Global Ceiling Market Boosted by Increased Penetration of Specialty Products

A new Freedonia Group analysis projects global demand for specialty ceiling products to increase 6.0% annually through 2025, outpacing the ceiling market overall. The products with the best prospects are those that provide superior acoustics (clouds) or are more aesthetically pleasing (stretch ceilings).

Robust growth for specialty ceiling products will be driven by increased penetration in all regional markets, as advances in both software design technology and fabrication processes make these products more accessible to a broader base of end users.

Below, we highlight some of these key innovations and how they find use in the global ceiling market.

Parametric Modeling

Parametric modeling – while not a new development – is gaining traction among architects and ceiling manufacturers as software improves. This software allows for the production of “mass customized” ceilings for large nonresidential buildings such as libraries, educational facilities, airports, museums, and hotels.

Last Cutting & Perforation Technology

Laser cutting and perforation technology allow ceiling products – particularly those made of metal – to be customized into unique shapes, designs, and to improve both acoustics and light. While some manufacturers offer standard patterns, others offer unique ones that can change from one panel to the next.

New manufacturing techniques are also increasing the size of ceiling products, such by allowing production of ultra-flat, lightweight honeycomb metal panels and large, custom-sized stretch ceilings.

3D Printing

While limitations to widespread use of 3D printing as a manufacturing process remain, the technology offers great potential for the creation of unique ceiling products and even entire ceiling systems.

Because 3D printing adds material rather than subtracts it, it has the potential to significantly reduce material usage and waste. In turn, less material can lead to weight reduction, as demonstrated by the concrete ceiling ETH Zurich printed for its DFAB House, which is less than half the weight of ceilings made of concrete slabs.

Want to Learn More?

Global Ceilings is now available from the Freedonia Group. This study analyzes global ceiling demand by product and market. Historical data are provided for 2010, 2015, and 2020, and forecasts are presented for 2025 and 2030 in US dollars.

Demand for ceilings is segmented into the following product types:

• ceiling tiles, which are also known as ceiling panels (mineral fiber, including mineral wool and fiberglass; metal; wood, vinyl-faced gypsum, and other materials, including vinyl and polystyrene)
• suspension systems (aluminum, steel, and other materials, including vinyl)
• specialty ceilings (baffles, clouds, stretch ceilings, and other specialty ceiling products, including ceiling islands, ceiling planks, and open cell ceilings)

The major ceiling markets analyzed are:

• residential buildings (single-family houses, multifamily structures, manufactured housing)
• nonresidential buildings (offices, retail and wholesale, and lodging buildings; institutional buildings; industrial buildings; transportation buildings; other commercial buildings such as civic centers and recreational facilities)