Coatings World - April 2014

latex coatings is projected to witness strong growth driven by increasing awareness about health hazards of VOC containing paints and coatings, and rising demand for environmentally friendly paints.

Latex is a milky emulsion of plant extracts comprising proteins, resins, starches, alkaloids, among others. Latex coatings or water emulsion coatings include various thermoplastic resin particles, covered by an emulsifier for keeping the particles separate in the liquid phase. Growing demand for paints and coatings containing low VOCs and implementation of stringent environment and health safety regulations related to VOC are projected to drive market growth. Characteristics such as low odor, and zero-VOC content make latex coatings especially suited for industrial maintenance applications.

“In 2013, our revenue from eco-premium solutions – in-
cluding low and zero-VOC products – was almost $5 billion,
or 24 percent of our total revenue,” said André Veneman, cor-
porate director for sustainability & HSE at AkzoNobel. “Eco-
premium solutions are a fundamental driver of our strategy
for creating more value from fewer resources and we continue
to measure the proportion of revenue that they generate. Our
2015 target is to achieve 30 percent of revenue from eco-pre-
mium solutions.”
Benjamin Moore is committed to developing the most envi-
ronmentally safe and sustainable portfolios in the industry. “In
fact, we were the first to market with a true zero VOC prod-
uct, Natura, in 2008,” said Kelly Sinatra of Benjamin Moore.
“Today, we are transitioning many of our premium products to
zero VOC.”
Lower VOC coatings are at the heart of AkzoNobel’s port-
folio of coatings products. A few examples of the company’s
low- and zero-VOC coatings products include the Dulux
Ambiance range of decorative paints, which was launched
in China last year; Sikkens Autowave 2.0, a low-VOC wa-
terborne basecoat with best-in-class color and application
performance that was recently introduced to the vehicle re-
finish segment by its Performance Coatings business; and
Interplate Zero, an advanced, patented, water-based IMO
PSPC-compliant zinc silicate shop primer for the marine seg-
ment with zero-VOCs, which is reducing the volume of VOCs
emitted in shipyards globally. “All of these products along
with AkzoNobel’s broader eco-premium solutions portfolio
is helping to improve our customers’ environmental profile
and productivity,” added Veneman.

“Benjamin Moore offers zero VOC products in both our
premium and professional segments,” said Sinatra. “Within our
premium segment Natura is zero VOC but in 2014 we are tran-
sitioning the majority of our premium products to zero VOC.”
“Benjamin Moore is excited to continue our history of pio-
neering products with this launch of the first-ever, premium
paint product made with bio-renewable materials and zero
emissions,” Mike Searles, president and CEO of Benjamin
Moore & Co. said in a press statement. “The size and growth
of this market shows that greener, more sustainable products
matter to consumers, interior designers and architects. With
Natura Renew, we’re able to offer these discerning custom-
ers an authentically sustainable paint without compromising
performance, color and durability. This sort of breakthrough
innovation, delivered through our network of independent
dealers, is the hallmark of Benjamin Moore.”
Natura Renew, which contains up to 40 percent bio-renew-
able materials, is an extension of Natura, Benjamin Moore’s
most sustainable and eco-friendly paint. Natura Renew delivers
zero emissions, offers easy application and is both durable and