Novelis, the leading supplier
of can body stock and can end
stock in South America, forecasts
the demand for aluminum beverage cans in the region to grow by seven
percent per year until 2020.
“This investment will help round out our
can sheet offering for our customers in the
region and allow us to keep pace with the
surging demand for our products,” said
Marco Palmieri, senior vice president of
Novelis Inc. and president, Novelis South
America. “The new line will allow us to in-
crease our capacity to meet customer de-
mand while shortening delivery lead times.”
The new coating line, which will be fully
integrated with in-line levelling and trim-
ming using the latest technology, is expected
to come on stream in late 2013. The line
will have the capacity to process 100,000
metric tons of aluminum sheet per year.
Severstal commissions a
second color-coating line in
Russia
OAO Severstal, one of the world’s leading
CEPE Addresses Volatile Raw Materials Market
The European Council of Paint and Printing Ink producers
says for 2012 no relief foreseen for cost increases of the
main paint and printing ink raw materials; with TiO2 as
the main cause.
During a dedicated session at CEPE’s annual conference held in Dublin
from Oct. 5-7 2011, the attending paint and printing ink producers
were informed by industry experts on the possible price trends in the
EU for the raw materials for their paint and ink products. With the
slowdown of the economy, some producers were hoping that prices
and availabilities would ease.
But according to these experts, price reductions in 2012
were considered to be an illusion. Even with a slowdown in demand in the EU, paint and ink raw materials prices are expected to rise this year.
Titanium dioxide: the shock
Titanium dioxide, the white pigment which is one of the high
value raw materials in the formulation of paints and inks, has
seen its price rise by more than 60 to 70 percent between beginning 2010 and end 2011, meaning an average increase of
+ 30 percent per year.
This situation is the result of two factors, which are expected to continue throughout 2012 and beyond.
The first factor involves a very stretched global supply/de-mand balance as a consequence of capacity shutdowns and
no new investment during the period 2000 to 2010 with an acceleration of closures after the worldwide crisis of 2008/2009,
followed by a rebound of demand in emerging countries, especially in Asia.
The second factor is linked to the sharp rise—well over
20%—in TiO2 ore prices (ilmenite).
In fact, the historical supply sources of this TiO2 feedstock
are depleting, and because of underinvestment to find new
mines the supply of ilmenite is expected to remain very tight
during the coming year.
Therefore the pressure on paint and ink producers is ex-
pected to go on, unless a deep worldwide recession scenario
would change the whole picture.
Binders: volatility
On the front of the other main components of a paint and ink
formula, the binders, be it emulsions or resins, which are
mainly derived from petrochemicals feedstock, the increases
over the last 12 months have been 20 to 40 percent, depending on the type. Again for similar reasons: capacity constraints
on monomers and feedstock.
Demand in regions other than the EU is expected to remain strong.
In addition, the oil price, the ultimate feedstock, will continue to fluctuate widely, with the uncertainty characterizing
the global economy in the coming months.
As a consequence, a lot of volatility is anticipated with wide
variations month by month in the feedstock of binders, resulting
in shorter validity of price agreements on emulsions and resins.
In the year to come, paint and ink producers will each have
to look for ways to deal with these pressures now that most of
them have made their own internal efficiency improvements
in recent years.
12 | Coatings World
www.coatingsworld.com
January 2012
