At present, the world‘s major engineering plastic producers include Bayer, BASF, DuPont, GE Plastics, and Ticona. The pattern of the engineering plastic industry is that industry giants occupy more than half of the market share. Taking the most representative nylon as an example, the top four nylon producers in the world are Dow Chemical Company (accounting for 24.4% of the global market share), BASF Company (accounting for 13.8%), General Electric Company (formerly G E/Honeywell Company has been acquired) (accounting for 12.5%), and Rodia Company (accounting for 9.1%), with other companies accounting for a total market share of 40.2%. Moreover, the aforementioned companies are still making additional investments to meet the future growth needs of the engineering plastic market.
 
Section 1 United States
 
According to a research report by Fridonia Corporation, polycarbonate will become the most widely used engineering plastic in the US market in the coming years. The report predicts that the demand for polycarbonate in the US market will increase by 3 The average annual growth rate of 8% continues to increase, from 1.21 billion pounds in 2007 to 1.86 billion pounds in 2015.
The application of polycarbonate in blends of other plastic products will replace ABS modified plastics as the most widely used engineering plastics. Research has pointed out that the rapid growth of the polycarbonate market is mainly due to increased demand in the motor vehicle, medical products, and construction markets.
Although the US automotive industry is experiencing a significant slowdown in growth, it is expected that there will be a "rebound" in US automotive production before 2015, which will be beneficial for the widespread use of nylon engine covers and other engineering plastics. Nylon demand will increase by an average of 3.4% per year. The company expects an increase of 12 pounds of engineering plastic usage per engine by 2015. The report also pointed out that the total demand for engineering plastics is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.1%, from 46% in 2007 6.5 billion pounds increased to 5.425 billion pounds.
 
Section 2 Japan
 
In 1993, the non phosgene process was successfully studied and industrialized production was achieved by GE Plastics Japan. The non phosgene method first uses O2 and CO2 to oxidize and carbonyl methanol to produce dimethyl carbonate (DMC), and then exchanges it with phenyl acetate to produce diphenyl carbonate (DPC); Then, in a molten state, it undergoes ester exchange with bisphenol A and condenses to obtain PC.
This process has no by-products and is basically pollution-free, especially since it does not use highly toxic phosgene. Therefore, it is highly valued by major companies around the world and is committed to development. GE first achieved industrial production of this method in Japan, with a production capacity of 25000 t/a, and later expanded to 45000 t/a, producing a large amount of disc grade PC resin. In 1997, GE built a 13000 t/a non phosgene PC production facility in Spain. In 2002, Asahi Kasei of Japan built a 65000 t/a non phosgene PC production plant in Taiwan, China, China. At present, the production capacity of non phosgene PC in the world has approached 300000 t/a. The non phosgene melting process for producing polycarbonate is a green process that is fully enclosed, has no by-products, causes minimal pollution, and meets environmental requirements. It has become a research direction for the synthesis of polycarbonate in the future, and is expected to gradually dominate the production of polycarbonate in the future.
 
Section 3 India
 
The engineering plastics market in India has enormous potential, and international chemical giants are investing in and building factories in India to enter the engineering plastics industry.
The world-renowned chemical company, DSM, has announced the construction of a new engineering plastic composite material plant in the Ranjangaon MIDC industrial park in India, 60 kilometers away from Pune. The new plant will enable Akulon, India to ® PA6, Arnite ® PBT, PET, and Stanyl ® The production capacity of PA46 plastic has doubled, and these materials are widely used in automobiles, electronics and electrical, consumer goods, and industrial products.
DuPont Engineering Plastics announced the establishment of a Center of Excellence in India, accelerating regional development, which is one of the fastest growing markets for business and enterprise. The New Engineering Plastics Excellence Center will support the research and expansion of the latest engineering plastics technology, and will share the achievements among regional and industry teams to promote business growth. It will use the latest technology and cutting-edge engineering software to design and meet the application development needs of Indian customers.
 
