Coatings World - December 2012

The Powder Coatings Market
The powder coating industry is mature in the regions and markets where penetration
has occurred, but there are a number of new applications and new regions where
powder has strong growth potential.
Kerry Pianoforte, Editor

Although growth in the powder coatings market remains luggish, there are certain regions and niche markets that offer healthy growth potential.

“North America has fairly good growth for powder coat-
ings in 2012, which is reflected in industry numbers and trends,”
said Bob Cregg, senior marketing director - general finishing and
electronics, The Sherwin-Williams
Olaf Conreur, global marketing
manager for Jotun Powder Coatings
shared that the current year witnessed
growth that was slightly slower as
compared to previous years, “Market
growth for the period of 2010 to 2015
has been predicted to progress at a
Compounded Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of around four to five percent
per annum,” he said. “However, the growth that we experienced in

2011 and this year, remained slower than the other years. Despite this, the market in general is healthy and continues to grow and we are doing well compared to the market.”

Environmental Regulations

Powder coatings does not require solvents and releases relatively small amounts of VOC during cure. As a result, powder coatings has always benefited from environmental regulations.

“Stricter environmental regulations have definitely been
one of they key drivers in North America for the growth in
the powder coatings industry, going back to the mid-1980s,”
Jotun continues to be a strate-
gic player in the move to protect
and preserve the environment—re-
maining true to its commitment to
develop products that leave less of
a carbon footprint and are highly
eco-friendly. “The presence of highly
stringent environmental regulations
is a favorable advantage for powder
coatings, mainly because these prod-
ucts are VOC free, recyclable and
easy and safe to dispose of,” Conreur
added. “All of our latest innovations
and technologies are developed with
the ultimate aim of compliance with
these set environmental standards,
which in turn, is part of our Jotun
GreenSteps program that looks to-
wards giving our customers more
sustainable solutions.”
From a regional standpoint, Asia
continues to represent the best area
for growth. Conreur explained the
company’s current global expansion initiatives, “Asia is growing
a lot. In fact, we have just built a factory in China,” he said. “We
are also putting strong focus on the Middle East and emerging
markets like Russia—with a new factory up for completion by
2014. This new factory is expected to help address the growing
demand for powder coatings across the Russian market.”
Conreur revealed the company’s main strategy, “Simply put,
sustainability is Jotun Powder Coating’s main focus, which is
evident in our continuing move to offer products that integrate