he continued. “But until home sales - a key driver in the resi-
dential repaint market - and overall consumer sentiment improve
significantly, the segment, which is large and one of the more
profitable, will continue flat.”
“We have been quite fortunate as to experience growth over
the past few years despite the lessened economic conditions,” said
Dan Cohen of California Paints. “There is still a strong demand
for higher quality exterior products. Our consistently rated num-
ber one exterior house paint Fres~Coat continues trend ahead
of expectations. The housing number numbers are starting to
trend in a positive direction and that will be the impetus for
stronger architectural sales in both the new construction and
redo markets.”
As many parts of the global economy continue to improve,
demand for finished building products has also expanded.
“Many building materials are production finished before being
used on the job site – including doors, windows, siding, molding,
fascia – with primer, paint or both depending on the type of ma-
terial and end-use,” said Kristin McNamara, director, brand com-
munications, Sherwin-Williams Product Finishes Division. “As
construction starts improve, homeowners looks to remodel their
existing structures and movement within the rental market con-
tinues, demand for exte-
rior finishes used in
production has been
positive in many regions
of the world. We antici-
pate a continued upward
trend in the demand for
exterior building prod-
ucts and the coatings
used to finish them.”
Benjamin Moore
concentrates its business
in North America. “Al-
though our manufactur-
ing can be affected by
the global economy and
fluctuation with raw ma-
terial prices, our business
potential is directly af-
fected by the North
America economy and
the housing market,”
said Jeff Spillane, senior
product manager at Ben-
jamin Moore. “We are
experiencing an im-
provement in our archi-
tectural, stain and
industrial coatings busi-
ness. We have seen a
slow but steady uptick in
housing sales, resulting
in an increased demand
for exterior paints and stains. This can also be attributed to in-
creasing consumer confidence and their decision to spend to pro-
tect, maintain and improve their largest single investment, their
home. We expect that the increases we are experiencing now will
continue to improve. Store traffic is on the rise with both the DIY
customer and professional painting contractors.”
GREEN BUILDING
One area that presents good opportunity for exterior architectural coatings manufactures is the “Green Building” movement.
Coatings manufacturers have developed sustainable product
lines to meet LEED and other green building requirements.
Sherwin-Williams offers a number of products to meet the
needs of the Green Building movement. “In addition to our
strong line-up of end-use architectural coatings, we also have a
number of production finishes for exterior building products that
are environmentally-preferable,” said McNamara. “We offer a a
wide range of water-based Kem Aqua finishes for exterior use, as
well as Polane polyurethane coatings that are HAPs-free and
lower VOC.”
Sherwin-Williams recently launched Kem Aqua BP Siding Plus,
a one component, low VOC, water reducible enamel topcoat de-
signed for OEM applica-
tion to various substrates
for exterior building
products. It can be used
on CPVC, wood, fiber-
glass pultrusions, fiberce-
ment and paper
overlayed OSB, and also
can be formulated with
solar reflective pigment
technology to help pro-
tect heat sensitive sub-
strates.
“Sherwin-Williams
developed the GreenSure
designation for our
products that offer maximum performance,
long-term durability and
were designed and manufactured taking steps to
reduce environmental
impact and to meet or
exceed the most stringent regulatory requirements,” said Mike
Conway, director corporate communications,
The Sherwin-Williams
Company. “
Sherwin-Williams also offers a
variety of products that
are Greengaurd Indoor
Molten Metallics is an alkyd high gloss paint from Benjamin Moore. It can be
used for exterior surfaces and delivers an effective rust-resistant treatment.
