International Coatings Scene
LATIN AMERICA BY CHARLES W. THURSTON LATIN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT HURSTONCW@RODPUB.COM
DuPont invests in Brazil’s
automotive paint training
DuPont looks
to capitalize
on Brazil’s
growing
auto refinish
market.
DuPont Brasil has reopened its modernized automotive aftermarket paint training facility—the Centro de Repintura
Automotiva—in Guarulhos, Sao Paulo state with
new technology cells and the ability to train 60
painters per month, drawing on painters from
Brazil and surrounding countries. The company’s
focus on the after-market automotive segment is
timely, since it now generates more revenue than
OEM auto painting in Brazil.
The reopening coincided with the sixth
annual VI Encontro de Repintura Automotiva,
in the city of Sao Paulo, sponsored by trade
association Sitivesp (Sindicato da Indústria de
Tintas e Vernizes do Estado de São Paulo),
along with the national industrial training
entity SENAI (Serviço Nacional de
Aprendizagem Industrial).
The OEM automotive paint sector in Brazil
consumed 48 million liters last year, representing 3. 5-4.5% of the total paint and coatings
market in Brazil. Automotive paint also generated $219 million, representing between 6-
7.5% of total paint sector revenues.
In contrast, after-market, or repainting is
an even larger market in Brazil, which consumed 49 million liters and generated sales
of $263 million. Abrafati (Associacao Das
Fabricantes De Tintas), the national paint
association, predicts a shrinkage of 2.5% of
the after-market segment this year, compared with a five percent shrinkage in OEM
automotive segment, and a total market
slowing of three percent this year.
The redesigned DuPont facility includes
infrared equipment, spectrophotometer color
design and advanced water-based painting
lines. The facility also will promote use of the
company’s Chroma Premier Pro, with high
solids and low VOC content, as well as its water-based system, Standohyd. On the September 4
date of the reopening, Marcelo Herrera, the
business director of DuPont Brasil’s Repintura
unit said, “The investment in modernizing the
Centro de Repintura Automotiva is only one of
the diverse initiatives that our division is undertaking to provide continuity to the growth that
has occurred over the past few years, and to
reach ever higher plateaus.”
DuPont’s Chroma Premier Pro family of products.
The Sitivesp conference on aftermarket painting included support from companies including
AkzoNobel, BASF, Brasilux, Briltintas, CESVI
Brasil, DuPont, Maxi Rubber, Mecânica Web,
Milflex General Tintas e Vernizes, PPG and
Sherwin-Williams’ Lazzuril division.
Finally, the annual meeting of Abrafati,
held September 23-25, also focused on the
vibrant aftermarket automotive segment.
While new car sales in Brazil peaked earlier
this year and OEMs are expected to increase
production to some 3. 8 million units per year,
Brazilians tend to keep their cars on the road
longer than in the U.S. Brazil now has a fleet of
33 million automobiles, according to Denatran,
the national transportation board.
Overall, the large OEMs continue to invest
hundreds of millions if not billions in automotive production in Brazil. This ready availability, combined with auto loan terms that are
extending beyond five years and a still robust
general economy is serving to enable many
families to purchase their first car. CW
