Functional Additives
A Platform for Revitalizing the
Paint and Coatings Industry
Coatings of the future must do more than beautify and protect surfaces. They must add func-
tionality if industry hopes to achieve high levels of profitable growth. Several companies are
developing bio-based materials that will enable the development of coatings that self-clean,
self-deodorize, provide protection against chemical warfare agents, bacteria and viruses,
plus much more. The first of a three-part series discussing bio-based functional additives.
BY STEVE MCDANIEL, JD, PHD CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, REACTIVE SURFACES
& PHIL PHILLIPS, PHD MANAGING PARTNER, THE CHEMARK CONSULTING GROUP
Photo: Reactive Surfaces
Paints and coatings have long been recognized to provide both protection and aesthetic appeal. Over time, how- ever, they have garnered increasingly less value as customer perception of these materials has changed. Instead of
being viewed as high value, specialized products, many paints
and coatings now fall into the commodity category—common
characteristics offered by many supply sources.
Commoditization offers only two sources of differentiation, service and through pricing, rather than performance.
The industry needs to take action to stem this negative
trend by finding alternative methods for reintroducing
value and product differentiation and ultimately raising
customer expectations.
Functionalized coatings containing bioengineered additives
designed with targeted performance capabilities are one such
proactive approach. Use of such naturally-derived, novel additives will create value and opportunity in both existing and
new markets without presenting any new concerns such as
those raised with nanomaterials, thus expanding the role of
paints and coatings beyond traditional applications.
COMMODITY CRISIS
Despite notable technological advances, the paint and coatings industry faces serious challenges if it hopes to retain a
measurable level of profitability and growth in the future. In
the last 35 years in fact, the value of the U.S. paint and coatings industry has declined significantly: 38% for coatings in
general as compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and
over 70% for powder coatings (see Figure 1 on the next page).
Only very high performance coatings, designed for demanding applications, can be considered as relatively high-margin,
specialty products commanding commensurate prices. Most
architectural paints, by far the largest segment of the coatings
market, are viewed strictly by consumers as commodities. With
little expectation of different performance profiles from one
product to the other, their buying decisions are most often deter-
