International Coatings Scene
EUROPE
interest loans and tax exemptions to
invest in improving the energy efficien-
cy of their homes.
A steep fall in the construction of
new homes and buildings has enabled
more resources to be directed into the
renovation of existing homes.
“In Finland a large proportion of houses were built in the 1960s and 1970s,”
said Jarkko Mattila, manager for insulation products at Tikkurila, the Finnish
coatings company. “These houses are
now in need of repair and at the same
time there is an opportunity to put in
insulation. A lot of repair work is being
done now because previously there has
been a shortage of skilled building workers due to the demand for new houses.
Now that the new building market has
slowed down there are more workers
available for renovation jobs. The need to
reduce energy consumption will push
demand for insulation products. This
growing market should continue to hold
up next year.”
Insulation technologies, which have
not made big inroads into the European
market, are now benefiting from a
surge in demand. These include
polyurethane insulation spray foams
which also have thermal heat barrier
coatings and because of new spray
equipment innovation are themselves
applied like coatings.
“In 2007 the (spray foam) market in
Europe grew at double-digit rates in
comparison to 2006,” said a spokesman
for Bayer MaterialScience, a leading
maker of polyurethane foams. In 2008
growth will probably turn out to be a
bit more moderate, particularly in the
last months of the year.”
One insulation segment, which is
catching the attention of coatings companies and raw material suppliers is
glass coatings for windows, which over
the last few years have become a fast
growing market. As much as 40% of heat
in a home can be lost through windows
during the winter.
“The EU’s energy efficiency regulations are changing the market and providing increased opportunities for coatings on glass,” said Phil Brown, regulatory marketing manager at Pilkington plc,
St Helens, England, a leading European
producer of flat glass.
“Governments across Europe are looking at ways of introducing rules stating
that if an improvement is made in one
part of a house other improvements have
got to be made in other parts as well,” he
said. “If, for example, the walls are insulated, then coated windows should be
installed as well, otherwise the householder will not be entitled to government
energy efficiency grants.”
Glass coatings are becoming increas-
ingly sophisticated with several layers
of metal oxides, which absorb or deflect
heat being applied to the substrate. The
formulation and application of these
coatings is dominated by glass manufacturers. Currently they are using vacuum or sputtering technologies based on
the use of hot or plasma gases to coat
the glass.
Coatings companies and chemical
suppliers see openings in the market. There are opportunities, for
example, for using low temperature
technologies, which will enable the
introduction of materials able to
achieve even lower heat emission
levels through windows. Glass coatings could be one of a number of new
insulation markets for coatings companies in Europe. CW
