Revista Paint & Pintura - Edição 240

CLIPPING 8 | PAINT&PINTURA | Jan/Fev 2019 making ongoing investments in innovative engineered solutions to make sure those processes have little to no impact at all on the environment,” Nitemar Vieira, Lanxess’ technical manager of Applications for Latin America. Colormix Especialidades salesmanager Alexandre CastroMontei- ro says that as new chemical classes are uncovered, novel ways tomitigate the effects the environmentally harmful components of inorganic chemicals are introduced, such as bismuth vanadate and titanate products. “The chief features of these pigments are their high hiding power and heavy-metal-free composition, and when they’re used in combination with organic pigments, they allow formulators to produce deep shades of yellow with great tinting strength. These formulations are outstanding alternatives for replacing heavy metals,” he points out. ADHESION PROMOTERS - CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS The market for adhesion promoters is moving forward on a path of developing products that meet ever more stringent require- ments for sustainable materials, such as lower levels of VOCs and other toxic substances in paint formulations. Waterborne adhesion promoters are one example of those materials. “Lu- brizol remains watching the way that the market is going and continues to invest in the development of new technologies for our range of adhesion promoters,” says Antonio Lopez, technical marketingmanager for South America at Lubrizol’s Performance Coatings Group. Other trending requirements in the adhesion promoter market include easy compatibility and high stability in various kinds of systems, such as acrylic, polyurethane, latex and vinyl-based, as well as easy incorporation into the paint formulation, preferably without requiringmechanical agitation, and concentration levels that make for lower dosage requirements, according to Joiceline Hack, an application chemist at Stahl Polymers. “It’s extremely important for these products to be safe relative human health, as well as environmentally friendly,” she says. The industry has seen a growing development of additives that are increasingly effective at low doses, featuring broad compa- tibility with different systems and, where possible, stability in a wide pH range, according André Moreno Fernandez, BYK Paint Additives Lab Manager He goes on to say, “In addition, more recently developed additives already tend to be either low-VOC or VOC-free products, the initials standing for volatile organic compound, which helps to reduce to amount of solvents being released into the atmosphere. We at BYK have been more and more concernedwith using rawmaterials coming fromrenewable sources whenever we possibly can. We are also strictly compliant with European and global environmental regulations.” TINTING SYSTEMS - EQUIPMENT High-Durability Technologies Made More Accessible With each passing year, tinting equipment manufacturers usher in new technological advancements with a view to keeping pace which changes in the marketplace and meeting the needs and requirements of their customers. In addition, this is an industry segment that still has plenty of room to grow in Brazil. According to Reubens Da Cunha, Corob’s managing director for Latin America, nearly 18,000 systems are estimated to be installed in just under 9,000 points of sale in Brazil, which demonstrates the country has huge potential for growth on this front. “In the EU and the US, for instance, nine out of every ten stores have tinting equipment installed. That number is significant lower in Brazil, which means a rather appealing growth potential. While tinting systems have grown at a far faster pace than the paint industry, there still is a long way to go. The tinting equipment business will only mature and grow to the same levels the EU and the US when both manufacturers and retailers decide to reduce or eliminate from their inventories low-turnover, ready- -mix colors and their color supply on tinting systems, which will actually increase profits for both paint companies and stores, while raising consumer satisfaction levels, as buyers have ‘their own colors’ made on the spot,” Da Cunha says. One of the ways to boost sales of tinting machine paints is by having store owners realize all of these benefits that are built in the system, according to Da Cunha, who explains, “Having the equipment in the store is indeed a point of difference in terms of marketing, but it also does provide a number of benefits, espe- cially financially and logistically, in that it enables store owners to hold smaller inventories while broadening their color supply, and we all know just what these two factors mean in terms of turnover and profit. Your typical Brazilian paint store still carries loads of low-turnover, ready-mix colors, which remain stored for long periods of time. Thatmeansmoney standing idly that creates costs to the business owner.” REVERSE LOGISTICS - ABRAFATI, SÃO PAULO PROSECUTION OFFICE SIGN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT November 30, 2018 saw the signing, in Santos, São Paulo, of an Environmental Cooperation Agreement aimed at implementing reverse logistics facilities for empty paint cans in nine municipali- ties in the Baixada Santista area. The agreement involves the São Paulo State Prosecution Office, through its Special Action Group for Environmental Protection at Baixada Santista (GAEMA-BS), and the trade associations representing paint manufacturers (ABRAFATI), steel packagingmakers (known for short as Abeaço), and paint retailers (ARTESP), as well as Prolata Reciclagem, a group in charge of coordinating the process that leads to steel reuse in the steel industry. The agreement goes down as the first document of its kind to be signed in the great state of São Paulo, and the second in Brazil—a similar agreement was signed in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the first half of 2018. The Baixada Santista area is viewed as a role model to be followed elsewhere, in that its constituent municipalities have succeeded in firmly establishing the principle of shared responsibility for meeting reverse logistics requirements. Thismeans that all industries involved—packaging,