What’s in Store for 2024?
2020 through 2023 have been roller coaster years, so what”s in store for 2024? We’ve had massive surges in demand akin to the toilet paper hoarding that then
quickly transitioned into demand hitting a brick wall! Any movement up in demand gave the hope that we might be on track for another surge but ultimately 2023 left the PVC industry in a year of decreased demand.
So whats in store for 2024? Will we see another surge? Will the election year keep demand timid? For Performance Additives we are taking a few lessons from the last couple years and are sharing them here.
1. Working with vendors and customers as PARTNERS is the path forward.
2. Asian raw material source needs to be a part of everyones long term plan.
3. Fake science of plastic needs to be actively combatted.
Partner Relationships
Like so many others, we were caught with high priced inventory that customers had forecasted based on real demand before it hit the wall. Everyone worked with us to help clear this inventory but we also needed to move prices down quicker than inventory allowed so that our customers could be more competetive with the market. We are very appreciative of how our customers worked as partners over the past 3 years.
We also hope that our vendors feel we worked with them. Certainly in time of high demand and low supply, there will be stressful situations: delayed trucks, damaged bags, etc. However, our vendors stepped up and helped to provide the service that keeps Performance Additives strong.
Asian Raw Material Sources
This has been a key tenet of the Performance Additives business model and we have been working to bring the Asian raw material market to North America since 2005. Consider that when we saw the surges in demand, domestic suppliers of many additives could not keep up with that demand. We saw the ceilings of what their capacity could handle and I know the PVC industry has higher hopes for growth than that ceiling allows for. Also consider that majority of plant expansion is happening in Asia and I don’t know of any large scale expansion plans in USA. At this point, a truly diverse and well-protected supply chain almost needs to have an Asia supply source involved for all additives.
Fake Science Needs to be Combatted
I saw an article this week that certain politicians were pushing for the removal of PVC in the medical space… can you imagine?! PVC has been a leader in bringing sanitization to the medical workspace and these politicians want it removed. This is just one of many examples where plastics is used as a “bad guy” or scapegoat. What the PVC industry needs most is activism and responsible players. This is why Performance Additives will continuing working closely with the Vinyl Institute, Vinyl Sustainability Council and will be pursuing our Vinyl Vantage accreditation in 2024.
Here’s hoping for a prosperous 2024 for everyone in the industry. We had our annual sales meeting and got some great weather in Pinehurst, NC. Looking forward to seeing everyone this year!
Eric Vanderpool
Vice President – Sales
2024 Show Calendar
- February 18th – 21st: Polyolefins Conference in Galveston, TX
- February 27th – 28th : PVC Formulations in Cleveland, OH
- February 27th -29th : IBS in Las Vegas, NV
- March 1st – 3rd : PPFA in Palm Springs, CA
- March 4th – 7th: ANTEC in St Louis, MO
- April 23rd – 26th : Chinaplas in Shanghai, China
- April 23rd – 24th : Fire Retardants in Plastics in Philadelphia, PA
- May 6th – 10th : NPE in Orlando, FL (BOOTH# S24071)
- June 10th – 11th : Polymers in Cables in Philadelphia, PA
- September 9th – 12th : IEC in Pittsburgh, PA (BOOTH# 1013)
- September 16th – 19th : FGIA in Minneapolis, MN
- September 30th – October 1st : GlassBuild in Dallas, TX
- October 6th – 8th: PPFA in Monterrey, CA
- November 13th – 14th : AMI Compounding Conference in Cleveland, OH (BOOTH# C424)
Product Focus – merKon P-380 for Foam PVC
Performance Additives P – 380 is an ultra-high molecular weight Acrylic Process aid that provides excellent melt strength and surface quality also enabling the creation of good cell integrity and uniformity in foam PVC.
Product Advantages
- Facilitates lower density
- Enhances the uniformity of cells – Provides excellent efficiencies in material usage
- Fusion promotion
Specialty Additives For All Polymers
While our focus has always been heavy on PVC, did you know that Performance Additives has an exclusive partnership with Synchemer to supply additives for all polymer types?
With several manufacturing plants around Asia, Synchemer is able to supply a full line of:
- UV & Light Stabilizers
- Antioxidants
- Optical Brighteners
- Flame Retardants
- Nucleating Agents
Let us know if we can help source these products for you.