Section 4 Vietnam
 
By 2010, the Vietnamese plastic market is expected to achieve an 18% growth, with total production exceeding 4.2 million tons. Several important industries in the local area have an urgent demand for plastics, especially the packaging industry that focuses on exports. Driven by several large-scale projects, the proportion of production in northern Vietnam to the total plastic production in the country is expected to increase from 26% to 31%, while production in the southern region will gradually decrease. Vietnam formulated a development blueprint four years ago, hoping to promote the development of the plastic industry through multiple different plans. One of the goals is to expand local sources of raw materials and increase the production of high-tech products, especially for exporters. The Vietnamese government is actively encouraging businesses to invest in the production of materials, in order to reduce their dependence on imported materials, and hopes that by 2010, local material production can provide nearly 50% of the needs of businesses. Chinese investors can seize opportunities to expand this still in its infancy market and benefit from it, while enterprises engaged in related businesses in the Pearl River Delta should have greater advantages. The demand for plastic products has significantly increased. The Vietnam Plastics Association stated that the total demand for plastic products in the country increased 13 times between 1990 and 2000, and another 2.5 times between 2000 and 2007, reaching 2.13 million metric tons. The per capita plastic consumption has also surged from less than 1 kilogram in 1990 to about 25 kilograms last year. However, compared to other countries, the scale of Vietnam‘s plastic industry is still negligible. The current per capita plastic consumption in the country is about 30 kilograms, far less than the 100 kilograms in developed countries. The Vietnamese government is determined to increase the per capita plastic consumption to 50 kilograms by 2010. The packaging industry is the key to increasing plastic usage. Currently, 40% of the total plastic production is absorbed by this industry, and almost all plastic packaging products in Vietnam are produced domestically. Due to the lack of skilled workers in Vietnam, coupled with outdated technology and machinery, the local plastic industry can only meet the local demand for simple products. Furthermore, the quantity of high-tech products produced locally is limited, so users must rely on imports. However, Vietnam‘s plastic industry will receive significant investment in technology and production capacity, which will help increase production and quality, and expand product variety. Vietnam‘s plastic exports continue to expand, with a total value rising from $100 million in 2001 to $725 million in 2007. Currently, packaging materials from Vietnam are exported to 41 countries and regions, accounting for 80% of the total plastic exports in 2007. This year, the total value of plastic exports is expected to reach 1 billion US dollars, an increase of 42.9% compared to last year. In terms of output, packaging and high-tech products are key development areas that require significant investment. In addition, from now until 2010, the production of packaging materials will remain stable, accounting for 30% of the total plastic production, with an annual growth rate of 15%. The plastic used in the packaging industries of agricultural products, processed foods, cement, chemicals, and fertilizers has a particularly strong demand for investment. Many existing enterprises are planning to build packaging material factories, and in the coming years, the production capacity of plastic products is bound to expand to 1.2 million metric tons by 2010. The proportion of high-tech plastic products will also increase to meet the growing demand of other industries, especially the automotive and electronics industries. The plastic industry has limited strength and foreign investment has great potential. At present, the three major plastic markets of the United States, the European Union, and Japan do not need to import plastics from Vietnam because the scale of Vietnam‘s plastic industry is still small and lacks bargaining power. In addition, most of the investment in Vietnam‘s plastic industry comes from mainland China, Malaysia, and Thailand. These countries invest in Vietnam mainly to use import tax incentives to export products to other markets. Therefore, Vietnam‘s plastic exports may face significant challenges, and whether they can grow significantly in the short term is questionable. In terms of technology, Vietnam only focuses on plastic production and ignores other aspects of the plastic industry, such as feeding, casting, and machinery. The Vietnam Plastics Association pointed out that there are nearly 2200 plastic and rubber enterprises in the country, employing over 114000 workers, accounting for 2% of the total number of industrial workers. Most Vietnamese plastic companies are small and medium-sized enterprises with outdated technology and limited capital. According to a survey by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Vietnam consumes three times and 2.7 times more electricity and materials in plastic production than Japan or the United States, respectively, and is also 1.5 to 1.7 times more than mainland China, Malaysia, and Thailand. Vietnam‘s plastic industry also heavily relies on imports, importing approximately 1.5 to 2 million metric tons of raw materials and a large amount of auxiliary chemicals annually.   However, due to Vietnam‘s strong expansion of light industry exports, coupled with fluctuations in oil and shipping market prices, imports have been heavily suppressed, making it difficult to meet the demands of the packaging and electronics industries.