India Metal Treatment Chemicals - Forecast to 2023

Published On: March 2018

Metal Treatment Chemical market

The metalworking industry is an integral part of Indian economy with an array of industries relying on the latter such as automobile components, electrical & electronics, infrastructure and packaging among others.  Hence, the growth of subsequent application industries will witness demand for metal treatment chemicals among the metal working industries. Indian chemical industry is the third largest in the Asia Pacific region and is riding on the big wave of automation, integration, and collaboration. Indian manufacturing industry is growing at a CAGR of 7.32% and is expected to grow over the next few years owing to fundamental reforms such as 100% FDI and industrial de-licensing. Furthermore, tailoring EXIM policy in ‘Make in India’ to promote exports and align imports duties is contributing to this development. Growing integration with government recognitions coupled with liberalization of the economy are likely to open new windows for opportunities to the manufacturing sector.  

Emergence of automotive and metal working industries is likely to propel the growth of the Indian metal treatment chemical market

The Indian automotive industry is prominent market for cross border expansion and it accounts for around 7.1% of the country’s GDP. Considering over 1.2 billion population and insatiable demand for vehicles in the country, automobile sector will require disproportionate amount of bio-based metal treatment chemicals which will not only have economic implication but also have strong environmental and social impact. Thus, developing policy framework and guidelines would facilitate adoption of resource efficiency interventions across the automobile industry in India. 

Metal treatment chemicals are applied to machine tools, which are used in automobile and ancillaries, railways, textile, and electrical parts in order to alter the surface properties and protect from corrosion environment. The reporting surface properties includes hardness, electrical resistance, wear & tarnish resistance, and anti-corrosion. Innumerable metal treatments offer many benefits such as texture, smooth finish, durability, and natural luster to metal substrate. This superior properties aids to growth of the metal treatment chemicals in the automotive industry. The major metal treatment chemicals applied on the automotive and components are anodizing and platting chemicals along with corrosion protective chemicals to provide proper paint adhesion for the long term working. However, the automotive industry mixes metal materials with car bodies to meet cost-effective strategy and optimal operational capacities coupled with standards regulation set up by environment bodies. Additionally, growing concern over repair of warranty parts, metal treatment chemicals reduce the pressure of manufacturers to meet customer satisfaction.

Consequently, the market for metalworking is large and challenging. Tougher metals, advance & severe metal working processes and increasing need to optimize production cost among machine shops operators has witnessed substantial demand for metal treatment chemicals. Moreover, increasing level of technology promotes automation, which is driving the metal working industry in the Indian market. The machine tool industry is mother backbone of any economy. The Indian machine tool industry growth is directly linked to the growth of the manufacturing industry. The focus of manufacturing industries in India is always been towards high end sectors such as railways, defense and aerospace. Rapid adoption of machine tools in aforementioned sectors are promptly gaining importance in the metal treatment chemicals to meet the productivity level.

Bio-based metal cleaning chemicals and its impact on the Indian market

Metal cleaning processes is foremost the important surface treatment and quality of product directly relates to quality of the final process. Reducing toxic effect in environment is important and foremost concerned for metal industry. Consumer are demanding the green products owing to non-toxic, biodegradable and pollutant less. In 2014, 62% of chemical companies in India reported consumer demand for sustainable applications. Manufacturer are putting emphasis on building greener products in metal cleaning chemicals to maintain environmental regulation. For instance, BASF and Henkel are producing bio-based cleaners along with supporting government legislation. Ongoing research in the field of green chemistry to provide several benefits and minimize environment impact are driving the demand for greener or bio-based metal treatment chemicals.

Competition scenario: Global players are holding largest market share and rest is covered by regional market players.

As per our analysis, the market consists of leading players, holding considerable market share through generating reasonable revenue each year in the particular market segment. The prominent manufactures operating into the market are BASF India Ltd., Henkel Adhesives Technologies, Metalguard Pvt. Ltd., Chemtex Speciality Limited, CMP PVT. LTD, Dimetrics Chemicals, KCH INDIA PVT. LTD, Olivine Mercantiles Pvt. Ltd., Prime Laboratories and GTZ India Private Limited among others. Companies like BASF and Henkel are strengthening market position through acquisition and long-term agreement with suppliers and distributors. BASF acquired Chemetall, a global supplier of surface treatments for metal and glass to meet demand from the end use industries. The key players are also focusing on technological innovation and development of bio-based products to retain their dominance over the forecast period.