Clariant suggests a sea of underwa- ter-inspired shades to bring more color to our roads in 2019 in its
new global Automotive Trendbook. The
“Marine Magic” collection of automotive
styling shades is based on Clariant’s color
know-how and observations of social
trends, topics and industry developments.
Clariant’s biennial global Automotive
Trendbook presents the color areas that
will play a role in the automotive industry
in the future. It includes analysis of color
popularity and offers innovative solutions
based on its organic pigments. Clariant
is one of only a few pigment producers
worldwide spearheading color trend forecasting for the automotive industry.
For the year 2019, Clariant explores the
mesmerizing colors of the oceans and reefs,
and the strikingly colored and camouflaged
“outfits” of marine life. It delves into the infinite variety of hues and nuances found in
the depths, and thinks about what meaning
they convey above the water. The result is
a presentation of four color families which
are likely to attract different types of personalities and mindsets:
Fancy Flexibility:
SHINY MULTITUDES
Some colors are like a common denominator, something everybody can live with
even when they come in multitudes. They
bring a sense of optimism into our tech-nology- and efficiency-focused lifestyle,
but do not attract attention. Because of
their simple effects, they require only
little maintenance and remain beautiful
even at low light.
A taste for Tradition:
SOLITARY ELEGANCE
These colors provide a car with a touch
of timelessness. They are decent and low-key, yet the effects appear valuable, but
unintrusive. This is why such colors stand
for traditional and rock solid values like
respect and appreciation, but also for sustainability and a careful use of resources.
A sense of Curiosity:
EXPLORER BY NATURE
The car is becoming “smart”, and the
consequences on how we travel will be
as revolutionary as the transition from
mobile phones to smartphones. So there
are lots of surprises ahead, and it can be
thrilling to discover. The intrinsic optimism of such drivers is represented by the
choice of bright chromatic colors, too.
Eager for Excellence:
LOOK AT ME!
Some people are definitive individualists.
They enjoy power and speed and show
this in their choice of exclusive and outstanding car colors. Individualists are by
no means egotists. However, they operate
their lives and machines at the limits, paving the way for those to follow.
Clariant communicates the trends using color samples coated with original
paint and through meaningful imagery. In the new Automotive Trendbook
2019, Clariant displays a wide variety of
future shades, made possible by the use
of Clariant Hostaperm and Novoperm
grades with new opaque, sparkling effect
pigments and tinted clear technology.
Bernhard Stengel-Rutkowski, senior global technical marketing manager at Clariant,
commented: “We have observed a global color megatrend towards achromatic car colors
since the beginning of the millenium. Now,
it’s time for the chromatic shades to stand
out and add more color. Clariant’s biennial
Automotive Trendbook is a highly-appreciat-ed source of inspiration for the automotive
industry, from paint and coatings manufacturers, and designers and trend analysts for
automotive colors, to the OEMs and their
designers. We are looking forward to sharing
this journey into Marine Magic with them.”
AkzoNobel Launches New
Tool to Monitor Bio-based
Materials
A new online tool which can track
the use of bio-based raw materials in
products has been launched as a pilot by
project partners AkzoNobel, Advanced
Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (ABT)
and EY. It will be the first tool ever to use
e-certification to track bio-based content
along the value chain.
Many chemicals can be made either
from fossil feedstock or bio-based raw
materials, such as vegetable oils or sugars, but it is difficult to verify how much
of each has been used. The new tool aims
to solve this problem by verifying exactly
how much of a product is made from
bio-based raw materials. This will make
it easier for producers and consumers to
choose more sustainable products and
move towards a more circular economy.
“Chemicals are the building blocks of
essential products in our everyday lives,”
explained Peter Nieuwenhuizen, global
RD&I director of Specialty Chemicals
at AkzoNobel. “Yet despite the growing
attention for sustainability, we still can-
not easily track bio-based raw materials.
This innovative approach will enable us
to further pursue our goal of making the
chemical industry more sustainable.”
Bio-based raw materials are certified at
the start of the supply chain. Companies
can then transfer these via an online plat-
form, which automatically keeps track
of the bio-based content of any products
made from them. This approach negates
the need for separate, external certifi-
cation further down the supply chain,
giving producers quick insight into the
bio-based content of their products.
Epicerol will be the first chemical to
be tracked throughout the supply chain.
The bio-based epichlorohydrin (ECH) is
produced by ABT and is already used in
AkzoNobel’s sustainable epoxy coatings.
Following the pilot phase, the partners
are looking to expand the tool to other
chemicals, such as dimethylether, which is
used as a propellant in deodorant cans. The
system provides sufficient flexibility so that
it can be used by the industry across a wide
range of products. The partners believe this
Clariant Releases Automotive
Color Trendbook for 2019
