The global drymix mortar industry (Part 1)

Minerally bound mortars have been in use for over 2500 years. In the course of time, builders, architects and construction workers have found the following technical terms for the individual building material, which are in use:

­– Drymix mortar: dry mixture of aggregates and binder (cement, lime, gypsum), some with performance-enhancing additives and polymers.

­– Renders (cementitious, exterior): large volume mortar applications for the finish of brick and blockwork, cement-bound, thicknesses from 5 mm to 40 mm, and related ma­terials such as spatter-dash, key coat, cementitious primers and skim coats (1–2 mm)

­– Plasters (interior): mortar for interior application for the finish of brick and blockwork, based either upon cement or gypsum, thicknesses from 2 mm to 25 mm.

­– Exterior Insulation and Finishing Systems (EIFS): similar to External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS)

­– Screed: thick, flowable, cementitious or anhydrite-based floor levelling material, thicknesses 20 to 50 mm

­– Self-levelling underlayment (SLU): thin, virtually liquid (low viscosity) self-flowing material used in the finishing of floors, thicknesses 2 to 5 mm

Mortars come in various compositions and physical appearances. In this report, the mortar products and applications shown in Table 1 have been excluded, since they are not classic drymix mortars.

With individual regional construction traditions and the fact that the construction industry works more and more at a global level, particularly for large-scale construction a certain trend towards standardization is detectable all around the globe. In this paper the well-developed EN standards are referenced, if not otherwise stated (Tab. 2). The ANSI and ASTM standards have also developed relevant sections for drymix mortars, especially for tile adhesives, a harmonizing of those tests and procedures with EN standards is currently under way and has been published as the ISO standard 13007 (developed by ISO/TC 189).

The main applications are summarized in Table 3.

With less reactive binders, such as lime or gypsum, premixed aggregate/binder mixtures have been known for centuries (Fig. 1). With the introduction of cement in the 19^th century, the entire construction process changed and new applications became possible. Masonry mortars and renders could be mixed on site and made the building process much easier and more durable. The first development of drymix mortars took place in post WW II Germany and gained momentum in the dynamic rebuilding phase of this country in the fifties of the last century. Important innovations such as special cellulose ethers for water retention and the invention of redispersible polymer powders as complementary, flexible binders, brought the breakthrough of this technology in the sixties. The sixties and seventies were dominated by the automatization of the application in the key markets of Western Europe, especially for volume products such as masonry mortars, basic exterior renders, flooring screeds and gypsum plasters. In the meantime, substantial development of drymix mortars in the fields of cementitious tile adhesives (CTA), self-levelling flooring screeds (SLU) and concrete renovation systems led to the spreading of this technology into Europe. After the first oil crisis (in 1973) the thermal insulation of buildings became very important. New systems (EITCS; EIFS) were developed and introduced into the markets, mostly flanked by legislative measures. In the 1980s, drymix mortar technology was established on all continents. The political changes in Eastern Europe brought a huge demand for most drymix mortar applications in the nineties. The year 2000 marks the explosion of demand in Asia, especially in China and the Middle East (Fig. 2). The global production of drymix mortars in 2007 had been estimated to reach between 100 million t (Leopolder) and 150 million t (Plank)[1].

The statistical material available to estimate the market sizes for drymix mortars is rare and inconsistent. A bottom-up study of capacities and their utilization is not available. For this reason, only a rough outline of those parameters can be given in this report in tonnes, the value part had to be totally omitted. The market has been estimated using two approaches:

­– bottom up (estimate of how much has been produced)

­– top down (estimate of how much cement has been consumed in mortars; see 3.2.)

This report references the sources quoted for certain areas as well as our own data accumulated over the years.

Due to different statistical approaches, our sources show different results. For example Harder estimated the drymix mortar production in Europe to have been 41.5 million t in 2006 [2], this report estimates 49.4 million t (an discrepancy larger than 20  %) and Plank is assuming that drymix mortar production worldwide had reached 100 million t in 2006 and would reach 150 million t in 2007 [3]. This report is based on the figure of 85 million t (2006) (Fig. 3). The annual growth rates (volumes) between 2005 and 2008 were well over 20  % in emerging and growing markets, in Europe they varied from 8  % (Germany) to over 30  % (Romania).

With the economic crisis a distinct break in the market development occurred. Triggered by sub-prime-loan problems in the USA and the consequential real-estate market financing crash in 2007, the fever reached Europe in early 2008, infecting first the inflated “second-home market” in Spain (decrease in building volume by 40  % compared with 2007), then Ireland and the British Isles. With major banks defaulting in the aftermath in September 2008, the large European markets, such as France and Germany were also affected, followed by the Central and Eastern European countries (caused e.  g. by the devaluation of the Russian rouble).

