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| Paint&pintura | Jan/Fev 2014
market is very spread out and suffers from delays in the
maintenance of industrial facilities due to the slow growth
of Brazil’s manufacturing sector. Much of the machinery is
currently imported. The market for maritime and protective
coatings is growing thanks to the increase in infrastructural
investments. The year comes to a closewith the paint industry
as whole displaying growth of approximately 2 percent. If we
are to take into account the IPCA (consumer price index) for
paints and coatings, which is at 6 percent, the increase in sales
may hit 8 to 10 percent in Brazilian currency.”
Antônio Carlos Lacerda also commented on the forecasts for
2014. “The year 2014will have a really slow start. Sales will pick
up after carnival. There will be strong growth until the month
of June. Everybody will be preparing their homes to have their
friends over and watch the games. Then, the industry will be
affected by a large number of holidays and downtimes. Retail-
ers will see crowds typical of holidays at their shops on game
days, whichmeans they can expect increased sales during the
World Cup, and then sales will grow further after the event.
According to Lacerda, the market for decorative paints will
grow around 2 to 3 percent. The production of motor vehicles
should increase by 1 to 2 percent at best, given the limitation
on credit and the substantial growth experienced by auto
makers in 2013. “In other words, it’s a challenging scenario,
but it won’t be different than the past few years. Neverthe-
less, even though I think 2014 will be a year of ups and downs,
it won’t be worse than 2013. In a nutshell, we should further
strengthen our commitment to improve our efficiency and
productivity, so that we can cope with the challenges facing
the marketplace,” he said.
During the event, Abrafati’s chief executive officer Dilson
Ferreira also gave a speech on the key role played by the as-
sociation he leads in preserving the industry’s best interests.
“We’ve made significant advances with Abrafati’s programs,
such as the Industry-Specific Quality Program, the Abrafati
Congress andExhibition, and theProfessional Painter Program,
and our major challenge now is to implement solid waste
reduction initiatives.”
The evening of December 11 was also marked by a tribute to
two important professionals in the paint industry: Mark Pitt,
president of Sherwin-Williams; and Jorge Fazenda, technical
advisor to Abrafati. The two of them are now retired, but only
after making great contributions to the industry
Themembers of the Scientific Committee for the 13th Interna-
tional Paint Congress also received recognition fromAbrafati.
Selected for their technical expertise and reputation in the
paint supply chain, these professionals of great renown were
honored for the key role they played in ensuring the
very high quality displayed by the congress and the very
consistent overview of the industry’s innovations and
trends that it provided.
35th Edition of Cabot Plus
On December 2, Cabot held the 35th edition of its tradi-
tional event Cabot Plus, designed to cement the com-
pany’s relationships with customers and other stra-
tegic partners in South America. The event was held
at Museu Brasileiro de Escultura (Brazilian Museum
of Sculpture, known for short as Mube). “Cabot Plus
was created in 1998 in the spirit of giving our partners
some time off their busy lives and an experience they
can be pleased to remember. It’s also a time to see old
friends and meet new ones, enjoy their company and
basically unwind,” said Cabot’s president Chang Sih.
Since he was on a visit to Brazil on the occasion, Cabot
Corporation’s executive vice president Dave Miller
took the opportunity to get to know customers and
partners during the event.
For this year’s edition, in conjunction with Instituto
Victor Brecheret, Cabot sponsored the launch of the
book “Descobrindo São Paulo com Brecheret”, by
Renata Sant’Anna. The book is an invitation for every-
body to take a tour of the city of São Paulo and see
the beautiful works of art which are on display on its
streets, avenues, squares, parks, museums, cultural
institutions and even some of the most unexpected
places, such as cemeteries, and which are now part of
the city’s own identity.
As a result, the event was also a lovely tribute to the
life and work of Brecheret. In addition, guests were
able to enjoy a concert featuring classical and popular
music by Brazilian composers of all time, as well as
some Italian and French music, alluding to the period
when Brecheret lived in Italy and France. The concert
included a special number by the Cabot Choir, which
sang tunes that celebrate São Paulo, the city where Vic-
tor Brecheret eventually chose to live. As the show pro-
gram played out, the audiences were presented with
funny and interesting facts of Brecheret’s life, such as
when the statue of the Duke of Caxias was ready to be
placed in position at Princesa Isabel square, where it
has been on display ever since, the then-state governor
Adhemar de Barros and the School of Arts and Crafts
set up a banquet for 40 people inside the horse.
