Revista Paint & Pintura - Edição 240

CLIPPING 6 | PAINT&PINTURA | Jan/Fev 2019 INTERVIEW - SOLVAY ANNOUNCES INVESTMENTS WITH SUSTAINABLE SOLVENTS IN FOCUS Solvay has several ongoing investment plans for the sustainable solvent business and an ambitious growth target for 2019. Having recently announced R$ 150 million worth of investments to be made into the oxygenated solvents business, Solvay is going to appropriate part of the funds to the expansion of its new Augeo sustainable solvent plant, which has just been offi- cially opened and demonstrates the company’s commitment to “green chemistry”. In addition, another part of its investments is going to capacity expansions for non-toxic solvents that deliver enhanced performance. Solvay is also investing in a wide-ranging process of digitally transforming its solvent operations, adhering to virtual reality INDUSTRY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 2019 SCENARIO Our first issue of the year brings you a rather bright and hopeful outlook for the manufacturing sector across the board in Brazil, including the paint and coatings industry. The highlights of the industry beginwith our special article announcing the companies that made it as finalists for the 2nd Paint & Pintura Regional Awards, North & Northeast, which is taking place on March 15 at Arcádia Recepções, in Recife, Pernambuco. The country’s North andNortheast regions have gained great relevance in the paint in- dustry over the past fewdecades and deserve full recognition for the advances and countless investments they havemade thus far. Phase one of the survey conducted to determine the winners of these awards began on November 12 and ended on December 20, 2018. The companies to be honored as Best Suppliers of raw materials number 16, while one manufacturer will be honored as Best Paint Company, as will five individuals who stood out in 2018. To find out who the winners were in this the Personality of the Year categories, phase two of the survey was conducted, allowing respondents to vote until January 18. Check out the list of finalists on the coming pages. As we did last year, before presenting the awards, Agnelo Edi- tora is going to hold on March 14 and 15 its 40th Paint & Pintura Coatings Technology andManagement Forumand Exhibition for the Northeast Region at Radisson Hotel Recife, in the namesake city of Recife, Pernambuco. A new format has been developed for this edition, as it will comprise not only lectures, but also an exhibit space in which to receive visitors. Also a new feature are panels with CEOs and key technical leaders whowill be discussing the technologies and products that are going to dictate market trends over the next several years. You can find in this issue the full schedule of lectures. As for optimism, amid the 2018 year-end events held by the industry’s key associations, expectations were positive and there was an overall bright outlook for 2019. At ABRAFATI’s traditional year-end dinner party, which took place on December 4 at Clube Atlético Monte Líbano, in São Paulo, Freddy Carrillo, chairman of the Board of Directors, provided his outlook for this year, stressing a more favorable scenario and forecasting 2.5-percent GDP growth, as well as growth in the paint industry at a rate of 2.5 to 3.0 percent. Likewise, Associquim-Sincoquim held its year-end dinner party with the distribution industry, which took place on December 6 at Buffet França, in São Paulo. Over dinner, President Rubens Medrano said that 2019was going to be a year of significant chan- ges and challenges. “We are shifting froman outdated version of the presidential system into a new government that proposes to bring about the changes that are wanted by the Brazilian manu- facturing sector. Although we’d describe ourselves as cautiously optimistic, we are hopeful it will succeed, so that we can invest again towards achieving a development level that is economically sustainable for our business,” he said. Sindquimica Ceará, for its part, as the chemical industry’s asso- ciation in the state of Ceará, held its year-end dinner party on December 13 at Royal Buffet, in the state capital of Fortaleza, where its president Marcos Antônio Ferreira Soares emphasized his optimismabout 2019. “For 2019, the chemical industry is ente- ring the year on the right foot, in that construction on the state’s chemical complex at Guaiúba is about to begin, involving seven companies at this early stage. For 2019, we want to consolidate this investment, andwithin nomore than three to four years, itwill be fully established. This is the expectation—that entrepreneurs will go back to believing and investing in Brazil.” In summary, the expectations for 2019 are very good indeed, and a positive scenario is gaining traction. May the year that has begun bring a lot of success and victories to us all. LUCÉLIA MONFARDINI and industry 4.0 technologies. Among new developments in this field is the Solsys Lite solvent systemformulation app. Solsys Lite’s database comprises around 2,200 solvents, enabling customers to determine the best solubilization solutions tomeet their specific solvent system requirements. We were told about all of these new developments by Daniela Manique, President of the Solvay Group’s Coatis Global Business Unit, a newposition that was announced back in July of 2018, and she also talked about what it has been like to be at the helm of the business unit, while let us in on details of all of the company’s plans and goals for the next several years. “We are aiming two grow our business at a rate of more than 10 percent by providing solutions that will effectively create value for our customers and the market in general,” Daniela says.