Published on October 21, 2013

An industrial resin is a synthetic polymer which finds its application as adhesive, film-forming or useful reactive properties. These are some of the industrial resins being covered in our country.

Unsaturated polyester resins
 Formed from the reaction of a diol (a molecule containing several hydroxyls groups) and an unsaturated diprotic acid, this is specifically used in making the hulls of boats and in the production of "synthetic marble".

Alkyd resins
 Used majorly in many solvent-based paint systems and are a type of polyester made from vegetable oil, acids and polyols.
 
Emulsion polymers
 Widely used as adhesives (e.g. PVA) and in water-based paints. Their primary use is as a cross linking agent and as such they are used in paints in along with other polymers.
 
Polyurethane resins
Used as surface coatings, to make footwear, furniture and in foam form, mostly in packaging.

Polyamide-epichlorohydrin resins
Used for coating in paper fibers, increasing the strength of the wet paper from less than 2% to around 30% of the dry strength.
 
Formaldehyde resins
A thermosetting cross-linked polymer used in reconstituted wood (e.g. plywood) and timber adhesives.

The Indian unsaturated polyester resin market is likely to grow significantly in the next five years. The market is mainly pioneered by domestic consumption basically by NGOs, government and civic bodies. The unsaturated polyester resin market in India saw a strong growth in the last couple of years due to robust GDP growth, increased manufacturing activity, and core sector growth. Application markets such as transportation is growing rapidly, helping the growth of Indian unsaturated polyester resin market.  The Indian unsaturated polyester resin market is expected to reach 445 million pounds by 2018.  The raw materials needed for this industry are priced quite high as compared to traditional metals such as steel and aluminum and this poses a challenge for the Indian unsaturated polyester resin industry. Polyester resin constitutes more than half of the resin used in Indian composite industry. Low cost price of unsaturated polyester resin as compared to other resins such as epoxy and vinyl ester is also a driving factor for growing demand of it. Also, with the Indian composites’ market’s steady growth, unsaturated polyester resin market is also poised for big growth. The Indian unsaturated polyester resin market is expected to grow impressively in near future. The major players need to formulate effective strategies to take advantage of the opportunities, resulting in improved profitability and expect win-win situations.