower, making the distinction between transparent and translucent hazy. When referring to plastics and resins, the terms transparent and clear are used synonymously in this report.
Clear rigid plastics are commercially available in many forms including injection-molded, extruded, blow-molded and thermoformed. Many clear extruded products are converted to clear films. The uses for these films are varied and include commodity, specialty, coextruded, food and medical packaging. Packaging markets such as healthcare and food are not addressed in this report. Blow-molded clear plastics are hollow and most are converted to bottles or containers. Thermoformed plastics are similar to injection-molded plastics but are generally thinner and require less equipment and capital outlay.

This report covers rigid, clear, non-packaging plastic products, which include injection-molded, non-film extrusion, and some thermoformed (including cast sheet) plastics. Flexible and hollow thin plastics including films are not covered in this report. The clear resins covered in this report are: acrylics, polycarbonates, polystyrenes, styrene block copolymers (SBCs), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polysulfones, thermoplastic polyesters (almost exclusively polyethylene terephthalate (PET)), polypropylene, acrylic-styrene copolymers (SMMAs), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nylon, cellulosic resins, cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs) and allyl diglycol carbonate (ADC) (for optical applications).

Major applications of these rigid transparent plastics include: medical, electronic, automotive, building and construction (glazing, lighting lenses, signs and displays), housewares, appliances, toys, optical lenses and aircraft transparencies.
The geographic scope of this report is the North American market.

Analyst Credentials

Melvin Schlechter has thirty years of experience in the chemical industry, specializes in plastics market research and has been a BCC Research analyst for since 2006. Previously, Mr. Schlechter was the International Director of Chemical Reports for Frost & Sullivan. He also worked for the Union Carbide Company as a Senior Market Research Analyst, was a Senior Organic/Polymer Chemist for Stauffer Chemical Company and a Research Organic Chemist for Allied Signal Corporation. Mr. Schlechter holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Queens College, a Masters in Organic Chemistry from Virginia Tech, and an MBA from Adelphi University.