Coatings World - March 2009

Fresh Paint

multiple channels including industrial, professional and DIY. Altax will join Sherwin-Williams’ Ronseal coatings business unit based in the U.K. Founded in 1988, Altax has 70 employees across two manufacturing and distribution platforms whose products are currently sold throughout central Europe.

RPM SUBSIDIARY ACQUIRES SWISS SEALANTS COMPANY Tremco illbruck International GmbH, a subsidiary of RPM, has acquired Karochemie AG, a Swiss supplier of

sealants to the construction markets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Headquartered in Baar along with a sales office in Crissier, Karochemie’s 2008 annual sales totaled approximately $13.4 million.

PPG AWARDED MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND CONTRACT PPG’s protective and marine coatings (PMC) business has been awarded the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) Fleet Paint and Related Services contract. During this multi-year con-

tract, PPG will supply a complete range of coatings products and systems to meet the coating and distribution specifications of the entire MSC fleet. Established in 1949, the fleet comprises more than 20 classes of ships that provide transportation, combat logistics support and other specialized services to the Department of Defense. MSC operates about 110 ships worldwide. PPG’s PMC business will provide MSC with a variety of coatings for each ship class, mostly from the Amercoat coatings line. The Amercoat coatings brand is well

NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THE
EUROPEAN COATINGS INDUSTRY

Information Research (IRL) has recently published a new review of the nanotechnology sector, entitled “Nanotechnology in the European Coatings Industry.” In recent years the European coatings industry has cautiously accepted the use of nanomaterials, with formulators evaluating their potential benefits; industry insiders have indicated that a lack of formulation, application and legislative know-how are among the many barriers to usage. This is critical as the properties of nanomaterials can potentially be lost when improperly administered into a formulation, and as such the level of overall European usage is regarded as being low:

In addition to the above, “Nanotechnology in the European Coatings Industry” also established the following:

• Respondents’ general opinions were that nanomaterials are used only lightly in the European coatings industry; many manufacturers are still evaluating the cost-benefit of using such materials;

• Scratch-resistant additives are perceived as the most common nanomaterials currently in circulation;

• The most common coating sector which consumes nanomaterials is automotive OEM;

• Nanomaterials used for scratch resistance are regarded as the fastest growing material application with the brightest future; and

• Many larger manufacturers were listed as being the most commonly associated producers of nanomaterials; however, this was not the deciding factor for many consumers.

“Nanotechnology used in the European coatings industry is currently in a period of transition. The hype that once surrounded these materials is now being replaced with a degree of circumspection, as the anticipated

panacea that these materials represent has, as of yet, failed to materialize significantly in any tangible form,” said Andrew Jackson, senior analyst at IRL and author of the report. “This delay is being accentuated by a variety of legislative problems including patenting issues, the lack of clear health and safety guidelines regarding the handling of such materials and even the standardization of what the term ‘nanomaterial’ should encompass.

“However, this does not mean that the industry is in terminal decline; the coatings industry are unanimous that the volume of nanomaterials used in the European coatings industry can only grow, and many believe that growth of 2-3% per annum in the coatings industry will be seen in the medium-term,” Jackson continued. “Many think that once legislative issues are resolved—especially concerning health and safety—rapid growth will be seen in their uptake, until market saturation is achieved.”