strong focus on inclusive innovation. The result will be a collaborative and efficient team focused
on providing our customers with
the finest coatings in the world and the
technical support they need to use those
products productively and profitably.”
ShawCor receives contract
to provide subsea insulation
coatings for the Jack/
St. Malo project
Bredero Shaw, the pipe coating division of
ShawCor Ltd., has received a contract
worth more than $40 million to provide
subsea insulation coatings for the Jack/St.
Malo project, operated by Chevron North
America Exploration and Production
Company. The subsea flowlines and risers
will be installed approximately 250 miles
(400 km) southwest of New Orleans in
water depths up to 7,200 ft (2,200 m).
The work will be executed at the Bredero
Shaw pipe coating facility in Beaumont,
Texas. The site is being upgraded with the
addition of a new Brigden modular coating facility capable of applying FBE and
multi-layer anticorrosion systems, as well
as Thermotite syntactic polypropylene,
solid and foam polypropylene and Thermotite ULTRA subsea thermal insulation
systems. This contract includes ID blasting and coating of approximately 92 kilometers of 10-inch pipe with a three-layer
polypropylene anticorrosion coating and
syntactic polypropylene thermal insulation. Qualification activities will commence during the first quarter of 2011,
with full production planned from the
third quarter of 2011 through the second
quarter of 2012.
AFOSR supports heat-resistant
ceramic coatings research at
University of Arizona
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
(AFOSR) supported research at the University of Arizona is investigating high
temperature resistant ceramic coatings
that will provide thermal protection for
Air Force hypersonic flight vehicles. The
research team led by Dr. Erica Corral of
the University of Arizona is using advanced chemical synthesis and ceramic
processing methods to process the ceramic
compositions onto carbon composites,
which are the materials used to fabricate
lightweight and high-strength aerospace
vehicles. “The major steps in advancing
this technology are based on relevant testing of the ceramic coatings under extreme
temperature, heat flux and gaseous species
environments,” said Dr. Corral. Even now
there are challenges in performing some
of the relevant tests that require simulating extreme aerothermal environments
where temperatures on the surface of the
aircraft can go as high as 2800 degrees
Celsius or one-half the surface temperature of the sun. The researchers have also
been harnessing the power of the sun and
focusing the solar radiation at a specific
heat flux to investigate high-temperature
oxidation resistance that their coatings
provide. Scientists anticipate future hypersonic vehicles with ultra-high temperature ceramic coatings will be capable of
sustained flight at Mach 7 or more, making it possible to travel from Los Angeles
to New York in 30 minutes.
Frost & Sullivan reports paint
and coatings market in Asia
Pacific expects for higher
domestic growth in 2011
The APAC paint and coatings market for
2010 is estimated to be approximately
$48 billion with a market size of 15 mil-
lion MT (metric tons) with a growth rate
of eight to 11 percent. This was aided
mainly by the strong driving forces of
China and India as well as developing
growth from key Asean countries such as
Indonesia and Vietnam. Industry players
are optimistic on seeing double digit
growth once again in 2011, said Frost &
Sullivan. According to the firm’s program
manager of chemicals, material and food
practice Sheila Senathirajah, the paint and
coatings industry is heavily reliant on the
end-use industries it serves. “Asia being a
developing industrial nation has many key
growth sectors that aid the growth of the
paint and coatings market,” she said.
“Some of the key industrial sectors moni-
tored are construction, steel, marine, au-
tomotive and furniture.”
Currently, China is witnessing high
growth in its steel and furniture industries
while India is similarly experiencing posi-
tive growth in its construction and steel
industries. ASEAN countries are witnessing growth in construction, marine, automotive and furniture industries.
“As a result of this, we can expect to
see positive growth coming from the related coating segments such as decorative,
industrial wood, marine, automotive and
protective coatings,” Sheila said.
2011 will also see higher domestic
growth in Asian countries with development on the way, spurring the growth of
domestic or local players. More local players are expected to enter the industrial
coatings segment especially due to higher
participation with large MNC’s and technology transfer that has greatly contributed
to the local player’s technology expertise.
In terms of industry specifics, the coming year will see the industry players creating a competitive edge by introducing
new innovative products in the market
with enhanced “sustainability” features.
Many have already set in place strategies
to recapture market share after a 2 year
lull period. Green-based technology will
see high growth; particularly for powder
and water based type coatings.
The term ‘green coatings’ is not a new
term within the industry but over the last
couple of years there has been a slow uptake of these kinds of coatings due to a
significant lack of demand from end use
industry users. Whilst coating manufacturers are pushing these products into the
mainstream, the lack of awareness and incentives and higher cost to use these types
of coatings within the local consumers
have been a barrier to be overcome.
“Nonetheless, we can now certainly see
shifts in mindsets moving forward as local
governments are coming on board to raise
the level of commitment and push for
green technology,” said Sheila. “For example, in early 2010, the Malaysian government launched a RM1.5 billion ‘green
technology fund scheme’ plus providing
tax incentives for green certified buildings.
“Moving forward we expect to see
growth of ‘green coatings’ in this region
especially in relation to energy conservation, low VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions and a significant shift
from solvent to water based paints,”
Sheila said. CW
