Melt Strength Matters:  Navigating Competition and Growth in Global HMS-PP Markets

High Melt Strength Polypropylene (HMS PP) was developed to overcome inherent processing deficiencies of conventional PP grades in applications such as deep draw thermoforming, foamed sheet, extrusion coating, and large part blow molding. A significant penetration of HMS-PP grades is seen mostly in automotive and foamed food packaging applications because of their ability to perform well in the molten stage during high-precision molding. Depending on the application, HMS-PP grades face competitive pressure from other material types, as well as from improved melt strength (HMS-like) PP grades, PP-LDPE blends, and in some cases, PP compounds. However, it has withstood market pressure and emerged as a time-tested material with its cost/performance balance, enabling converters to produce premium products with minimal processing difficulty.

These premium grade resins are typically blended with conventional PP grades to obtain the necessary combination of performance, processability, and economics. Between 10% and 20% HMS resin content is often enough to provide requisite performance enhancement for thermoforming, extrusion coating, and blow molding applications, while foam production requires higher HMS content levels: typically, 80–100%.

Only a handful of HMS PP producers control the global supply. However, market demand and supplier concentration vary significantly among the regions. From the demand perspective, Asia is the largest market for these grades, with SABIC and Borealis being the dominant suppliers.

Improvements in PP processing technology have allowed converters to use standard (improved melt-strength/HMS-like) PP grades instead of HMS grades with a similar or at least satisfactory use. As a result, specifically designated HMS PPs face intense competition from these other PP grades.

Townsend Solutions’ latest study examines global HMS-PP markets with special attention to the competing improved melt strength/HMS-like PP grades, providing an in-depth analysis of the industry including:

· capacity and demand forecasts to 2031

· plant-by-plant capacity assessment

· application level trends, drivers and challenges

· impact of environmental factors and circularity

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