Coatings World - August 2011

The aircraft OEMs operate large backlogs, which currently stands at a total of approximately 7,000 aircraft. This means that they have a number of years worth of production even when the economy is down and new orders are low. This market dynamic helped carry coatings suppliers through the last two turbulent years when the airlines were cutting back on their paint schedules due to cost controls that were implemented during the recession.

A large part of the coatings procurement for aircraft is in the structural coatings area. It is estimated that there is up to five times the amount of coating used on the structure of an aircraft compared to the exterior livery of the aircraft.

Airlines tend to paint their aircraft every three to five years depending on a number of factors. It is often more common for an airline to paint its aircraft due to either a change in livery ( rebrand) or to fit in with a maintenance schedule then it is because the paint looks too degraded. Additionally, many of the airline’s aircraft are actually owned by a lease company. Some of these leases are relatively short term and they must again be repainted when they go to a new airline. This means increased volume for the coatings company as a number of otherwise unnecessary repaints are carried out.

Nowadays there are fewer airlines that have their own paint-
ing facilities. In Europe they tend to be mainly the larger ‘flag car-
riers’ such as British Airways, Air France/KLM and Lufthansa. The
majority of painting is carried out by specialist companies that will
more or less take aircraft from anywhere in the world. National
boundaries do not exist in this world and over the last ten years
or so there has been a great deal of market consolidation so that
a handful of companies tend to dominate on a global level.

Market growth forecast

While the market is increasing in both build rate at OEMs and in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) the aerospace market runs in cycles. We see an increasing trend upwards but then every five years or so there is a glitch and a fall in the market. However, the recovery after each glitch is quicker both in how long the downturn lasts and how quick it recovers. Examples of this are the Iraq War, SARS, 9/11 and the global recession of two years ago. We are already seeing coatings sales at pre-recession levels.

AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings continues expansion across the globe

AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings is a global leader in the manufacture, development and supply of coatings for the OEM and MRO sectors of the commercial, airline and general aviation markets as well as the military aerospace and military ground equipment markets. Product names such as Eclipse, Alumigrip, Aerobase, Aerodur, Aviox and Intergard are just a few of the products renowned for their high quality, endurance and performance as well as their ease of application and cost-effective advantages.

In recent news, AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings announced the qualification of their Aerodur 3001 and Aerodur 3002, Base Coat/ Clear Coat system by Bombardier Aerospace Materials and Processes Engineering. The exterior coatings system, qualified under BAMS 565-018 specification, comprises a chromate-free primer, a basecoat and a clearcoat. The system offers a quick drying time between coats, saving as much as 30 percent on process time and allowing even complex liveries to be completed more quickly before returning the aircraft to service. The fast-drying base coat provides opacity with less film thickness while the clear topcoat gives a superb and long lasting gloss and color retention that will help airlines to consistently project and reinforce visual identity. The smooth finish offers excellent weather resistance in addition to lower dirt adhesion and better cleaning properties.

In addition, AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings also recently reinforced its position within the Chinese market. It is liaising with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) following COMAC’s approval of an interior, fluid resistant epoxy primer (463-12-8) and a high solids epoxy topcoat ( 21 series). The chemically cured, two-component primer offers high protection from chemicals, hydraulic fluids, aviation fuels and corrosion causing media. The topcoat is also designed to provide the same chemical protection as the primer whilst meeting low VOC requirements and is available in gloss, semi-gloss and flat finishes. AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings, having established a number of Chinese locations, are delighted to be reinforcing their positioning within the Chinese aviation market and look further to develop their relationship with COMAC through the development of the C919 commercial, narrow-body airliner in the coming years.