CLIPPING
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| PAINT&PINTURA |Novembro2016
facingustodayintheBrazilianmarketarethehighcostofthesepigments
andtherecession,ascustomersplanondevelopingneweffects,butend
upusingsomewhat inferioronesbecauseendconsumersdon’tseemto
beabletoaffordthehigherpricesthatcomewithquality.”
A lotofthingsgoon intheBrazilianmarketbetweenthe introductionof
finish innovationsand theneed for simplebut creativeeffect solutions,
according toColormixCEOCarlos FernandodeAbreu. “In the various
marketswherecoatingsarepresent,wearelookingatastronginfluenceof
effectpigments,whethermetallicorpearlescent.TheBrazilianCommittee
onColors,a leadinggroupofprofessionalsresponsibleforsettingtrends,
ledbyexpertElisabethWey, hasdevelopeda trendchart for 2017/2018
filledwithmetallicand/orpearlescenteffectcolors. Inthetraditionalau-
tomotivesegment,metallicand/orpearlescentandoptical interference
effectsremain in increasinglyhighdemand,andthathasbeenextending
toother segments, such as powder coatings, decorativepaints,wood
finishes, packagingandprinting inks,whichareparticularlydemanding
when itcomes to innovativeeffects,andalsopaints forplastics, textiles
andcertain industrialpurposes.”
EMULSIONS -SUSTAINABILITYONTHERISE
Ofgreat importance toseveral segments, emulsionshave followed the
trendtowardsinnovationbydevelopingproductsthataremoresustaina-
ble,butdeliverthesameorevenbetterpropertiestopaints.
A very competitive, dynamic industry segment that is constantlydeve-
lopingquality performanceproducts, emulsion suppliers are currently
committedtodevelopingsolutionsthatwill improvecost-benefitratios,
whilebeingenvironmentally friendlier. “Ifweconsider thatBrazil ranks
sixth intheworld,accordingto informationpublishedatFeitintas2016, in
paintproduction,andthatdecorativepaintsareapproximately75percent
ofitsoutput,thenwe’llrealizethatemulsionscoverthatsegmententirely,
whereconsumershavebeenincreasinglydemandingintermsofquality,”
saysIsogramasalesmanagerFabianaPadilha.
AccordingtoLubrizol salesmanagerReinaldoSampaio, inspiteofacur-
rentlyweekeconomy, somepaintmanufacturesareshowingoptimism
and investing in the industry. “Emulsion suppliers arebadhurt by this
recession, as theydirectlydependon volume togenerate income. Ho-
wever,there’sroomfor innovation,andrecessionsalsocallforreflection
andpreparationforareversal intheeconomicenvironment.Aswetryto
reducecosts,thatmaybeanopportunityto lookatnewtechnologies,at
high-yield,high-durabilityproducts,butalwayskeepinguptheminimum
properties requiredby the industry-specific quality program. Amajor
challenge iskeepingtechnologyanally intheseefforts,asLubrizoldoes,
always demonstrating that high-performanceproducts can alsobring
aboutgreatsavings.”
Themarketforacrylicemulsions isavastanddiverseoneduetothewide
varietyof segmentswhere they canbeused. Those segments include
decorative, industrial andautomotive coatings,waterproofing systems
andmortars,textilesandothers,accordingtochemicalengineerGraziela
Pandolfo,ofWTech.“Asvastasthismarketis,itstillhasalottogrow.With
the trend towards replacing solvent-basedproducts, a reality that’s still
verypresent inBrazil, theacrylicemulsionmarkettendstodevelopboth
commercially,with increased sales volumes, and technologically,
aspartofthesearchfornewsolutions.WTechhasbeensupplying
acrylicemulsionssince2003,andwe focusonthemarket indeco-
rativeandelastomericwaterproofingcoatings.”
COLORIMETRY - INSEARCHOFPERFECTION INCOLOR
Equipment ranging from the simplest instruments to themost
sophisticatedofdevicesassistsinqualitycontrolandnewcolordeve-
lopment.Accordingly,thecolorimetryindustryisnotjustwidespread
inBrazil, it isalsoontherise.
Colorimetry iscurrentlyarecognizedtechnology inBrazil.Awareof
theimportanceofcolorqualityintheirproductsandbusiness,several
industrysegmentshaveimplementeditintheirprocesses,according
toRenéGuiraldo,businessdirectoratX-RiteBrazil.“However,there
arealsocertainsegmentsthathaveyettorealizethebenefitsofusing
colorimetry,astheyonlytakeintoaccountthecostofimplementing
it, andnot thebenefitand return that the technologyprovides.A
majorbarrierthatstillstandsaccordingtoequipmentmanufacturers
is ignoranceof the fact that theassessment through instruments
complementsthevisualassessment.Visualassessmentstillislargely
usedastheonlywayofensuringanefficientcolorcommunication
acrosstheentiresupplychain.”
Guiraldo also says that the paint and coatings industry is really
consciousofthe importanceofthistechnology,andmanyarethe
domesticmanufacturersthatalreadyhavesomekindofinstrument-
-basedcolorcontrolprocessinplace.“Thisisasectorwhereyoucan
find several companies using theappropriate instrumentation to
meettheirneeds,aswellasothersthateitherstillhaven’tsucceeded
inimplementingasystemorhaveimplementedonetoareasonable
degree. In the coatings industry, ineverything from rawmaterial
quality control to color development and toendproduct quality
control, colorimetry ismost importantnotonly forproducingand
managinga largeamountofpaintcolors,butalsoduetotherepe-
atability it imparts to theprocess. Pigmentsareknown tobe the
mostexpensive ingredients ina formulation,whilemanufacturers
seekalternativesall the timewithaview to reducingcosts,which
iseasilyachievewhenyouusecolor control technology, but very
hard and costly for companies that still haven’t realized that the
cost of apigment is basedon its priceper kilogram, rather than
itsyield.Amoreexpensivepigment isoftensobecause itdelivers
muchhigheryieldsand,asaresult, reducescostsattheendofthe
process.Rework,metamerism,waste,rejectionsanddelaysarevery
costlytothe industry,andyoucan’tsolvethoseproblemswithout
investing incolorimetry.”
AccordingtoRicardoLovetro,managingdirectoratDatacolorBrazil,
colorimetry is currentlywidespread inBrazil. “It’s already viewed
asanecessity in theBraziliancoatingsmarketdue to the results it
deliversintermofbothqualitycontrolandthedevelopmentofnew
productsandcolors.SomeDatacolorcustomersgoasfarastopoint
outatour labs, ‘all aneed isoneDatacolordevice toproduceand
controlanycolor’.”