Since several plants were shut down in Spain, France, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany to regulate the market in 2008 and 2009 and many more were closed and mothballed during the ongoing crisis, estimation global volumes has become very difficult at present. Also, considering the reduced load at which operating plants are running to date, it is a factor very difficult to estimate. Given the still growing markets in China and the Middle East, we estimate that the market in 2007 had zero growth, declining by 10  % in 2008 and again in 2009. With the major markets recovering in 2010, the figures from 2006/07 could eventually be reached by the end of 2010. China, the main growth region, projects even greater volumes for 2009 until 2011, and will already reach 50 million t in 2010, however, we have decided to scale down this optimistic view by using other sources (Fig. 4).

A second method of estimating the world demand for drymix mortars can be attempted by monitoring the cement statistics. Saarinen and Halonen [4] explain this approach using the Middle East as an example. This report tries to extrapolate this method using global figures. In principle, the figures for cement delivered in bags is used to determine the amount of mortar produced on the job sites. Table 4 shows a typical distribution of cement use in mature markets.

In 2005, China produced 1000 million t of cement, mostly for domestic use, which means 45  % of the world‘s production was 2220 million t in 2005. But there are definite flaws in the Chinese statistics for cement production. Industry experts estimate that China produced only 700 million t of cement in 2005. The amount of cement delivered in bags varies widely from country to country, (e.  g. India, where over 40  % of the cement is shipped in bags to small distributors or job sites vs. Germany, where this percentage is lower than 8  %). Combining the data available, it may be said, that 15 to 18  % of the cement produced is going into mortars. Assuming a cement ratio of 25  % of the dry mixes, this gives us a range of 1464 million t to 1760 million t of dry mortar mixtures globally including job site mixed mortars (see chapter 3.1).

Of course, the fluctuations and uncertainties are manifold. However a rough indication of the global substitution rate of job site mixtures vs. drymix mortars can be determined: drymix mortars range between 5.9  % and 7.1 % (depending upon the source) of the entire mortar volume worldwide. Room to grow for the drymix mortar industry indeed (Figs. 5 and 6)!

This huge potential for substitution cannot immediately be turned into drymix mortar sales. The local situation concerning the distribution structure of cement, traditional building methods (e.  g. wood frame construction in the USA), extreme logistic situations (e.g. Indonesia consists of over 17 000 islands, over 6000 of them are uninhabited and at least 10 of them can be considered seriously industrialized) and partially very small job sites in the virgin and emerging markets prevent this. However, there are examples, where state legislation can speed up the introduction of drymix mortars by forbidding the site mixing of building materials, at least in the metropolitan regions (e.  g. Singapore, various municipalities in China, see: Zhao et al. [8]). Therefore, the drymix mortar industry in emerging and growing markets concentrates with production locations close to highly-developed areas, where the efficiency of the technology offers most of its advantages and where the end-user is particularly demanding. In many cases, the rural areas remain underdeveloped for this reason, and it will take decades for our industry to reach all white spots. In order to judge the capacity development, it is helpful to monitor the installation of highly sophisticated plants for drymix mortars. Some examples are shown in Table 5:

In most of the above-mentioned examples, more projects are in the pipeline to meet the expected demand. The construction growth rate in those areas lies well over 25  % per year and substitution of conventional building methods plays a major role.

An oversupply situation can occur, when too many capacities are coming on-stream at the same time, while in turn the market itself does not grow enough or even shrinks (e.  g. Singapore in the late nineties, when new capacities coincided with the SEA crisis, Dubai in 2009). Oversupply causes a rapid deterioration of prices, and subsequently a reduction of overall product quality. The countries with rapidly growing production capacities are China, Brazil and to some extent Russia. However, during the crisis, estimates become difficult for all those markets. Oversupply situations regularly existed in the main markets in Western Europe (e.  g. in Germany since 1998; in Spain since 2007; in Ireland since 2008).

An overview of the major manufacturers of drymix mortars requires a differentiated approach. This is best done by distinguishing between the following types of companies (Table 6 gives examples). When listing the major players at a global level, we have to abandon the volume approach and take into consideration the position these companies have in their particular strongholds. In Table 7, the most important drymix mortar producers are listed. Harder estimates that there are 790 drymix mortar plants in Europe alone (in 2006) [4], of which 245 are part of five major groups with over 20 plants each. According to our own estimates, currently over 900 high-tech plants are being run globally, and there are over 50 smaller, but relevant regional drymix mortar manufacturers in existance.

The drymix mortar industry currently shows three remarkable tendencies

­– globalization into new regions

­– consolidation in the saturated markets

– ­formation of global groups

Pioneering entrepreneurs, local and international cement manufacturers (Type 1) as well as specialized drymix mortar groups (Type 2) have realized the potentials of drymix mortars even in the emerging markets. The main drivers are the international developers and consultant groups for tourist resorts and office and retail spaces in the metropolitan areas. They require state-of-the-art materials even in the remotest areas (e. g. ­Mongolia, Kazachstan, Vietnam). The booming market in China has grown enough to support local production rather than imports, even for high-value-added products.

Since the construction recession in Central and Western Europe in the late nineties and at the beginning of this century, a strong consolidation process has started in Europe. Smaller bulk or specialty producers have been acquired by larger companies or groups, medium-sized groups have merged (Table 8).

