Valspar Strengthens Brazil Investment
Valspar continues
to expand its
global business.
by Charles W. Thurston
Latin America Correspondent
thurstoncw@rodpub.com
Valspar Corp.’s recent acquisition of Brazil’s Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda., located in Araçariguama, in São Paulo
state, further strengthens Latin American sales
of powder, liquid and electrodeposition coatings for the company, which has been working
to augment growth in foreign sales.
Isocoat, which began business producing
electrostatic dust coatings, had sales of $34
million last year, and has the capacity to produce 10,000 metric tons of product per year,
according to a company report. Among its export markets are Argentina and Colombia. Isocoat is a leader in the industry in Brazil and
was the first Brazilian dust coatings company
to gain certification from Qualicoat under the
Zurich-based Association for Quality Control
in Lacquering, Painting and Coating Industry.
Apart from its Isocoat acquisition in Brazil,
Valspar in 2006 formed a joint venture with
Tekno S.A. to supply coil coatings in the country. Tekno augmented its coil coating line capability with a $28 million investment at its
facility in Guaratinguetá, in Sao Paulo state, in
2009. Tekno products are marketed under the
Kroma brand.
Tekno operates four subsidiaries. The first
is Tekrom Transportes Representacoes e Mon-tagens Ltda, which provides freight transportation services. Next, Profinish Industria e
Comercio de Produtos Quimicos Ltda, manufactures chemical products for metal and plastic surface treatment. MSC/Tekno Laminates
and Composites Ltda, manufactures and sells
laminates and composites for the automobile
industry. And finally, Perfilor SA Construcoes,
Industria e Comercio, produces and commercializes steel tiles and furniture covers for the
industrial sector.
Valspar’s powder coating brands in Brazil include Poliéster TGIC, Poliéster Epóxi Híbrido,
Epóxi and Poliéster Uretano. The company also
markets Vectrogard electrocoatings.
Valspar has grown its Brazil base with the purchase of Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda., a $34 million paint producer.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Valspar has a
subsidiary in Mexico. Valspar Mexicana, S.A.
de C.V. brands include Valspar, EzDex,
EcoDex, Duraspar, Valflex, Fluropon, Dy-naprime, Greenbar and Vectrogard. In 2000,
Valspar acquired Lilly Industries, including its
manufacturing operations in Mexico.
In its most recent annual report, Min-neapolis-based Valspar noted that it expected
growth in coil coatings business in Brazil, Vietnam, China, Australia and India.
In 1996, Valspar derived only five percent
of its global sales outside of the U.S., but by
2006, the foreign sales share rose to more than
30 percent. Much of this foreign revenue was
based on foreign manufacturing, since only 3. 5
percent of the company’s sales resulted from
exports in 2006.
Valspar reported 2010 sales at $3.22 billion, up 12.1 percent from 2009. Net income
for 2010 was $222.1 million compared with
$160.2 million in 2009.
Environmental issues are core considerations at Valspar, which reports its environmental impact annually, and provides support
to community efforts such as Habitat for Humanity. Separately, the Valspar Foundation
supports philanthropic projects and provides
emergency relief on a global basis. The company reports its VOC emissions, other hazardous air pollutants, as well as material use
efficiency and waste minimization, and energy
efficiency and management. Over the past five
years, Valspar has cut its total emissions
roughly in half. CW
