which resulted in lower demand for
resins producers. Overall there was a
decline of 10 to 30 percent versus
2008, depending on region, length of
chain and type of end-market. Our
outlook for 2010 is cautiously optimistic. Some of the major end markets for resins are down by five to 20
percent, so we don’t expect that the
resins volumes will return soon to the
levels of 2007.
What are the major trends
and challenges influencing
the resins market today?
Uwe Liebelt, BASF: Key influencers for
the resins market include regulatory
and environmental conditions and
market demand for improved performance and lower cost. The cost volatility
and availability of raw materials used
in the manufacture of resins also continues to have an impact.
friendly resins. Within NeoResins+ we
are continuously looking for the use of
renewable raw materials, materials with
a reduced carbon footprint and products
with an improved life cycle analysis.
How is the current economy
in the U.S. and around the
world affecting the market
and what is your company
doing about it?
Uwe Liebelt, BASF: 2009 was an
unprecedented year globally for eco-
nomic weakness is most markets. The
market softness had a dramatic effect
on the sales of raw materials for coat-
ings. If we have learned one thing, it is
that customers always value innova-
tive products that help them to save
costs, differentiate their products and
innovate in their markets. This was
true before, during, and after the cri-
sis. With the integration of Ciba into
our portfolio and by bringing all coat-
ing raw materials under one roof in
the new Dispersions & Pigments
Business Unit, we are now even better
positioned to help our customers be
more successful in the future.
Steve Wilson, Eliokem: The economic
downturn has lowered the housing
starts and general construction activity
in the U.S. for more than a year. In general, consumers are controlling their
spending a lot more than in normal periods. Both of these actions have led to a
lowering of demand for architectural
coatings, which of course has lowered the
demand for resins, both solvent-based
and water-based acrylic resins that are
used in manufacturing these coatings.
Jared Elliott, Celanese: The resins market is a bellwether for the paint indus-
Steve Wilson, Eliokem: Raw material
price increases, specifically acrylic- and
methacrylic-based monomers price fluctuations, is an issue as are raw material
supply shortages. In addition, changing
VOC legislation by region in the U.S.
resulting in non-uniformity between the
regional legislative environmental
groups is a challenge because developing resins to serve one regional group
may not meet the requirements in
another group. Lastly, developing new
technologies and maintaining acceptable pricing to the paint manufacturers
continues to be difficult.
Jared Elliott, Celanese: The increasingly stringent VOC legislation continues to play a role in the resins market
as coatings producers strive to balance
the regulations and the high performance demanded by consumers. The
growing “green” movement is also contributing to the push toward eco-friendly paints that have very low
odor and can meet the various green
certifications.
Dimitri de Vreeze, DSM NeoResins+: The
main trend is sustainability. We see this
in the stricter legislation, but also the
demand for more environmentally
DSM and Novomer using CO2 to develop coating resin
Royal DSM N.V., headquartered in the Netherlands, and Novomer Inc.,
Waltham, MA/USA, recently signed an agreement to jointly develop a coating
resin using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a raw material. This development agreement follows a cooperation agreement and an investment by DSM Venturing
in Novomer in 2007. The joint development project will benefit from the broad
variety of DSM’s technologies and market access, in combination with the
unique, efficient CO2 polymerization technology of Novomer.
The chemistry and process technology for producing polymers from CO2 and
propylene oxide (PO) will be developed by Novomer, while DSM will convert the
polymers into resins and formulate them for target applications such as coatings, adhesives and graphic arts. According to DSM, initial results are encouraging and suggest that this project might lead to completely new and improved
application properties in coatings.
Given the fact that up to 50% by weight of CO2 is used as raw material, the
production of these resins will result in an improved carbon footprint. The
process is also expected to be highly efficient, enabling the replacement of conventional resins in a number of coating applications.
Polycarbonate resins are widely known because of their superior performance and resistances and theoretically could find use in many types of coatings.
Commercial use of conventional types has however always been limited due to
their cost position and some weaknesses that are inherent in these products.
The new CO2-based aliphatic polycarbonates to be developed by DSM and
Novomer could potentially resolve these weaknesses.
“DSM and Novomer are looking to develop the first polymer in more
than a decade to enter the mainstream of the coatings industry,” said Rob
van Leen, chief innovation officer, DSM. “This exciting development can
lead to a breakthrough that could change the coatings industry. Besides
cost issues, these innovative coating resins also address environmental
and performance issues.”
