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| PAINT&PINTURA | Setembro2015
ImprovementOpportunitiesandHowtoAddressThem.”
The forumwas closed by the lecture “The Evolution of
Values intheCoatingsMarketandGrowthOpportunities,”
providedby FranciscoRácz, co-owner of consultingfirm
Rácz, Yamaga& Consultores Associados, with 40 years’
experience inall paint, coatings and related segments in
Latin America. He presented a quantitative overview of
thepaintandcoatingsmarketfor2014andprojectionsfor
2020, aswell asamarketperceptionanalysis concerning
producersandtheirvalues inkeymarketsegmentsofthe
paintmarket inBrazil, suchasagrowthproposal.
EXPERTS PROVIDE OVERVIEW OF THE COATINGS
INDUSTRYATTHE 10
TH
ABRAFATI FORUM
August26sawtheBrazilianAssociationofPaintManufac-
turers(knownforshort inPortugueseasAbrafati)holdthe
tentheditionof theAbrafati Coatings Industry Forumat
ClubTransatlântico, inSãoPaulo.
The forumwasopenedbyAbrafati’sexecutivepresident
DilsonFerreira,who stressed the toughperiod thecoun-
try is going through, especially as regards its economic
variables, political uncertainties, andwhat the futurehas
instore.“Butwecannotforgetto lookonthebrightside.
Oneexample istheeffortsbeingundertakenbytheFede-
ral Police and the judiciary toward restoring the country
to legality and thus causing the laws tobeenforced in a
democratic fashion.Thatgivesusthevisionandcertainty
thatthe imageBrazilhasbeenprojecting internationallyon
accountofthecorruptiongoingon isan imageof isolated
segments,andnotan imageof theBrazilianpeople,busi-
nessmenandallofus.Thisallowsusto lookfurtherahead.”
Abrafati’s executive president alsopointedout that the
associationcancontribute to improvingbusinessand the
supply chain at this time. “We canmake things better.
At Abrafati,we can carryonwithour programs, such as
this forum,whichcontributes information,Abrafati 2015,
with informationonproductsand technologies,bringing
together suppliers and manufacturers and creating a
business-boostingenvironment,andthe Industry-Specific
QualityProgram,which iswellestablishednowandhas led
toexcellent results.”
The first lecture at the forum, entitled “Prospects for
the Brazilian Economy”, was delivered by economist
Mailson da Nóbrega, former Minister of Finance. Nó-
brega said that the situation isgraveandwill getworse
beforethetransitiontoagrowingeconomy iscompleted.
“Nevertheless, the economy tends to react. People in
our countryhavebeengrowingoverlypessimistic about the
economy, thinking it’s falling in abottomless pit, but it isn’t,
asBrazil’sprivate sector,with its vigor andability to react, is
going to start reacting. Therewill be nothing extraordinary
about, butBrazil isgoing to comeoutof the recession intoa
stagnationenvironment. That is still bad, butbetter than the
country remaining in the current situation. And Brazil is not
at risk of turning into Venezuela or Argentina, for example.
What sets Brazil apart from these countries is essentially its
setof solid institutions.”
According to the economist’s projections, the GDPwill lose
2.3 percent for 2015 and gain 0.1 percent for next year. “The
9.6-percent inflation for this yearwill godown to5.4percent
for 2016,whereas theexpected interest rateof 14.25percent
willbe loweredto12percentnextyear.TheUSdollarshouldbe
atR$3.50at thecloseof 2015, and then rise toR$3.65 in2016.
Theseforecastsareforascenariowherethe investmentgrade
isnot lost,”Nóbregaanticipates.
Next cameEduardoMayZaidan, vicepresident of SindusCon-
-SP, withhis lecture “Prospects for Building&Construction.”
Abrafati’s Management Boardmember Claudio Elias Conz,
who isalsoexecutivepresidentof theNational Associationof
BuildingMaterial Retailers (known for short inPortuguese as
Anamaco), talked about building and construction from the
retailers’ viewpoint.
The forum also included the panel “Challenges in the Paint
Industry”, conducted by João Roberto de Moura Benites,
ManagementBoardmember atAbrafati andvicepresidentat
TheValspar Corporation, JaimeDal Farra, businessdirector at
Resicolor,andDouverGomesMartinho,AbrafatiManagement
BoardmemberandchiefexecutiveofficeratUniversoTintase
Vernizes,plusDilsonFerreira, asmediator.
The forumwas closed by Antonio Carlos Lacerda, chairman
of Abrafati’sManagement Boardand senior vicepresident of
functional materials and solutions, automotive and construc-
tionatBASFforSouthAmerica,whotalkedaboutthecoatings
market and the short- andmid-term impactsof theeconomic
crisis. “Concerning the economy, the projection for the next
12months is thatourGDPwill fall 2.1percent for thisyear and
remainstable,at0percent,for2016.Asformarketforecastsfor
this year, decorative coatings areexpected to lose4percent,
automotive coatings to drop 20 percent, refinish coating to
stayat0percent, and industrial coatings to lose3percent. For
nextyear, themarketshoulddisplaysome improvement,with
decorativepaintsstableat0percent,automotivecoatingsup2
percent, refinishcoatingsup3percent, and industrial coatings
stableat0percent.”
