clipping
10
| Paint&pintura |Abril 2015
IndustryResults
Lookingattheresultsachievedbythechemicaldistribution
industryfor2014,the industrywasnoexceptiontotheove-
rall poorperformance seenbyvariousbusinessactivities
inBrazil. “Therewas anexpectation that theWorldCup
and thepresidential electionscouldgiveabitofboost to
business,but,astimepassed,thoseeventswereperceived
more for their negative effects than otherwise. Wewill
displaygrowth in total revenues, in termsofvalue, just in
excessofBrazil’sGDPgrowth,”Medranosays.
According to Rubens Medrano, economic crises have
alwaysbeenpresent inthebusinessofthedistribution in-
dustry.“Ibelievebynowwehavedevelopedgreatcapacity
toassimilatecrisesasoneofthechallengesofourbusiness
and learnedhow tomanage them.Situations like thiscall
forfastandefficientmanagerialdecisionstowardscreating
conditions thatwill allowcompanies toget throughsuch
turbulentperiodssafelyandsurvive.”
Theyear2015beganwithnegativeprospectsandacertain
discouragement in the business community on account
of current economic conditions. “Any forecastwouldbe
premature at this time.We are going towatch carefully
thenextmovesoftheeconomicauthoritiesandtheircon-
sequences. Thepoliticalmoment isoneof confrontation
between theexecutive, legislativeand judiciarybranches
of government, and that creates a lot of uncertainties in
thebusinesscommunity,”saysMedrano.
Measures
InMedrano’s view, there is no prescription for generic
actionstomitigatethenegativeeffectsofthecrisis.“Each
companyshouldadapttotheserisksituationstaking into
considerationthe leveloftheirbusinessandmanagement
and salesmodels. In times of crisis, it is essential for bu-
siness leaders tokeep their companies in solideconomic
andfinancial conditions.”
Medrano says that themain point of difference a distri-
butor needs to have is vision and capability on the part
of its management personnel, combinedwith effective
corporate governance tomake it an ethical and solid
companybothfinanciallyandeconomically.“Commercially
speaking, it’s importantto identifyandanticipatecustomer
requirements in themarketsoneserves.”
MainActionsbyAssociquim
Associquim’smanagementbodyhassparednoefforts to
preservethe interestsof itsmembers.“Ouractionsconsist
ofeffortsandpermanentcollaborationwith federal, stateand
local authorities, inboth theexecutiveand legislativespheres,
aimedatpreservingthe industry’s legitimate interests.Through
Prodir(ResponsibleDistributionProcess)andthevariouswork
groups instituted at the entitywith effective participation by
member companies, we inform and advise or members on
several thevarious requirementsof the regulationsgoverning
ouractivities. Inaddition,throughsalarynegotiations,wehave
improved and done everything to improve the capital-labor
relationshipwithinour industry,”Medranopointsout.
PigmentDispersions - ExpeditionandEfficiency in
theProcess
Pigment dispersions have become an increasingly viable and
advisablealternativeforpaintcompaniesduetothenumerous
advantages they provide, such as shorter production times,
cleaner,moreefficientprocesses,reduced inventories, lessequi-
pmentuseandeffluentmanagement,andespeciallyexpedition.
Asdemandhas increased forpigmentdispersions, themarket-
placehasevolvedsignificantlyover thepast fewyears.Buying
pigments thatarealreadydispersedand ready tobeadded to
the paint formulation has become a really attractive option
for paint companies,whono longer have toworry about this
process,much lessmakeany investments in it.
Accordingly,technicalrequirementshave increased intermsof
quality consistency andof properties, such as APEO-free and
performancepigment-baseddispersions,accordingtoJoséMar-
cosQualiotto, technicalmanagerofdispersionsandpigments
atBASF for SouthAmerica. “Waterborne systems aregaining
more andmore relevance vis-à-vis solvent-borne systems, al-
though there isasignificantamountof solvent-bornesystems
onthemarket.Pigmentpreparationsfordecorativepaintscan
bedivided into in-plant systems,where tinting isperformed in
thepaintproductionfacilities,and in-cansystems,wheretinting
takesplaceatthestores.There isalsoanothermodelatpoints
ofsale inBrazilthatwecall ‘tubes’,wherepigmentpreparations
are formulatedspecially forapplicationtothepaintbytheend
consumer.”
Milton Yoshio Uehara, technical coordinator of pigments/
coatingsatClariant,warns thatbeforeonecanassessgrowth
and prospects in themarket for pigment preparations, it is
important todeterminewhat theendapplicationwill be. “For
decorativepaints,theuseofwaterbornepigmentpreparations
isnowfirmlyestablishednationwide.Therefore,growth ismore
restricted,basicallykeepingupwiththe industry itself,andthere
isaslighttrendtowardsmoreuseofperformancepigmentpre-
