CPMA’s Annual Conference
Showcases Why ‘Color Matters’
BY DAVID SAVASTANO
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Color is a tremendously important aspect of our daily
lives, and there are many challenges ahead for the
pigment industry.
With that in mind, the Color Pigments Manufacturers
Association’s (CPMA) 2008 International Color Pigments
Conference, “Color Matters—New Business and New
Products in a Global Marketplace,” held May 13-15, 2008
at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort in Lincolnshire, IL,
closely examined present and future trends for pigments.
The two-day conference was sponsored jointly by CPMA
and Rodman Publications, publishers of Happi, Ink World
and Coatings World magazines. Aram Terzian, marketing
director, printing, plastics, security, pigments, EMD
Chemicals, Inc., and Mark Vincent, vice president, tech-nical/business manager organics division, Dominion
Colour, served as co-chairs and moderators.
The keynote speaker was David Hill, former president
and CEO, Sun Chemical, whose topic was “Color Creates:
Life, Sensation and Value.”
“Color can create differentiation. But to do so requires
that it be renewed,” Hill said. “Innovation is a key part of
the renewal process. Without renewal, color becomes
commoditized.” He noted companies that focused on innovation to avoid commoditization, such as Monsanto and
Nalco, and added that “innovation plays a key role in
every example of successful business reinvention.
Innovation can make a difference.”
Hill was followed by Mark Geeves, head of color servic-
CPMA hosted a special panel discussion, Special Product
Stewardship Panel, featuring, from left, Dr. Philip G. Webb of
BASF; Naeem Mady of Ciba Expert Services; Russell Schwartz of
Sun Chemical; Dr. Christopher Patterson of Clariant; and Robert
Kendrick of Sun Chemical.
The first morning session featured, from left, co-chair and moderators Aram Terzian of EMD Chemicals, Inc.; Paul Czornij of
BASF; Malcolm Denniss of QES Consulting; keynote speaker Dr.
David Hill, former president and CEO, Sun Chemical; and Mark
Geeves of Ciba Color Services.
es, Americas, Ciba Color Services, who discussed “Color
Communication and Control: It is Not Just About Color
Any More,” an examination of the need to produce products and monitor color globally. Malcolm Denniss, president, QES Consulting, Inc., representing the Toy
Industry Association, discussed “Assuring Toy Safety: A
Systemic Approach.”
Paul Czornij, senior group leader, BASF, closed the morning session with “Selection of Pigments for Automotive
Coatings Design.”
“Green chemistry is the number one area in terms of color
development all over the world,” said Czornij, who noted that
95 percent of colors designed for cars and light trucks in North
America are metallics. He also noted that European car customers are paying extra for premium colors, and that there is
much interest in the liquid metal look.
After lunch, Jim DeLisi, president, Fanwood Chemical,
Inc., addressed “Challenges to the Pigment Industry:
Raw Material Shortages, Price Increases, Shifting
Regulations, Rules, Currencies and Trade Flows.” He was
followed by Richard Yao, director, laboratory business
North and South China, Merck Chemicals (Shanghai)
Co., Ltd., who discussed “Made in China—Overview of
China Export,” a look at the issues and opportunities in
the market. Phil Linz, supervisor – cosmetic technologies
– applications, EMD Chemicals Inc., talked about
“Technical Service: A Supplier’s Perspective.”
“Technical service is a tool that can and should be used
not only to maintain current business, but can also be used
to grow new business,” Linz noted. “In a multinational envi-
