in Europe and the United States, for example. In several
Latin American countries, plastic buckets also have a
large share than cans. This trend is believed to be about
to consolidate in the Brazilian market, although cans
still have a larger share in the paints sold in Brazil,” says
Paulo Bernardes, regional sales manager at Fribrasa.
In a market analysis, Bomix’s marketing manager Sergio
Weiss says that plastic packaging materials have been
often questioned on environmental matters, but that is
mostly wrong. “The increase in consumption of plastic
packaging materials is stable and demonstrates the trust
of the industry and consumers. Because it is a relatively
new industry, innovation is rather frequent in plastic
packaging materials and often surprise consumers and
companies seeking efficient solutions to their logistic,
consumption, cost and other problems. New molds, new
machines and new resins enable applications to be ex-
panded more and more, and Bomix is a precursor of this
process.”
Plastic packaging materials are slowly getting into the
most varied of applications, from primers, paints and
varnishes to paint removers, degreasers, water-repellent
coatings and other products. “In spite of the strong
appeal of metallic packaging materials due to their
recyclability, plastic packaging materials are more com-
petitive economically when losses due to dents and rust
on their base are considered, which are primary factors
in the search for technical and economic solutions with
plastics. Also favorable is the cost of freight insurance,”
says Enilton Nunes, technical director at Fada Plásticos.
Still in a timid fashion, companies in the paint industry
are starting to demystify plastic packaging materials,
following their successful use in the North and Northe-
ast regions. “In those regions, consumers not only appro-
ve, but also prefer plastic packaging materials for paints.
It’s a cultural question indicating that plastic buckets
will have a greater share from now on, as it happens in
other countries around the world. In terms of growth,
the consumption of plastic packaging materials has been
slightly larger than that of metallic ones; 2010 was a
very good year thanks to the great paint consumption
in Brazil, taken as a whole, which gained around 10 per-
cent. We also notice that the great consumer acceptance
of plastic buckets has begun to lead industrial customers
to consider this option more seriously, expanding the
range of products packed in plastic containers. What we
see is that in all cases where this has occurred, the suc-
cess in sales has been absolute,” says Bomix’s Weiss.
Industry in the Spotlight - Chemical essence
Khemeia serves customers in the paint and coatings,
textile, leather, cleaning, hygiene and waste treatment
industry, and is soon to break into mining. For the paint
and coatings industry, the company emphasizes its line
of urethane thickeners with excellent properties when
used in paint formulations, providing greater hiding
power, leveling during application, and improved wa-
shability. “In Brazil today, Khemeia stands out for being
the first chemical company to produce and market this
kind of 100-percent urethane-based rheology modifier
and thickener. In addition, this thickener is well-suited
for a specific line of paints, which we call premium
paints, because it delivers optimal finish properties upon
application,” remarks Mauro Meda, of Khemeia’s product