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PAINT & PINTURA
Março 2012
7
2nd quarter of 2011, keeping pace with the performance of the paint and plastic
industries. “According to data provided by Abrafati, the production of decorative
paints, for example, showed a disappointing increase of 1 percent over 2010, will
that of industrial coatings rose 3 to 4 percent. The growth in imports of finished
goods from Asia also affected the paint value chain, as in the automotive coatings
segment, where the demand remained strong, but the share of imported vehicles
increased. The lower pace of governmental investment in economic growth accele-
ration programs also affected the market as a whole.”
A both positive and interesting factor is that as the demand weakens in Europe
and the US, pigment suppliers are redirecting their strategies at emerging markets,
especially in Brazil and other Latin American countries, which benefited from
an expedited supply in 2011. “Following a tough period in terms of availability of
pigments in general, a significant improvement can now be observed in the supply
and shipments to Brazil. The pigment market in general is expected to gain 3 to 5
percent in 2012, provided that the world crisis doesn’t get more serious,” Raicher
anticipates.
Notwithstanding the difficulties experienced by the countries in the Euro area and
all concerns about their possible developments, the Brazilian market remains on
the path of growth, yet at a slower pace, and that reflects in the positive demand
in late 2011 and early 2012. “In 2011, the slowdown in family consumption, one of
the main factors having a negative impact on the GDP, wound up slowing down the
industry as well. However, an upturn could be perceived as early as the fourth quar-
ter, and we have positive expectations for 2012. Building and construction remains
on the rise, and major infrastructure projects required for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
and the 2016 Olympic Games are about to be kicked off,” says Givanildo Ferreira,
Lanxess’ sales manager for South America.
Emulsions - Sustainability on the Rise
The emulsion market showed a positive performance last year and has excellent
growth prospects for 2012, which will boost the renovation business and new sus-
tainable technologies.
Brazil has a firmly established emulsion market that has been showing significant
growth rates, despite the slight impact of the international economic crisis which
hit it in 2011. “We were more influenced by the flow of raw materials, but since
country’s paint production is largely driven by domestic factors, the market had a
positive performance. However, uncertainties still exist about the future demand,
and the main reflection of that is a reduction in inventory levels. An aggravation
of the crisis in 2012 could impact the Brazilian market, but the prospects are bright
concerning the consumption in the domestic market,” says Reginaldo Cassiano, ma-
nager of BASF’s construction adhesives and dispersions division for South America.
Cassiano expects growth in the paint market for 2012 and, as a result, also in the
emulsion market, particularly given the current economic situation, with easier
credit, tax cuts for construction materials and heavy governmental investment.
According to Pablo Cadavid, emulsions manager for Brazil and global product
manager at Clariant, there was a drop in the demand for consumer goods all over
the world, and a slowdown in the emulsion business in Brazil. “In the international
market, there was a general decrease in the demand for emulsions from the paint
and construction segments. In Brazil, however, the demand from the paint segment
was stable last year compared to 2010, and
even increased for chemicals used in the cons-
truction industry. We can say that there was no
considerable decrease in production volume in
Brazil last year. But the market put heavy pres-
sure for price maintenance in order to prevent
consumption losses. As a result, gross margins
plummeted for both emulsion and paint manu-
facturers.”
Cadavid also says that, on the other hand,
there were steep cost increases for important
raw materials, such as acrylates, styrene and
VAM, leading to considerable price increases
for some emulsions. “Specialists anticipate that,
for acrylates, the behavior will stick around for
three more years due to the high demand for
acrylic acid, the main raw material. This raw
material is being used in the superabsorbent
products, the consumption of which has been
booming in Asian countries like China and
India.”
In the eyes of Romeu Pereira Filho, Celanese