Acrylic emulsions are made of pure acrylics, polymer & copolymer, or are hybrids of other polymers with acrylic. These are found in both solid and liquid forms. Acrylic emulsions are mainly water-borne. In terms of market size, only the volume of wet emulsions is considered. Acrylic emulsions are one of the fastest-growing categories of specialty chemicals, worldwide. They contain low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which is a plus point for the final product. In addition, they have a high molecular weight, with no biological activity, and explicit toxicity-related concerns. Acrylic emulsions are supplied in liquid or solid form, as a result, safety concerns associated with them are minimized.

The global acrylic emulsions market is projected to reach USD 8.94 Billion by 2022. Acrylic emulsions are used in a wide range of applications such as adhesives & sealants, paints & coatings, paper coatings, construction additives, and others, as these provide properties such as enhanced process ability, performance, and appearance to end products. While the properties of these emulsions are similar to those of polymer dispersions, the major difference is the particle size of the polymer particles which is larger in emulsions. The major types of acrylic emulsions are pure acrylic, and polymer & copolymer. The polymer & copolymer segment is projected to lead the type segment of the acrylic emulsions market in terms of value and volume, during the forecast period. This is due to the wide usage of these emulsions in the manufacture of water-based coatings for architectural paints & coating applications, and solvent-based emulsions for industrial coatings. The cost-effectiveness of these acrylics over other types, is also leading to the high demand for this subsegment. Acrylic emulsions are used in various applications, and have been segmented into adhesives & sealants, paints & coatings, paper coatings, construction additives, and others in this report. In 2016, the paints & coatings application accounted for the largest share of the application segment, in terms of value and volume. This is due to the increasing housing projects in emerging markets and increasing consumer awareness regarding VOC content in solvent-based substitutes. The bargaining power of raw material suppliers in the acrylic emulsions market is moderate. This is due to the low raw material demand and supply gap, limited and fixed number of global buyers, and the threat of forward integration. The bargaining power of buyers is low due to the highly organized global acrylic emulsions market and the limited numbers of application specific manufacturers. The threat of substitutes in the market is moderate is due to application specific substitutes, leading to the low possibility of substitution in most applications, and threat from water-based polyurethane dispersions and epoxy emulsions. The intensity of competitive rivalry is high due to the large number of application segments and a large number of global and domestic players. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America are the regions covered for the acrylic emulsions market report. North America is the largest market, in terms of value, due to the rising demand for acrylic emulsions which is mainly driven by increased use in coating applications, especially in interior and furniture coating. The Asia-Pacific is the second-largest consumer and manufacturer of acrylic emulsions in terms of value and the largest in terms of volume, globally, and is the fastest-growing region in the market. Increasing consumer awareness regarding VOC and the increasing demand for green coatings is contributing to the growing demand for acrylic emulsions globally. A few factors such as the high price of raw materials, shift of the application market from developed to emerging countries, and the rising cost of production are expected to hinder the growth of the market to a certain extent.

Acrylic Emulsions Market vendors are placed into 4 categories based on their performance and reviews in each criterion: “visionary leaders,” “innovators,” “dynamic differentiators,” and “emerging companies".

Visionary leaders are the leading market players in terms of new developments such as product launches, innovative technologies, and the adoption of growth strategies. These players have a broad product offering that caters to most of the regions globally. Visionary leaders primarily focus on acquiring the leading market position through their strong financial capabilities and their well-established brand equity.

Dynamic Differentiators are established players with very strong business strategies. However, they have a weaker product portfolio compared to the visionary leaders. They generally focus only on a specific type of technology related to the product.

Innovators in the competitive leadership mapping are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. The companies have focused on product portfolios. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business, when compared with the visionary leaders.

Emerging companies have niche product and service offerings. Their business strategies are not as strong as that of the established vendors. The emerging vendors include the new entrants in the market, emerging in terms of product portfolio and geographic reach, and require time to gain significant traction in the market.