The market for sprayed concrete is set to increase by over £1.75bn between 2020 and 2024, according to a market report published by Technavio.
According to Technavio, as reported by Business Wire, the shotcrete sprayed concrete market is set for a compound annual growth rate of nearly 6%, reflecting a surge in the number of uses for the technology.
This equates to a $2.37bn (£1.77bn) boost to the sprayed concrete industry over the next four years, showing continued health for the market despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the market as a whole.
The key driver for a remarkable level of growth is the increase in the number of applications of shotcrete technology.
Sprayed concrete or shotcrete allows for fast-acting concrete repair, allowing for exceptionally fast application and setting compared to hand-applied or poured concrete. This can be used as a dry mix, for quick setting fixes for small areas, as well as a wet mix for larger projects and repairs.
Shotcrete has several growing usage areas, including not only repairs but bonding overlays, stabilisation, fire protection, waterproofing, underwater construction, water retaining structures and protective coatings. The shotcrete market’s continued growth will depend heavily on the continued growth of uses for the technology.
There are a few potential complications that might affect these positive growth numbers. The first is a lot of the growth here will depend on the health of the overall construction market in the wake of the current circumstances.
Due in part to lockdown measures, the construction industry shrunk by almost half from February to May this year. Whilst the industry has started to recover on the back of significant infrastructure projects and encouragement of home buyers by the government, there is still a significant level of uncertainty for the construction industry as a whole.
It is also unknown how much of a domino effect an increasing amount of staff working from home will have on retail and office spaces in the medium and long term.
Another complication that has been seen is that the market has concentrated in favour of a small number of giant sprayed concrete equipment and material manufacturers.
The effect of this concentrated level of control by the major players in the shotcrete industry is another question mark in the medium to long term future for the industry.
The biggest potential caveat to the positive growth forecasts, however, is the availability of skilled specialist shotcrete equipment operators.
With the current circumstances affecting how construction businesses operate, including the use of social distanced sites and an increased focus on infection control, choosing a specialist provider with Covid-safe working practices and a membership to The Concrete Society will be exceptionally beneficial.
2020 has provided no end of surprises to the construction industry, with a huge effect in March that is still having ramifications into September.
The Technavio report confirms, however, that there is a significant market for effective, proven technologically driven solutions in construction, and given that the boost of one part of the construction market inevitably affects others, this provides some level of optimism going into 2021 for companies working on large construction projects.
