The Pigments Market
By Kerry Pianoforte, Associate Editor
The pigments market is showing some tentative signs of re- covery from the downturn it experienced over the last few years. Pigments manufacturers expressed cautious optimism that as the effects of the economic recession begin to re-cede, the pigments market will also continue to improve.
“Although the economy continues to present challenges and
uncertainties, we have seen noticeable improvements as it per-
tains to overall demand for pigments in 2010 versus the same
time last year,” said Brian Marsicano, business director, pigments,
BASF in North America. “We are not seeing quite as much of a
seasonal slowdown this year, in fact, we have seen some signs of
improvement. For 2011, BASF will continue to improve upon
our position and increase our competitiveness by utilizing our
broad portfolio.”
“Overall it was a better year than most expected, which con-
tributed to a significant number of supply problems from the
major manufacturers,” said Rick Campbell, president, Trust Chem.
“Companies like ours will be able to take advantage of these new
opportunities. Most people are optimistic that 2011 will be
stronger than 2010. Trust Chem is very optimistic about 2011.”
“The pigments market show mixed results for 2010,” said
Robert Poemer, business manager, Heucotech. “Automotive was
particularly strong versus 2009 showing double-digit growth
rates due to the recovery of this industry. However, the automo-
tive sector was still below 2008 figures. Industrial markets also
exhibited strong growth over 2009 but unfortunately not as
strong as automotive. Pigment sales into the building industry
were essentially flat for 2010 and significant questions still re-
main about the timing of the recovery for this sector.
38 | Coatings World
www.coatingsworld.com
January 2011
