INDUSTRY DATA FLEXIBLE PU SLABSTOCK FOAM
To our knowledge, 172 factories produce flexible polyurethane slabstock foam in wider Europe (including Russia and Turkey), producing around 1.35 million tonnes of foam per annum. You can see where they are by downloading the map below.
Of these, 109 plants are located in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and UK. The production in that area is of about 900,000 tonnes per annum. The vast majority of the foam is so-called polyether foam, with polyester foam representing just about 50,000 tonnes. EUROPUR members collectively produce nearly 90% of the foam placed on the market in the EEA + CH + UK.
The top three PU foam producing regions in Europe are Türkiye, Poland, and “DACH” (Germany, Switzerland, Austria). Together, these regions produce 40% of the European foam output.
MAIN DOWNSTREAM MARKETS
About 50% of flexible slabstock PU foam produced in Europe is used in bedding applications, 35% in upholstered furniture, 7% in transportation and the rest in hundreds of other applications, such as kitchen sponges or in clothing, for example.
Bedding (Mattresses)
According to CSIL, the total European production of mattresses is around 50 million units annually. Of those, almost 90% of mattresses contain between 2 and up to 30 kg of polyurethane foam. Innerspring mattress account for about half of European production, foam mattresses 40%, and latex ~7%. The share of PU core mattresses is slowly growing each year, notably thanks to the strong growth of “bed in a box” mattresses.
Furniture
In total, Europe (including Central-Eastern Europe outside EU) is estimated to produce 23% of the world’s upholstered furniture. According to the European Furniture Industry Confederation (EFIC), the EU furniture industry employed more than 1.1 million people across 127,500 enterprises making products worth 87 billion EUR. The major manufacturing countries in Europe are Poland, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, which together provide 85% of total European output. CSIL estimates that e-commerce represents 8% of furniture sales in Europe, with the UK and Germany having the highest penetration.
Automotive
On average a car contains between 22 and 28 kg of polyurethanes, of which the vast majority is moulded foam used in car seats. Slabstock foam is mostly used as foam sheets, for example for headliners, with an average of about 2.5 kg used in each car. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), passenger vehicle production in 2023 grew by nearly 14% and surpassed 17 million unites of light vehicles. After several difficult years due to Covid pandemic and supply chain issues, this growth still does not represent a full return to pre-pandemic conditions.
