ERWAN

Tackling the
Global
Economy

New: 3rd Edition

The Metallic
Abrasives Industry

The Metallic
Abrasives Industry

Global Study 2011 and

Strategic Perspective 2015

3rd Edition

Author: Erwan Henry

Written by Erwan Henry Published by Ya-Go Corp.

See INDEX and SUMMARY on page 2-8

This third edition scrutinizes the metallic abrasives industry and the shot-blasting market in 2011 from
three angles:
1 Marketing / industrial, from penetrating and well-documented insights,
2 Strategic, from the shareholders perspective, to foresee what the future holds,
3 Academic, focusing on the business models effectiveness and the execution of the strategies,
This study measures precisely how new shot-blasting machines, with higher productivity and performance,
reduce the usage of metallic abrasives. It explains the particular consumption patterns of the German foundry
segment and consequences this will have on high carbon steel abrasives consumption.
It sheds light on the key players:
Who ranks N2, Sinto or Ervin?
What are the strategic options of the global leader, considering the debt carried by the holding company WHA?
What will be the future of the Ervin new plant being built in Glaubitz (Sachsen, Germany)?
What is the status of the current European investigations on the competitive practices of the steel abrasives
producers?
What consequences will this have on the structure of supply?
Why is Fujian Duoling further expanding the processing capacity of its mega-plant near Xiamen?
Which players will grow or shrink by 2015 and 2020? Etc.
This third edition brings along additional features:
Segmentation by product, application, industrial sector and type of machine,
Quantification of the market in 122 countries, with the detailed profile of the metal related industries in 70 ones,
Updated repertory of all significant producers,
Census of the new capacities being added, of the potential new entrants and their advancing programs,
This study is a unique and valuable business intelligence tool for media and machine manufacturers, distributors and end-users, investors and government agencies.

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CONTENTS

The Metallic Abrasives Industry

Contents of The Metallic Abrasives Industry

FOREWORD ...
INTRODUCTION OF ERWAN HENRY ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY ...
Chapter 1
PRODUCTS ..
1.1
History of the Metallic Abrasives
1.2
Iron shot & grit ..
1.3
High Carbon Cast steel shot & grit
1.4
Low Carbon Cast steel shot
1.5
Grinding media made of standard or alloyed steel .
1.6
Cast stainless steel shot & grit ...
1.7
Cast Zinc shot ...
1.8
Cast Aluminum shot .
1.9
Carbon steel cut wire ...
1.10
Stainless steel cut wire
1.11
Cut wire made of other metals ...
1.12
Micro-shot .
1.13
Innovation issues .
1.14
Quality assessment issues .
1.15
Conclusion of chapter 1 ..
Chapter 2

SEGMENTATION BY MACHINES & PROCESS, APPLICATIONS,

INDUSTRIAL SECTORS
2.1 Segmentation by processes & machines ..
2.1.1
Impact treatment ...
2.1.1.1 Wheelblasting
2.1.1.2 Airblast rooms or cabinets
2.1.2
Abrasive treatments ..
2.1.2.1 Granite sawing ..
2.1.2.2 Vibratory, tumbling & grinding .
2.2 Segmentation by applications ..
2.2.1
Desanding in the foundry industry ..
2.2.2
Descaling in the steel industry
2.2.3
Etching prior to coating
2.2.4
Shot peening ..
2.2.5
Chemical applications, ballast, additive for concrete ..
2.3 Segmentation by industrial sectors
2.3.1
Automotive industry ..
2.3.2
Construction ..
2.3.3
Oil &Gas .
2.3.4
Shipyard industry ..
2.3.5
Railway industry
2.3.6
Heavy equipment ..
2.4 Conclusion of chapter 2 .
Chapter 3

INDUSTRY PLAYERS PROFILE .........

CONTENTS

3.1. The key player ........................................

3.1.1
Ervin Industries ......
3.1.2
Fujian Duoling Steel Group .....
3.1.3
Frohn .......
3.1.4
Metalltechnik Schmidt / Metaltec / Ferrosad companies .
3.1.5
Sintokogio Group ...
3.1.6
Sungho Shot Ball Co .
3.1.7
Toscelik Abrasives .....
3.1.8
Vulkan Inox ..........................
3.1.9
Wheelabrator Allevard / Winoa ....
3.1.10
The South African saga ....
3.2. Other Suppliers ....................
3.2.1
Argentina ..........................
3.2.2
Belarus ....
3.2.3
Brazil ....
3.2.4
Canada ...........
3.2.5
China PRC ..
3.2.6
Czech Republic ......
3.2.7
France .
3.2.8
Germany ...........................
3.2.9
India ...........................
3.2.10
Iran
3.2.11
Italy ......
3.2.12
Japan ...
3.2.13
Macedonia ......
3.2.14
Poland ...........................
3.2.15
Romania ......
3.2.16
Russia .....
3.2.17
Serbia ..
3.2.18
Slovenia ..
3.2.19
Spain
3.2.20
Taiwan ..
3.2.21
Thailand ...
3.2.22
South Africa ....
3.2.23
South Korea ....
3.2.24
Turkey ......
3.2.25
Ukraine ....
3.2.26
United Kingdom .....
3.2.27
USA ......
Chapter 4
THE METALLIC ABRASIVES MARKET ..
4.1 The global market ................
4.2 Greater Europe .....................
4.2.1
Austria .....
4.2.2
Belarus ........
4.2.3
Belgium .......
4.2.4
Bulgaria .......
4.2.5
Croatia ........
4.2.6
Czech Republic ......
4.2.7
Denmark .....
4.2.8
Estonia ....
4.2.10
France ..............................

