of professionalism. It’s equally
important however, that the
coatings industry doesn’t underestimate the value it creates.
Most of the world needs a
constant supply of new civic
structures, housing and vessels.
And, with sustainability near the
top of the agenda, it’s more important than ever that coatings
keep these heavy investments protected and beautiful. Like all of
us, our customers want to limit
the environmental impact of their
operations. We help them reach
their environmental goals with
new, high-performance coatings that use fewer solvents and biocides to protect man-made structures from the corrosive effects of
nature. And, the latest advances in marine coatings technology are
helping our customers in the shipping industry save fuel and reduce the carbon footprint of their ocean-going vessels.
I feel that our industry underestimates the positive impact it
has on the everyday lives of people all over the world. From
R&D to coatings applications, not only can we help our customers protect the long-term value of their assets; we can also
help them operate efficiently and safely, and support their commitment to the environment. Think of the world’s great suspension bridges, civic architecture and offshore wind turbines to
name a few. The coatings industry helps keep things safe and
beautiful for longer. That’s real value for coatings customers—
and ordinary people—all over the world.
Pierre-Yves Jullien
prices. It would seem that these challenges are continuing and
will possibly increase in the next few months. At Tikkurila, we
are now focusing on securing sufficient raw material deliveries
by expanding our delivery network where possible and adapting our raw material base where applicable.
The long prepared listing of Tikkurila on Nasdaq OMX
Helsinki, completed in March 2010, was a major event for
Tikkurila last year. It resulted in nearly 30,000 new shareholders
for Tikkurila.
The importance of companies’ social responsibility becomes
emphasized, which is for instance visible as increasing environmental awareness and increased interest towards the way companies operate. In terms of corporate responsibility we will also
seek more uniform operating methods in order to ensure good
practices in different operating environments. There is still work
ahead in eco efficiency and operational development.
Tikkurila’s responsible operations are concretized in our wish
to offer our customers environmentally sustainable solutions.
The share of waterborne paints in Tikkurila’s total production is
over 70 percent and the share is much higher in commercial and
construction paints. In Sweden, as much as 98 percent of the decorative paints we sold in 2010 were waterborne.
We believe that the growth prospects for the paints and coatings
industry are solid. We expect the GDP growth to continue in our
key market areas in 2011. We also predict further raw material cost
increases. In this situation, the suppliers for the paint industry will
probably not be able to fully match the increasing demand, due to
some of the capacity shutdowns carried out during the recession.
In addition, we believe, that the consolidation development seen in
the whole value chain of the industry will continue or even accelerate, resulting in fewer and stronger players.
Erkki Järvinen, president and CEO, Tikkurila Oyj
The global economy has been improving, although there are still
some uncertainties related to the situation in Southern Europe
and its effects on the financial markets. The crucial factors in
terms of paint demand such as GDP, residential construction activity and consumer confidence are developing positively.
Tikkurila’s sales volumes grew on all of our market areas in
In 2010, the main challenges
of Tikkurila and the whole industry were related to the price
and availability of raw materials. This trend has continued—
raw material prices increased
sharply also during the first
months of 2011. In spite of this,
Tikkurila has been mostly able
to cover the rise in the raw material prices by raising sales
Erkki Järvinen
Karl Altergott, president, Dunn-Edwards
Corporation
Our view of the future includes a
color forecast that is predominantly “green.” Dunn-Edwards
remains committed to the pursuit
of eco-efficiency in all our operations. For us, that means making
the best performing paint with the
least harmful ingredients, so that
our paint can fulfill its environmentally beneficial purpose while
avoiding adverse side effects.
We see this as a necessity,
partly because one of our major
markets is in California’s South
Coast Air Quality Management
District, where paint is more stringently regulated than anywhere else in the world. Right now, the District is engaged in
a rule amendment process that may impose lower VOC limits
on several coating categories, eliminate the “averaging” compliance option, and regulate—for the first time—the VOC con-
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