This year's 2024 Annual Conference of Europur, the European association of flexible PU foam block manufacturers, and Euro-Moulders, the association of manufacturers of polyurethane components for the automotive industry, was held in Istanbul, and was attended by some 530 participants, while another 60 were connected online. Together they represented more than 160 companies, including more than 60 polyurethane foam manufacturers from across Europe and beyond. 

Aipef, Aziende Italiane Poliuretani Espansi Flessibili, a member of Europur, attended the conference representing Italian companies.

Market analysis and industry trends

As usual, the first day of the conference was devoted to general topics such as market sentiment and industry trends, while the second day covered more technical topics related to sustainability, automotive, comfort and bedding, responsible product management, and new raw materials. 

Europur President Bart ten Brink, in his opening remarks, stressed that: “Our continent cannot just be a continent of innovations brought to industrial scale elsewhere. We must remain a continent of industrial production, and this requires that our political leaders finally take this issue to heart. They must create the conditions for our industry to thrive and not have to struggle on the world stage with its hands tied behind its back.”

Bart ten Brink, President of Europur

European markets for flexible polyurethane foam

The presentation entitled “Geopolitics, Competitiveness, Climate Change: can Europe cope with it all?” given by Georg Riekeles, associate director of the European Policy Center, was interesting and gave a thought-provoking overview of global geopolitics and its impact on trade, as well as what this means for Europe, while also providing practical examples for the flexible PU foam industry. His conclusions reiterated the message delivered by Europur's president in his keynote address. 

A panel discussion was then held on “European Flexible PU Foam Markets, Upstream and Downstream - with a Focus on Turkey” where experts from Chemical Market Analytics (Tobias Spyra), CSIL (Giulia Taveggia) and Turkish Automotive Industry Association, OSD (Irem Bacdar) provided insights on chemical raw materials as well as the main downstream markets for flexible polyurethane foam (i.e., upholstery, mattresses and automotive), with a focus on host country Turkey.

Flexible polyurethane foam production on the rise

Clint Raine of Belvedere and Partner presented data on flexible polyurethane foam production for 2023. Despite volatile market conditions, the total production of flexible polyurethane foam on the European continent (including Russia and Turkey) in 2023 was 1.38 million tons with an increase of about 1.8 percent compared to 2022. Turkey again recorded a significant increase and-for the first time ever-overtook Poland as the largest block PU foam producing region in Europe. Clint Raine reported large disparities between European regions, with Western Europe experiencing significant declines in production while, on average, the East and South maintained more stable production levels. Looking only at the EU+UK region, the slabstock PU foam sector recorded a -5 percent decline from the previous year. 

Always keeping market issues in focus, an additional panel discussion on “Global Polyurethane Foam Markets” was held with experts representing various organizations; IAL Consultants (Philip Propst), Polyurethane Foam Association, PFA (Philippe Knaub), PUdaily (Audrey Liu) and Indian Polyurethane Association, IPUA (Sunil Minocha and Siddharth Malani). The speakers discussed common challenges and opportunities facing the polyurethane industry globally, delving into country-specific examples. 

Europur Secretary General Michel Baumgartner closed the proceedings, thanking everyone involved in the organization and announcing that the next Annual Conference will be held in Spain, in Alicante June 3-5, 2025.