Catherine Diamond, Associate Editor
The global coatings additives market is expected to grow from an estimated $6 billion industry in 2013 to $8.7 billion by 2018, with a CAGR of 6.4% from 2013. This
is according to a report by research firm Markets and Markets,
which also found that environmental regulations have caused a
major shift towards waterborne and powder coatings.
“The major function of a coating additive is to address
problems hindering the performance of coatings; as the problem would include foaming, wetting & dispersing, inconsistent
rheology, biocides, etc.,” the report states. “Thus, the industry
players have begun focusing on developing and launching additives which would facilitate the formulators to achieve the right
proportion along with high performance. With the tightening
environmental regulations, formulators are forced to reduce
the VOC content in their products. This has caused a shift towards the use of water-borne or powder coatings, wherever it
is possible.
“Careful selection of the right additive plays an important
role in the performance of coatings in its end-use application.”
According to Markets and Markets estimates, Asia-Pacific
lead the market for coating additives with 40.8% share at global level in 2012, followed by North America ( 26.9%), Europe
( 20.2%), and South America ( 8.1%). Looking at additives type,
acrylic-based coating additives leads demand with highest share,
followed by urethane, metallic, and fluoropolymer-based additives, researchers found.
According to BASF, growth in the additives market is largely
dependent on the regional growth of the overall paint market. In
2015, there were pockets of volume growth in additives globally
depending on regional paint market activity.
Stephanie Lee, global marketing communications manager at
Lonza, said that in terms of the company’s biocide additives, the
market did experience growth in 2015.
“The use of water-based paints increased and water-based
paints utilized in-can preservatives,” she said. “Overall, the
market growth for our additives was similar to the growth
for architectural paints in 2015. Based on the current mar-
ket trends Lonza’s biocide additives are well positioned for
growth in 2016.”
Shenton King, director of marketing for King Industries, said
that his company’s coatings division continued to grow at a
moderate pace through 2015.
“The additives market is a good barometer to the health
of specific markets and international economies as a whole,”
King said. “2016 should be a good year for additives consid-
ering the rebound of the auto industry, low gas prices and low
interest rates. All of that is wonderful and great for business,
but we also have a strong dollar right now, and although it’s
good for our domestic business, it generally has a flattening
effect on our export business. We expect the dollar to con-
tinue to gain strength as current low interest rates continue
to rise through 2017.”
King added: “Manufactures in both the aerospace and auto
industry are continually challenged to reduce engine emissions,
improve efficiency, and reduce the overall carbon footprint of
their product. As those regulations become more challenging,
specialty additive companies like King Industries will continue
to play a major role in the development of coatings technology
which help our customers meet their needs.”
Raw Materials
Always a financial concern for additives suppliers, the price of
raw materials continued to be noteworthy through 2015.
Bob Ruckle, global marketing and sales manager at
Siltech Corporation, said that low gas and oil pricing has
rippled through the supply chain and pricing is stable or
Growth in the coatings industry is pushing the additives industry forward.
Additives Industry
UPDATE
