| Spandex - Business Issues |
The current SPANDEX market really took off around a decade ago due to the expansion of the activeware market. Till then the market was serviced mainly by DuPont "Lycra" and availability was limited.
In the North American sector building of new plants by Bayer and Globe Manufacturing, and capacity expansion by DuPont has resulted in greater availability of fine denier products, opening new markets.
One of the newest potential growth markets for SPANDEX fiber is stretch wovens.
KEY ISSUES
- Can the profitability of the spandex industry be maintained?
- What will be the impact of continued capacity expansion on spandex pricing?
- Will new product development and new uses be sufficient to maintain above average long term growth for spandex?
- Will functionally equivalent, less expensive products be developed that will displace spandex?