lines continue to grow globally. Also as
Asian countries grow their commercial
airline industries, it increases the
need for paints, specifically the markets in China and India.
“MRO (maintenance, repair and over-
haul) business will improve with the
global consolidation of major airlines as
new logos are implemented and
repainting becomes necessary,” said
Athanasopoulos. “The military segment
remains stable with the production of
new airplanes and the repaint pro-
grams of existing airplanes.”
Cargo business is also expanding.
“Airlines and cargo carriers are happy
with the increased business,” said
Athanasopoulos. “Coatings suppliers are
excited with the increase in coating sales.
Boeing’s new 747-8 cargo airplane is
looked at as the future of profitable busi-
ness. Private jets are by far the only seg-
ment that does not have any good news
to cheer about. The private jet business
will take the longest time to recover.”
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
IS LOOKING EAST
While production of aerospace equipment is concentrated in North America
and Europe, demand is forecast to be
much more diverse over the next five
years with roughly one-half of the global demand coming from developing
countries.
This trend has been developing over
the last few decades. “North America was
the predominant producer of commercial
aerospace equipment until Airbus emerged in the 1970s,” said Griffin.
Now maintenance and manufacturing
operations continue to migrate to South
America and Asia to take advantage of
lower labor costs. China’s aerospace
industry in particular continues to grow
rapidly in terms of airline operations,
maintenance and aircraft production.
“The market for aerospace coatings
mirrors that of the overall aerospace
market in China,” said Griffin. “Most
products are imported, but this is not a
sustainable solution for China. AkzoNobel is working with Chinese aircraft
manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing to
provide from local sources the high quality and high technology products
required by the industry.
“Final assembly lines exist in China
for the Embraer 145 and Airbus A-320.
Indigenous manufacturing, such as the
RJ21 will grow as well,” said Griffin.
AkzoNobel operates many facilities in
China. Currently one of its coatings facilities in Suzhou is starting production of
aerospace products and is looking to
expand its local product range in the
coming years.
“We will also continue to support the
Chinese market from our North
American and European factories
through local distributors, who in addition to keeping inventory, have the ability to blend custom colors for our OEM
approved finishes,” said Griffin.
China is becoming the next major
aerospace market after North America
and Europe due to their involvement in
recent years in subcontracting for major
OEMs, which has given them a better
understanding of the industry needs.
“With these experiences they have ven-
tured out and are now manufacturing
commercial and military airplanes,” said
Athanasopoulos. “At the same time paint
suppliers to Boeing and Airbus continue
to establish manufacturing facilities to
better service the market. A 10-15 per-
cent increase in aerospace coatings busi-
ness is not out of the question for the
next 10 years.”
Deft is looking to be a player in China
in the coming years. “Presently we are
studying and evaluating the business
environment,” said Athanasopoulos.
“Our cutting edge technologies in
chrome-free primers and fluorinated
topcoats will help Chinese manufactur-
ers improve production and help the
environment.”
Beyond China, which is the market
everyone seems to talk about, Ath-
anasopoulos says not to forget the mar-
ket in India. “The middle class in India
is burgeoning and its need for air travel
is in high demand,” he said. “A recent
marketing release by Boeing reported
that India will experience an 8.2 percent
annual aircraft sales increase over the
next 20 years, which is anticipated to
outpace China at 7.2 percent. Based on
these projections it’s estimated the
growth in aircraft coating sales in India
will be equal to or maybe even larger
than China. North American and
European OEMs have major invest-
ments in India.”
Sherwin-Williams Aerospace re-
cently expanded its global presence
with increased distribution support
Photo: Deft
According to Chris Athanasopoulos, director, international business, Deft Inc., the mili-
tary aircraft coatings segment continues to perform well. “New product development
and qualification in chrome-free primers has kept the business going strong,” he said.
“Production of new F- 35, F- 15, C-130, F- 16 and F- 18 aircraft, and refurbishment of old
and existing aircraft has stabilized the business.”
