Coatings World - June 2009

E ditor’s Page
Making sense of the
stimulus nonsense

Paint and coatings makers have been hurt by slumping demand, which has overshadowed an easing of high raw material and energy costs that hurt profits last year. Continued weakness in the housing and manufacturing (particularly automotive) sectors are wreaking havoc on bottom lines across the paint and coatings industry. Double-digit sales declines at major paint firms are all too common these days. As we went to press Valspar reported that its sales plummeted 20% in the second quarter of 2009.

The firm’s chairman and chief executive, William Mansfield, said the company doesn’t expect industrial demand to improve for the rest of the year. Sales dropped to $668.4 million in the second quarter from $836.4 million in last year’s second quarter.

To try and stop the bleeding and prevent the economy from contracting more than it already has, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the Obama Stimulus Bill, was signed into law on February 17, 2009.

If you’re like me, you’ve watched the news and understand that a lot of money is being spent but making sense out of the stimulus spending is like being stuck in a tangled web of confusion.

Well, to assist the paint and coatings industry, Coatings World called upon Chemark Consulting’s newly formed “Fast Track Solutions Team” to study this bill and gauge its impact on the paint and coatings industry—from suppliers, formulators, down-stream distributors and end-users. The team did a fantastic job sifting through a tremendous amount of complex information to try and help our industry better understand the impact this bill could have. To read the team’s findings turn to page 32 for the first of a two-part series exploring, Stimulus Spending: Where’s the Opportunity for Paints and Coatings?

According to the team, key components of the bill that will have a positive impact on the paint and coatings industry include increased investment in the renewable energy; implementation of the largest weatherization program in history; and the largest increase in funding for our nation’s roads, bridges and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s.

Providing hope that the economy will improve and our industry along with it, the team says the stimulus package will increase demand for architectural, heavy-duty and OEM paints/coatings, adhesives, sealants, composites, plus their basic raw material ingredients.

Next month, in the second article of this two-part series, the team will identify the coatings technologies most likely to benefit from stim-ulus-related spending and forecast the timing of segment growth.

Be sure to tune in and let us know your thoughts on this topic.

TWRIGHT@RODPUB.COM

The Resource for the

Global Coatings Industry

A Rodman Publication
70 Hilltop Road • Ramsey, NJ 07446 USA
(201) 825-2552 • Fax: (201) 825-0553
Web site: www.coatingsworld.com

EDITOR

Tim Wright • twright@rodpub.com
VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Tom Branna • tomb@rodpub.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Kerry Pianoforte • kpianoforte@rodpub.com ART DEPARTMENT

Michael Del Purgatorio • michaeldp@rodpub.com
INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS
Sean Milmo (Europe)

Charles W. Thurston (Latin America/Americas) CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Phil Phillips
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Jim Berry (Berry Environmental)
Joseph Cristiano (consultant)
Thomas Frauman (consultant)
Sidney Lauren (consultant)
Joseph Prane (consultant)
Isadore Rubin (consultant)

Richard M. Tepper (PPG Industries)
Shelby F. Thames (University of So. Mississippi)

RODMAN PUBLISHING PRESIDENT

Rodman J. Zilenziger, Jr. • rod@rodpub.com
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Matthew J. Montgomery • mmontgomery@rodpub.com
GROUP PUBLISHER / ADVERTISING SALES
Dale Pritchett • dale@rodpub.com
ADVERTISING SALES (Europe)
Baudry Boisseau Associates
27 Rue J. Lebeau- B-1000, Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: 32-(0)2-513-06-47 • Fax: 32-(0)2-514-17-38
baudry@baudryboisseau.com
ADVERTISING SALES (Hong Kong, Taiwan & China)
Ringier Trade Publishing Ltd
401-405 4/F New Victory House

93-103 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
(852) 2369 8788 • Fax: (852) 2869 5919
mchhay@ringier.com.hk
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING SALES
Patty Ivanov • 631-642-2048; Fax 631-473-5694
patty@rodpub.com
PRODUCTION MANAGER