Niche, market, product

Due to the low cost of thermoforming molds we can economically make short runs of specialty or niche market products, for which an injection mold would be prohibitively expensive. This is especially important for large moldings, such as whirlpool tubs and large panels for recreational vehicles, for which injection molds and presses would be astronomically expensive. 

Fox, J. T., Reinstein, S., Jacob, M. E., and Nagaraja, T. G. (2008a). Niche marketing production practices for beef cattle in the United States and prevalence of foodborne pathogens. Foodborne Pathog. Dis. 5,559-569. 

Table 6 shows the sales estimates for principal film and sheet products for the year 1990 (14). Low density polyethylene films dominate the market in volume, followed by polystyrene and the vinyls. High density polyethylene, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and polypropylene are close in market share and complete the primary products. A number of specialty resins are used to produce 25,000—100,000 t of film or sheet, and then there are a large number of high priced, high performance materials that serve niche markets. The original clear film product, ceUophane, has faUen to about 25,000 t in the United States, with only one domestic producer. Table 7 Hsts some of the principal film and sheet material manufacturers in the United States.

As the nonwoven fabrics industry has matured and technology has become pubHcly available, emphasis in the various sectors of the industry has changed. In the 1990s, some portions of the nonwovens industry are technology driven, whereas others are market driven. A number of firms are proprietary technology based, and others are turn-key plant operations. Some corporations are commodity roU-goods producers, and others are more oriented to niche market, high value-added products. Many nonwoven produces continue the quest for new markets and more opportunities to compete with textiles, paper, and plastics. 

Whether or not 100% on-time delivery is a requirement of your customers, you won t retain customers for long if you continually fail to meet their delivery requirements, regardless of the quality of the products you supply. It is only in a niche market that you can retain customers with a long waiting list for your products. In competitive markets you need to exceed delivery expectations as well as product quality expectations to retain your market position. 

It is likely that the reliable crude oil supply will not diminish any time soon. Petroleum-derived fuels will remain the primary source of transportation energy for well into the twenty-first century. Producers and refiners have been, and will be, environmentally responsible. The existing infrastructure of advanced product distribution systems can compete with alternative fuels readily. Future fuels will be competitive, both economically and environmentally. New global market conditions will dictate closure of inefficient facilities and investment in new technology. Larger and more efficient operations will survive and will focus on the niche market. ... 

So far the economic feasibility of co-enzyme dependent biocatalyses is confined to relatively small market niches comprising products with high added value. 

One of the unique issues in the development of advanced-performance materials is that they are very product-specific, and their development requires expensive prototype iteration and performance testing. The product development is people- and design-intensive and usually results in a niche market for the material that is, the specific product slate for which the material has been designed and tested. Many of the applications are in high-tech industrial products like aerospace components, so the total volume of material used will be small. Thus, attractive commercialization schemes require that the material have intrinsic value that will justify a high margin, or there must be a product application for which the value can be captured in the end product. 

Diesel production involved a straightforward design. The olefinic distillate from olefin oligomerization was combined with the straight-run HTFT distillate and hydrotreated. The hydrotreated Fischer-Tropsch-derived distillate was blended with the distillate fraction from the natural gas liquids to produce diesel fuel. In 2003 another hydrotreater (noble metal catalyst) was added to the refinery to convert part of the hydrotreated HTFT distillate into low aromatic distillate to serve a niche market.56... 

SNPs), 34, 39, 52, 211, 305. See also SNP entries patenting, 114—116 6-Mercaptopurine, 208-209 Small-niche market, 130 Small population groups, drug production for, 285-286 SNP Consortium, 34, 40, 83, 94,126, 127... 

The various types of fuel cells are at somewhat different stages in the technology cycle the MCFC is ready for market introduction but faces the typical problem of a new technology, i.e., is expensive because of the lack of economies of scale for its production and the lower cost of its technical rivals (engine-driven co-generation and microturbines). From the technical point of view, the phase of euphoria has almost passed for PEMs and SOFCs and further R D activities are necessary for these two types to match the technical performance of their competitors or the necessary cost level for fuel cells to be technologically and economically ripe for the market. Only the DMFC has reached a standard that allows its use in niche markets, like caravans or yachts, despite poor efficiency levels. 

The use of oleochemicals in polymers has a long tradition. One can differentiate between the use as polymer materials, such as linseed oil and soybean oil as drying oils, polymer stabilizers and additives, such as epoxidized soybean oil as plasticizer, and building blocks for polymers, such as dicarboxylic acids for polyesters or polyamides (Table 4.2) [7]. Considering the total market for polymers of ca. 150 million tonnes in 1997 the share of oleochemical based products is relatively small - or, in other terms, the potential for these products is very high. Without doubt there is still a trend in the use of naturally derived materials for polymer applications, especially in niche markets. As an example, the demand for linseed oil for the production of linoleum has increased from 10000 tonnes in 1975 to 50 000 tonnes in 1998 (coming from 120000 tonnes in 1960 ) [8a]. Epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) as a plastic additive has a relatively stable market of ca. 100000 tonnes year-1 [8b]. 

Besides fuel and power production, there is the opportunity of recovering chemicals from pyrolysis liquids (Fig. 7.5). Even if there is a wide range of specialties that can be extracted or derived, including food flavorings, resins, agrochemicals, fertilizers and emissions control agents, this application is likely to lie in niche markets. 

Innovation process Small innovative companies started in the seventies to develop alternative stripping agents. However, up to now these products represent only a niche market. Even though the DCM market declined between 1986 and 2000 in Germany (about 80 %), substitution of DCM was limited to aerosols and adhesives. Also improved emission reduction in industrial plants lowered the consumption of DCM. 

Biopolymers are certainly a product of the future. Their high eco-efficiency in some applications drives the development of these plastics [133]. In some niche markets, their higher production costs resulting from time-consuming purification and less than ideal raw materials can be neglected, but for large-scale applications of several million tons per year and real competitiveness with commodity polymers, new catalytic routes that lead directly to the polymeric material without generation of side-products are necessary. 

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