International Paint Broadens Mexico Network
China will become
Latin America’s
largest trade
partner by 2015.
by Charles W. Thurston
Latin America Correspondent
thurstoncw@rodpub.com
International Paint’s Mexican affiliate, Com- pania Mexicana de Pinturas International SA de CV, has broadened its distribution network in Mexico through a new strategic alliance
with, Sayer Lack Mexicana SA de CV. International Paint, a unit of AkzoNobel, has affiliates
throughout Latin America, and is a major producer of marine and protective coatings. Sayer
Lack already distributes AkzoNobel’s Devoe
brand protective coatings in Mexico, and is a licensee of AkzoNobel’s Glidden architectural
paints. Devoe was an ICI brand prior to AkzoNobel’s acquisition of the latter in 2008.
“Our distribution network also extends
throughout Central America through an agreement with H.B. Fuller, and to part of the
Caribbean through a recent agreement with
Penta Paints in Trinidad and Harris Paint in Barbados. Additionally, an agreement with Global
de Pinturas extends our network to Colombia,
Ecuador and Venezuela,” said Martin Criado,
International Paint’s manager of Marine and
Protective Coatings for Latin America, based in
Toluca, Mexico. The Mercosur portion of South
America is managed through the Brazilian affiliate of International Paint.
Among recent product releases, International
Paint recently launched Interline 9001, a bimodal
epoxy coating for chemical tanker cargo tanks.
The new distribution arrangement is expected
to boost International Paint’s sales of marine and
protective coatings in Mexico, particularly in the
mining sector, with slower increases in the oil and
gas, and power generation industries, says Criado.
As industrial production in Latin America
rises, the demand for marine and protective
coatings should rise in step, if not more rapidly.
Mexico’s industrial production rose by 4. 6 percent in the twelve months ending in May, according to government statistics.
Mexico is a central distribution point and
management center for North-South trade between Latin America and the United States. Latin
America’s regional economy is still booming, albeit at a slower pace than last year when regional
growth hit 6. 4 percent. The monthly industrial
production statistics this year for some countries
in the region, like Brazil, look like a seesaw.
However, in the long-term, Latin America is
expected to perform well. The region’s largest
trading partner currently is the European Union,
but China is poised to be Latin America’s second largest trade partner by 2015, according to
the United Nation’s Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC),
based in Santiago, Chile.
Criado is a member the board of directors of
Mexico’s national paint association, Asociacion
Nacional De Fabricantes De Pinturas Y Tintas AC,
or Anafapyt, in Mexico City. He also is a member
of the Venezuelan Oil and Gas Association and
Venezuelan Chemical Industry Association. Prior
to joining International Paint, Criado was general
manager at Pinturas International, C.A., the
Venezuelan licensee of International Paint. CW
Source: Index Mundi compilation of CIA World
Factbook data; January 2011.