The Metallic Abrasives Industry

CONTENTS

4.2.11
4.2.12
4.2.13
4.2.14
4.2.15
4.2.16
4.2.17
4.2.18
4.2.19
4.2.20
4.2.21
4.2.22
4.2.23
4.2.24
4.2.25
4.2.26
4.2.27
4.2.28
4.2.29
4.2.30
4.2.31
4.2.32
4.2.33

Germany .....
Greece ..............................
Hungary ......
Italy ......
Kazakhstan .
Latvia .......
Lithuania .....
Luxemburg .........
The Netherlands ....
Norway ....
Poland ..
Portugal ...
Romania ..
Russia ..
Serbia ..
Slovakia ...
Slovenia ...
Spain .......
Sweden .......
Switzerland .....
Turkey ......
Ukraine ........
United Kingdom .....

4.3 North America .............................................................................................................

4.3.1
Canada .......
4.3.2
USA ......
4.3.3
Mexico .....
4.4 South & Central America .
4.4.1.
Argentina ........
4.4.2.
Brazil .......
4.4.3.
Chile ...............
4.4.4.
Colombia ........
4.4.5.
Peru .........
4.4.6.
Venezuela .......
4.5 Asia Pacific ................
4.5.1
Australia ......
4.5.2
China .......
4.5.3
India .........
4.5.4
Indonesia ........
4.5.5
Japan .......
4.5.6
Malaysia ......
4.5.7
Pakistan ..........
4.5.8
Philippines ..........
4.5.9
Singapore .....................................................................................................
4.5.10
Taiwan .........
4.5.11
Thailand .......
4.5.12
Vietnam .......
4.6 Rest of the world .......
4.6.1
Algeria .....
4.6.2
Angola ..........................................................................................................

CONTENTS

4.6.3
4.6.4
4.6.5
4.6.6
4.6.7
4.6.8
4.6.9
4.6.10
4.6.11
4.6.12
4.6.13
4.6.14
4.6.15
4.6.16
4.6.17
4.6.18

Bahrain ....
Egypt .......
Iran .......
Israel ........
Jordan ..
Kuwait ..
Libya .
Morocco ..........
Oman
Qatar ....
Saudi Arabia .......
South Africa ........
Syria .
Tunisia .
United Arab Emirates ........
Africa

Chapter 5
TECHNOLOGICAL & ECONOMICAL ISSUES AND TRENDS ...
5.1 Technological issues and trends .............
5.1.1
Environmental issues and trends .......
5.1.2
Impact treatment trends ..................................................
5.1.3
Granite cutting trends ...............................................
5.2 Cost factors & economical Trends ...
5.2.1
Introduction to cost factors ...
5.2.2
Scrap & raw material ....
5.2.3
Scrap issues
5.2.4
Energy .....
5.2.5
Labor .......
5.2.6
Others ......
5.2.7
Transportation & supply chain issues .
5.3 Market Trends .....................................................................
5.3.1
Geographical shifts ...........
5.3.2
Applications dynamics .............
5.3.3
Industrial sectors fluctuations ..........
5.3.4
Market forecast 2011-2015 ..
Chapter 6
STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE .....
6.1
European investigation on the competitive practices of the cast steel abrasive
producers ...
6.2
End-users needs ...
6.3
Distributors needs .....
6.4
Shareholders dilemmas ...
6.5
Private equity funds ......
6.6
Capacity addition, potential entrants and scenarios ...
6.7
Strategic analysis .........
CONCLUSION ...................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY, SOURCES & REFERENCES ...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY

The Metallic Abrasives Industry

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2011 the metallic abrasives market grew by 5,2%, up 71 KT and forming a market of 1430
KT, while the global apparent steel use consumption was up 14% and the production of vehicles up 3,1%. The market value is about EUR 1,15 billion (USD 1,6 billion), as scrap prices
increased by about EUR 80 / T, inflating both sales and costs.
Since 2004, this market has grown in volume by 7,5%, up 100KT, while the global apparent
steel use consumption is up 31% and the production of vehicles up 24%. This clearly indicates
that new shot-blasting machines consume far less material than older ones; as manufacturing
switches to emerging countries, the new facilities enjoy higher productivity and less consumption.
The drivers of the growth observed in 2011 were:
Industrial production up in North America, in particular automotive, triggering a restocking: +30
KT; Steady growth of China (+ 18 KT), India (+7 KT), Korea (+5 KT), while South-East Asia (+
3,5 KT) was hampered by the flooding in Thailand; the oil and gas sector continuously rising in
the Rest of the World (+ 5 KT), mostly the Middle East.
Europe is barely stable (+4 KT), with a continuous decline in Spain (-5 KT) and Italy (-4 KT),
but a nice growth in industrially dominant Germany (+ 5 KT). The consumption in Russia is apparently stable; in fact the rise in quality offsets the growth in operating hours.

