CLIPPING
in Brazil is gradual and ongoing, following the trend coming
frommoredevelopedcountries.“Investment instate-of-the-art
technologies,molds andmachinery have resulted in versatile
packagingmaterialswhoseshapes(especiallyrectangularpails),
colors,and labeland lidprintshaveearnedconsumerconfidence
andpreferencenotonly inthebuildingandconstruction indus-
try,butalsoamongendconsumers.”
According to Paulo Bernardes, regional sales manager at
Fribrasa, the Brazilian paint and coatings industry still sells
something intheneighborhoodof20percentoftheirproduc-
tion inplasticcontainers.“In the internationalmarket,plastic
packagingmaterialshaveacomfortable leadovermetalones.
Not only has the consumption of plastic pails been grow-
ing, the prospects are for evenmore growth over the next
few years, especially on the back of the innovations being
introduced in plastics and their greater competitiveness by
comparison to steel cans.”
SILICAS -NEWSUSTAINABLETECHNOLOGIES
Used invarioustypesofcoatings,silicasplayanextremely impor-
tant role in improvingseveral properties inpaintsandcoatings,
and themost important innovations in this rawmaterial
followthetrendtowardssustainablesolutions.
Amidongoingdevelopment, themarket insilicas isspread
all around theglobe, especially inEurope,NorthAmerica,
CentralAmericaandSouthAmerica.Thisisbecausetheyplay
rather importantrole intheformulationofpaintsandcoat-
ings.“Silicasprovideanumberofbenefits, thehighlightof
whichbeingtheirabilitytomodifyrheologyandpromoting
thixotropy, to improve thepaint’sadhesion to theprimer
orbasecoat,todeliverasoft-touchfinish,toadjustaglossy
ormatteeffecttotherequired level, topreventsagging in
verticalapplications,andto increaseresistancetoabrasion
and corrosion,” remarks ThalitaBacci, coordinator of the
Aerosil lineofsilicas(Aeroxide,Aerodisp)andtheAcematt
lineofmattingagentsfromEvonik inBrazil.Thalitaexplains
that silicas are also functional ingredientswell-suited for
producingaseveralkindsofpaintsandcoatingsaccording
tospecificrequirements.“Inpowdercoatings,forexample,
silicas act as flow aids and stabilizers, thereby extending
durability in finished products. Silicas feature themajor
advantageofbeingflexible,astheycanbeused inall types
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