Metallic Pigments Market
As the market crisis appears to be stabilizing and the automotive
industry begins to rebound, metallic pigment manufacturers
are cautiously optimistic for 2010.
BY KERRY PIANOFORTE
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The past few years have been a challenging time for the metallic pigments market. Decreased emand for higher-end items due to the economic downturn coupled with the recent automotive
crisis have certainly had an impact on demand for
metallic pigments. However, metallic pigment makers
have reported that 2010 is off to a promising start.
Only time will tell if this upstart will continue.
“Due to the downturn in the coatings markets in
Europe and North America and the worldwide economic
crisis in 2009, the market demand for metallic pigments
was strongly affected,” said Aaron Hollman, global prod-
uct manager effect pigments, performance pigments, Sun
Chemical. “However, we have seen an upswing in these
markets during the first quarter of 2010. This improving
economic situation coupled with our focus on quality,
service and innovation has put us in an excellent position
for long term growth in metallic and effects pigments.
Although we are off to a strong start in 2010, there is still
a high degree of uncertainty regarding demand. We are
cautiously optimistic that the challenging economic envi-
ronment of 2009 is behind us.”
“With the automotive industry beginning to rebound
from the economic crisis, the market for metallic pig-
ments is beginning to show some improvement this year,”
said Andrea Frenzel, vice president, pigments, BASF
North America. “Expectations for next year are that auto-
motive companies will continue to look to color and
effects to differentiate their products and drive growth.”
According to Noel Bilodeau of JDSU, the market situa-
tion is improving but has not yet returned to pre-reces-
sion levels. “Our Q1 2010 revenues were up approximate-
ly 80 percent from the previous year,” Bilodeau said. “As
we look out to 2011, we are seeing interest from auto
makers for special option colors to help them increase
revenue and profit. The smaller and fuel-efficient cars
that are coming out are typically offered in a wider color
palette.”
Sclenk-Both Metallic Pigments reports that the first
quarter 2010 has been very strong. “We see demand com-
Lumina Royal Exterior Blue pigment from BASF spray-coated on
motorcycle parts.
ing back across most of the end-applications we are servicing,” said Thomas Schaller, vice president sales and
marketing at Schlenk-Both Metallic Pigments. “We
expect again a strong 2010.”
Improving effects
Metallic pigments offer users a high-end, eye catching
look for their products. Customers are always trying to
push the envelope by coming up with a look that will
help their product stand out from the pack, while offering high performance and environmental compliance.
Metallic pigment manufacturers must stay ahead on
these trends and focus R&D on translating these
demands into a reality.
Typically new pigment technologies are being driven
by the needs of the marketplace. “A major trend that is
emerging among designers is demand for higher chromaticity and color purity,” said Frenzel. “BASF has utilized innovative particle size control methods that have
resulted in an optimized particle size range. This
advancement, along with novel coating techniques, has
led to a new class of high chroma effect pigments. We are