The thermoforming market offers all the conditions needed to leverage the positive effects of an asset sharing model for both the customer and supplier sides. What these benefits are, and how the thermoforming industry can generally benefit from shared assets, can be read in the article.
Sarah Guaglianone
Updated on June 2, 2026
Asset sharing is a business model in which multiple parties access the same pool of resources. These can be vehicles, tools, production facilities or even expertise. Unlike purchasing, the resource is only used for the required time, whereby costs, use and responsibility are shared.
Digital platforms form the link between providers and users, facilitate communication and ensure smooth processing.
The prerequisites for sharing models lie on the technological side in the networking of production and, on the market side, in various developments of recent years.
Covid19 and the war in Ukraine have changed the economic framework conditions in Germany. The fact that the preceding boom years are over is evident in various characteristics:
Furthermore, capacity utilization in chemistry and in manufacturing has fallen, with a simultaneous increase in insolvencies. The Ukraine war, Covid19 and the recessionary market environment have fundamentally had a negative effect on production utilization and order intake.
Digital transformation requires investments in the digital transformation of production - primarily in networking and digital control. It is evident that many German and European companies are still relatively at the beginning here. The transformation towards Industry 4.0, which was so euphorically initiated in 2012, is therefore far from complete.
It is therefore necessary to support suppliers via asset sharing in their ongoing production utilization, especially in marketing and sales, so that they can better cushion current risks and focus on the challenges of digitizing their shop floor.
As part of the manufacturing industry, the thermoforming market is affected by the general developments mentioned above. In addition, there are other prerequisites which specifically in plastic thermoforming provide an optimal starting position for profitable asset sharing models. An asset sharing model in the thermoforming market solves the following market-characteristic problems in thermoforming:
The thermoforming market is highly fragmented due to a multitude of manufacturing options, tool techniques and machine types. Most manufacturers specialize in one or a few processes in order to be able to produce economically. This makes it difficult for customers to maintain an overview in thermoformed part procurement.
The fragmentation goes hand in hand with high non-transparency on the customer side. The thermoforming industry encompasses a wide range of products, such as
Each product type has different requirements:
This leads to a multitude of product variants that must be individually calculated and offered.
Thermoformed parts are also used in various end markets, including food and beverage packaging, medical technology, automotive industry, electronics and more. Each end market has its own requirements, regulations and quality standards. The demands can therefore differ depending on the target market and customer segment.
Due to the different product variants, requirements and end markets, there can be a certain non-transparency in the thermoforming market, as this diversity requires individual offers. This can make the comparability of offers and the assessment of market prices more difficult.
Due to the non-transparency, the thermoforming market cannot optimally utilize the available assets. This leads to structural excess capacity. The existing production capacities exceed the actual demand for thermoformable products. Therefore, there is more capacity for manufacturing or providing thermoformed parts than is actually needed.
...which arise primarily through more efficient digital processes such as our configurator, tray generator, DfM analysis and the matching of the optimal supplier to the request. For the supplier side, both fluctuating and underutilized order situations can thus lead to better production planning. Asset sharing therefore offers many advantages.
formary has simplified the processing of requests and orders with its digital B2B platform for thermoformed parts. On our website you will find important information at a glance:
In our content formats such as the newsletter, design guide, white papers and our blog posts, there is more information about thermoforming. We educate about the possibilities of thermoforming and relate asset sharing not only to networking but also to the transfer of knowledge.
Platforms like formary leverage Asset Sharing mechanisms to address the challenges of the thermoforming industry, such as digital transformation in manufacturing, recessive market trends, and structural overcapacity. Both customers and suppliers benefit from the advantages brought by sharing mechanisms, allowing both sides to collaborate more efficiently.
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With asset sharing, the resource is shared, not permanently transferred. Both parties retain access and flexibility.