Basic HTML Version
clipping
Paint&pintura | Outubro 2013
10
erties. “Monomers provide several benefits to the end
product, such as reducing the amount of additives used
in the formulation, so much so that their concentration
in coating formulation is often higher than that of oligo-
mers. However, the situation in the world economy has
affected the market for monomers. Great difficulties are
still caused by price fluctuations for monomers because,
as we know, the main raw material for monomers is
acrylic acid, the price for which is always changing and
requiring suppliers of UV monomers to cope with the
instability,” says Érica de Souza, a senior member of IGM
Quiminutri’s technical sales support team.
Despite the downturn in the economy, the monomer
market still displays development and growth. The
consumption of monomers and other materials used in
the production of paints and coatings shows an upward
trend, thanks especially to building and construction,
which still has great potential for growth given the
existing housing deficit, governmental incentives and
the construction projects related to the upcoming in-
ternational sporting events. “There’s no denying that
the world crisis has affected the economies of several
countries, including Brazil. The raw materials used by
paint and other manufacturers are subject to fluctuations
in prices, foreign exchange rates and the global supply
and demand. As a result, they are affected by the world’s
uncertainties. However, there are good prospects for the
domestic market, and we believe that our results will be
better by the end of the year, although the figures may
not be so good as those recorded for last year,” predicts
FlávioMartins, businessmanager, Peformance Polymers,
South and Central Americas.
Concerning acrylicmonomers specifically, there has been
a slight decrease in business in 2013. “In addition to the
impact of the current economic environment, there are
three other basic reasons for this, namely, the fall in
volume of paints produced, as announced by Abrafati
(short for Brazilian Association of Paint Manufacturers),
the replacement of certain raw materials on account of
costs, and the increase in sales of standard paints, at the
expense of premiumproducts (standard paints consume
less resin and, as result, less acrylic). In a nutshell, the situa-
tion in today’s world economy has substantially affected our
margins on acrylic monomers. There’s a greater supply of
productsmade in the US and especially in Asia, and that exerts
downward pressure on local prices. This economy also leads
consumers to choose economy paints and resinmanufacturers
to seek less costly alternatives,” says BASF’s sales specialist
Domingos Faria.
According toVictor LuisMaluf Amarilla, technical andmarketing
director at Kalium, all of the monomers used by coating resin
manufacturers, i.e. butyl acrylate, 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate, ethyl ac-
rylate, styrene andbutadiene, including the reactivemonomers
TMPTA, TPGDA, HDDAandalkyl glycidyl ether andother specific
items, amount to approximately 280,000 tons. “The consump-
tion of monomers will rise slightly in volume compared to last
year. Anti-dumping suits and the appreciation of the foreign
exchange ratewill not allowprices to fall fromthe level they’ve
reached due to the recession in Europe, or the weak recover of
the US economy and the economic growth in China, which has
not been as rapid as needed by the world economy, to spill on
our prices for raw materials and end products. Development
has been held hostage by the lack of confidence in the local and
world markets, hence the slow economic growth.”
Amarilla also says that the international and domestic macro-
economic situation is considerably affecting the paint industry.
“We see lack of confidence in future markets in our economy,
and no economy can withstand such lack. The manipulation
of our domestic and foreign accounts translates to a financial
make-up that is not accepted by those who control domestic
and foreign capitals. Accordingly, the indicators on which
opinions are based suggest that growth won’t be as rapid as
necessary for the investments being made in the country to
reverse the trend towards a stagnant economy. Inflation, an
upset trade balance, falling prices for the commodities we
export and billions of dollars worth of excess capital moving
from one country to another without any regulation, thereby
destabilizing economies and forcing capitals to flow into safer
places, meaning developed economies,” he explains.
Partnerships - Without Borders
Quimicraft broadens horizons and creates opportunities for