JCT Coatingstech Magazine

October 2006

Volume 3, No. 10

Market Update

Page 96-101

Excerpts from… “Pigment Market Still Performing…

…but Challenges May Impact intensity of Growth”

By Cynthia Challener, Contributing Writer

“ In 2005, the global sales volume of pigments used in paints and coatings was estimated to be 2.46 million metric tons, valued at $9.13 billion, according to Dan Murad, President and CEO of the ChemQuest Group, a consulting firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio. White pigments accounted for the largest volume of sales by far at 83%, but accounted for only just over half of the dollar value (51.5%). Colored inorganic pigments were the second largest pigment type by volume (13.4%) but only represented 9.9% of sales in dollars. Colored organic pigments, which made up only 3% of the sales volume, accounted for over 38% of the dollar value of global pigment sales. Black pigments accounted for less than 1% of the volume and 0.5 % of the dollar value. Geographically, the Americas and Europe each represented nearly 40% of the sales volume, with Asia and the rest of the world making up the remaining 24%.”

…“Currently much of the product coming to the US and Europe from China and India is of lower quality. But these producers will eventually address the quality issue and western manufacturers need to be preparing now,” says Murad.

…“Globally color is becoming more and more important in consumer buying decisions, for markets from personal electronics such as cell phones, PDAs and laptop computers to automobiles and home appliances,” asserts Murad.

…“Paint formulators are looking for much more than just aesthetics and durability today. They want multifunctional coatings that can also provide antimicrobial activity, light reflectance for glare reduction and energy efficiency, corrosion protection, and other properties,” Murad states. “This multi-functionality is not going to come from the resin, but from additives like high performance pigments included in the formula.”

…The pigment industry is also investigating new ways to reduce the cost of incorporating pigments into paints and coatings. According to Murad, as much as 35% of the manufacturing cost for paints and coatings can be related to the pigments, through the pigment compounds themselves and/or the grinding and processing time required to prepare the pigments for let down into the paint. “Some manufacturers are looking to address this issue by supplying pigment dispersions that can be directly added to the mixing tank without any grinding.”

…Another area ripe for improvement, according to Murad, is the need to improve the consistency of color intensity from one patch of pigments to another. “There is tremendous potential to reduce cost and increase efficiency and productivity if pigment color intensity can be controlled,” he says.

…One consequence of new dispersion technology and improved control over color intensity could be the shift to paint mixing at “big box” stores like Home Depot and Lowes. “Paint accounts on average for about 15% of revenues for these retailers, and they are interested in increasing their profit level from these operations. Eliminating the paint company as the middleman would be one way to do just that,” Murad comments.

(To read the complete article…see JCT CoatingsTECH Magazine – October 2006 issue...”Pigment Market Still Performing…but Challenges May Impact Intensity of Growth”)