Another encouraging note for Brazilian industry is that during the coming year Abrafati’s annual paint and coatings show
will move to a new, larger, more modern venue in 2017, supported by large investments by new show developer GL Events.
Colombia
Colombia’s economy expanded by 3.1 percent last year, following 4.0 percent results for many years. Still, “We anticipate that
activity in Colombia will likely be flat,” said Knavish.
Among other new developments in the market, “Axalta
launched the second edition of the Axalta Color’s Partners Club
in Colombia,” which it calls the first loyalty program in Latin
America, Winocur said. This program is intended to share innovative techniques with hundreds of automotive refinishers in
Colombia through training designed to help them strengthen
their skills and capabilities.
On the company stores front, Pintuco set a goal of adding 35
Tienda Pintacasa Pintuco stores during 2015, increasing coverage to 57 cities in Colombia. The goal up to 2018 is to increase
the store count to 300, according to statements by Jean Jeaques
Thiriez, the general manager of Pintuco.
Similarly, DIY chain Sodimac Colombia, the country’s largest, is also investing in new stores. The company issued $160
million worth of shares in July 2015 to finance new investments. Among new facilities is a $25 million distribution center
in Colombia, the company’s third. Sodimac now has 35 stores
across the country.
Mexico
In Mexico, the expectation for paint and coatings growth is
beyond the expected GDP increase of 2.6 percent this year.
Investments there are heating up.
“In April 2016, we opened an expanded resin production
facility in Tlalnepantla, just outside of Mexico City, from which
we will supply many of the leading automotive OEMs in Mexico
among other customers,” noted Winocur. “At the manufacturing
facility in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon State, we inaugurated a newly
refurbished technology and R&D center for powder coatings in
2015,” he adds.
For PPG, “Mexico continues to be a strong market. In the
first quarter, PPG sales were up approximately 5.0 percent in
Mexico, in pesos,” he said. “We also completed a $27 million
expansion of its San Juan del Rio, Queretaro State manufacturing facility in 2015. The additional capacity enables PPG to
meet increasing demand for OEMs, packaging and industrial
coatings customers in Mexico,” notes Knavish.
“PPG-Comex last year added 190 paint stores in Mexico.
Today, we have more than 4,100 stores and we plan to add
more than 160 stores this year. The PPG-Comex team has its
highest store density in Central Mexico, while we are enhancing
our presence in Southern and Northern Mexico with new store
concepts,” Knavish explained. CW
From left to right: Francisco X. Gonzalez, President Axalta Mexico; Undersecretary of Industrial Development of the State of Mexico, Laura Gonzalez; Charles
W. Shaver, Axalta Chairman and CEO; Tatjana Heinrich, Managing Partner of
the German-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Aurora Denisse
Ugalde, President of the Municipality of Tlalnepantla; Ana Lopez, Executive
Vice President and General Director of the American Chamber; Jorge Cossio,
President Axalta Latin America.