Product-wise, stainless, low carbon and rounded cut wire keeps growing, while iron declines.
The new generation of high productivity shot-blasting machines, blasting faster with highspeed turbines, demands a leap in the metallic abrasives resilience. The case of the German
foundries shows that low carbon and cut wire particles meet this technical requirement better,
which will ultimately improve their share versus high carbon ones.
Winoa (formerly Wheelabrator Allevard) remains the largest producer with about 4 11 K T ( o f
which 407 KT is of high carbon), slightly down, mainly due to market destruction in Italy and
Spain. Ervin remains the second largest producer with about 164 KT, of which 161 KT is of
high carbon, benefiting from a sharp improvement in North America. Sinto keeps growing with
about 143 KT, but suffered from the wild competition in Korea and the drop of the car production in Japan. The Big Three remains at about 50% of the global market.

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY

KT
CAST HIGH CARBON STEEL
CAST LOW CARBON STEEL
IRON
STAINLESS
TOTAL CUT WIRE
CYLINDRICAL CUT WIRE
ROUNDED CUT WIRE

2004
1087
75
79
8
81
N/A
N/A

2010
1078
94
48
11
128
110
19

2011
1144
98
45
15
128
108
20

TOTAL

1330

1359

1430

The global manufacturing capacity is expanding. Ervin is building a new plant in Germany
(Glaubitz, Saxen), investing about EUR 22 M. Duoling China is advancing again, thanks to two
nuclear power plants being commissioned in Fujian in 2013 & 2014; their processing capacity
is being doubled to match the melting one. Five other major green field projects (25/30 KT)
are being prepared in Russia, Middle East (2), India, South-East Asia, not counting smaller
additions.
The European investigations on the competitive practices of this industry are confirmed; as the
Korean 2007 case shows, this has the potential to shake and reshape the structure of supply.
This 240-page Study provides the following market intelligence:

Segmentations by industries, applications, and type of machines,

The latest trends are decoded in manufacturing costs, in surface preparation and blasting
technology and productivity, in environmental requirements,
The market is quantified in 122 countries, with metal-related industries described in 70
ones,
Each key player is CT-scanned, with a SWOT analysis and an appraisal of its strategic
position and business options,
Census of all other manufacturers along with a detailed profile of the significant ones,
A dedicated chapter exposes the stake-holders perspectives and presents a strategic
analysis and synthesis, shedding light on the forces at work, naming the potential new
entrants, and uncovering various scenarios.

This market intelligence is critical to forecasting where tomorrows growth will take place, to
deciphering the complex events currently shaking the market and anticipating the moves.
This study, is hence, a tool to comprehend where this industry is heading to and a guide to all
who are directly or indirectly involved in the impact treatment and abrasives businesses, from
investors to end-users.

These figures are estimates, based on the methodology described in the related section of the study, and may vary slightly or in some
cases significantly from the actual sales figures of these companies. These figures should hence be handled with due caution.

ERWAN
HENRY

The Metallic Abrasives Industry

INTRODUCTION OF ERWAN HENRY

Erwan Henry holds a graduate degree from EM Lyon School
of Business, majoring in B2B Marketing, and started his career with a Danone Group company engaged in glass bottle
mass production. He later joined Wheelabrator Allevard,
producing steel abrasives and diamond tools, where he
spent 16 years in charge of marketing and international
development. He was instrumental in the global growth of
the company, also holding various operational positions
in North America and Asia. In 2005, Erwan formed a JV
company with Fujian Duoling, the main Chinese producer
of steel grit and saw blades and participated in publishing the first global survey on Metallic Abrasives. He was
then appointed Commercial Director of Ervin in Greater
Europe until 2010.
He is now a guest lecturer in international business strategy
and cross-cultural management, teaching in executive MBAs
programs such as FIA Sao Paulo and PUC Rio in Brazil,
University of Shanghai, University Indonesia, Baltic and Ural
Federal Universities of Russia, Chulalongkorn University in
Bangkok, IAE-UPMF and GGSB-GEM in France, and
London School of Business & Finance etc.
Erwan is also one of the MFN teams very active members: he is a contributing editor, writing
inspiring columns on the global economy and multicultural management ; he is part of the MFN
group of consultants in global market intelligence and business development in the surface
preparation industry.