Although this consolidation process is now almost over, the formation of globally active groups is still under way. By sheer volume, St. Gobain Weber including Maxit is the largest manufacturer of drymix mortars in the world. According to Harder, both companies combined would have had a production capacity of 10,4 million t, based upon values from 2006, assuming a capacity utilization of 75  %, this would amount to close to 10  % of the estimated world production in 2006. Other large-volume drymix mortar manufacturers are Cemex, DAW/Alsecco, Knauf, Baumit, Hasit (Fixit) and Quickmix and the various ­licensees of the Sakret Brand.

As we have seen, the development of drymix mortars in the global market has four major drivers:

­– the drymix mortar origin in Central Europe leads to growth of the neighbouring markets

­– it is spread globally by international contractors and mortar groups

­– large economies (e.  g. Brazil, China) adapt the technology and initiate the technology change; the combination of local research and imported know-how causes considerable leaps in technology

­– economical and environmental considerations lead to widespread introduction of drymix mortars

To characterize particular regions, the regions can be divided into four categories (Table 9).

The following classifications are based on the degree of penetration of drymix mortar technology into the individual countries. This substitution process is judged by the amount of drymix mortar sold, the sophistication of the formulations, the legislative measures accompanying the substitution process, since when drymix mortars exist in that region and by the degree of job site automation. Significant countries have been singled out and listed individually. Each market type has its own growth potential. The mechanisms of the mature markets have been discussed above. In the following, the factors important in the growing and emerging markets, where the most possibilities exist for growth both in size and further technical development , are shown in (Table 10).

“Green building” has developed very quickly from just a slogan into a real consideration in many countries of the world. The global warming debate and the need to prolong the lifetime of a building in order to reach sustainable building standards has made it evident to the governments, that the initiative for such an approach to construction technology can only be implemented if accompanied by specific legislation. Drymix mortar technology is clearly one integral part of a strategy to reach the goals for efficiency, workplace safety, waste reduction, durability and energy saving.

The demands of the specifiers (architects, consultants, developers) are growing steadily. Also the requirements for the ­durability of real estate (“low maintenance”; “maintenance free“ plays a large role in the decision-making process of the final ­consumers. Bad workmanship is apparent in many cases, however, the use of inferior materials can not usually be detected by the layman prior to moving in.

It is the task of our industry to develop quality reassurance systems that convince the final buyers of the quality of the work. In some countries such systems already exist as rating systems for the finishing quality of buildings (e.  g. “Conquas Score”, “IQuas” Database, Singapore) or for energy efficiency (e.  g. “Energy Passport”, Germany, “LEED” scores in the USA).

Especially in growing markets, misleading product labelling and claims of performance efficiency are confusing the specifiers. Standards help to differentiate the products, however stopping this fraudulent practice is not always easy. In some countries the drymix mortar industry has agreed to a scheme of controlling product samples systematically (e.  g. “Qualitätsgemeinschaft Deutsche Bauchemie, QDB e.V. in Germany, Seal of Quality of MEDMA and SEADMA, see Haddadin [9]). This way, the credibility of the individual market players can be supported, non-conformance can be detected and the overall quality level can be improved (Fig. 7).

With rising labour costs, also in the emerging markets, a large amount of the costs can be saved using drymix mortar technology. Especially the use of state-of-the-art application equipment and tools in combination with specially formulated ­drymix mortars enables the crews to increase their efficiency by factors of 4 to 10 per man-hour. Job site traffic, the use of ­elevators, waste and dust development (e.  g. regulated in the USA by the OSHA requirements) are being reduced to a minimum. These factors are the main drivers of drymix mortar technology worldwide, especially in metropolitan areas.

It is a fact, that most economies reduce the amount of training required for the construction trades. In many areas of the world, uneducated and unskilled migrant workers are being employed, often only with limited residence permits/visas. The construction industry therefore needs more easy-to-apply products. In order to perform in a competitive marketplace, this lack of know-how has to be compensated for by superior product performance. It can be said – and without being derogatory – that there is a certain “foolproof  ” approach needed to make sure that the products are being applied properly.

A prerequisite for this type of strategy, however, is the willingness on the part of the consultants to objectively calculate the financial advantages of the combination of resources, both human and in terms of materials. Up to now, we see many specifiers base their decision just on prices per kg or t, and not per defined performance unit, for example square metres of tile applied, area of wall rendered, and many even disregard the time frame needed to perform such work and the time needed in between applications for the curing of the mortars.

All drymix mortar formulations, no matter in which part of the world, need to be adapted to the locally sourced bulk raw materials, the building traditions of the particular countries, the required specifications or local standards, the aesthetical preferences of the buyers as well as to the predominating climate in the region. This applies particularly to materials used on the outside of the building and to a lesser degree to the technical mortars used on the inside. Using a sophisticated lab analysis, the existing pool of know-how and the production efficiency of existing plants, the formulations for drymix mortars can easily be adapted to the local conditions (Fig. 8).