Surpassing DuPont

South Korean artificial marble manufacturers took up more than 40% of the global acrylic artificial marble market last year, surpassing DuPont with market share of 30%.
South Korean artificial marble manufacturers took up more than 40% of the global acrylic artificial marble market last year, surpassing DuPont with market share of 30%.

 

According to industry sources, South Korean artificial marble manufacturers such as LG Hausys and SDI Chemical took up more than 40% of the global acrylic artificial marble market last year to form the largest group by country in it.

Specifically, DuPont recorded a market share of 30% in terms of sales, followed by LG Hausys (19%), SDI Chemical (13%), Hanwha L&C (5%) and Lion Chemtech (5%). The rest were U.S. and European suppliers, each with a market share of less than 5%.

Artificial marble is a type of synthetic material that is produced by the mixing of natural ore powder or synthetic inorganic material powder, hardening for resin formation and molding in the form of marble. Artificial marble is cheaper, lighter in weight and easier to design than its natural counterpart.

South Korean companies in the industry began to produce it in quantity in 1995. At that time, DuPont’s share in the market exceeded 70% and they had a hard time surpassing it. Hyosung, for example, sold its artificial marble business to DuPont after having failed to break the entry barrier. 

The global artificial marble market grew from 1.1 trillion won to 1.4 trillion won in size between 2013 and last year. It is expected to show a growth of at least 10% a year until 2018.

 

Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution