military, and MRO segments will increase the overall aerospace
coatings consumption,” researchers found.
Mergers as opportunities
Airline mergers are of significant interest for aerospace coatings
manufacturers, as they represent enormous potential. According
to Mark Cancilla, global platform director – aerospace coatings,
PPG Aerospace, the industry is always impacted by mergers because they drive livery changes for at least one of the airline
fleets being merged, if not both.
“Of course, this often provides significant opportunities to
the aerospace coatings suppliers, filling capacity in our facto-
ries,” he said. “This can also create some issues for suppliers
who are not able to manage large fluctuations in demand.”
John Griffin, business director, North America for AkzoNobel
Specialty Coatings, said that mergers contribute to the health of
the industry, “and this, in turn, helps to sustain and drive growth
for coatings.
“AkzoNobel has been involved in some large re-branding
programs that enhance airlines’ image and increases coatings
demand (for example, US Air/American Airlines and Avianca/
TACA),” he said.
Mergers can also provide new opportunities for manufacturers, according to Chris Athansopoulos, director of global sales,
Aerospace Division, Hentzen Coatings. For those not currently involved in the exterior market, mergers can open up new
chances to participate.
“Mergers have definitely had a major effect on the market
as the need for paint increases considerably,” Athansopoulos
said. “Exterior surfaces will need to be repainted especially if
the whole livery changes, as in the case of American Airlines.
The same did not occur with the United and Continental merger.
The Continental livery remained the same and only the name
was painted over the aircraft. The United aircraft was totally
repainted. In many cases, the interior colors will also need to
be repainted.”
Increased demand and performance
Though the aerospace market can seem slow to change due to
strict regulations and requirements, manufacturers in this market have report increased demand in general.
According to Cancilla, PPG has seen demand for aerospace
coatings grow as the global economy grows and as the number
of people who can afford the cost of flying increases.
“The aerospace coatings supply requirements increase as the
industry grows,” he said. “Today, we see increased requirements
from the OEM segment where aircraft build rates continue to
grow in the commercial and general aviation segments. And we
continue to see moderate increases in the military segment. The
supply of materials into the aftermarket also continues to grow
as the global fleet of aircraft continues to rise. While today’s
materials and products are quite robust and last longer than
materials produced in the past, the size of the industry continues
to grow at a rate such that the coatings suppliers do see annual
volume increases.”
Cancilla added that customer demand for increased perfor-
mance is always growing, as are their definitions of performance.
Though the industry is moving away from chromated corrosion inhibitors, he said, PPG customers still expect excellent
corrosion resistance from the new chrome-free products that are
being developed. “Chrome is a very robust corrosion inhibitor,
and when chrome-free products are developed it is important
that all aspects of the coating system are addressed to ensure
that similar, if not improved, corrosion inhibition properties are
achieved. So, aircraft service life should not to be sacrificed as
new products are applied,” he said.
Griffin said that AkzoNobel has seen both a solid financial
performance in the aerospace industry and stable production
rates, which contribute to strong demand for coatings in both
new constructions maintenance applications.
In terms of performance, Griffin said, customers want “
reduced costs, faster cycle times, improved efficiency and reduction of waste, particularly as production rates are at an
all-time high.
“Maintenance stations also want these same benefits. There
is a lot of research effort going into the optimization of pro-
cesses and we look to share best practices from within the indus-
try as well as from outside (for example, from automotive),” he
said. “Airlines want to reduce their downtime. They also want
improved durability, allowing them to extend maintenance cy-
cles. Customers also look for more environmentally progressive
products that reduce hazards to people and the environment.”
Julie Voisin, aerospace product manager at Sherwin-Williams,
said that the industry has been moving towards basecoat
clearcoat, something that has been used in the automotive market
for decades now. She added that it has been in use in aerospace
for about five years, and is far from being fully implemented.
Basecoat clearcoat is seeing an uptick for several reasons, she
said. “When dealing with paint for planes, you are painting such
a large area, and it isn’t just a flat surface. It is horizontal, verti-
cal, up and down a tail, under the belly, and so on. The paint is
performing several very valuable functions, including protect-
ing the airframe from corrosion, protecting the entire structure,
and generally making the plane aesthetically pleasing. Clearcoat
gives the ability to put down multiple colors fast and to help it
maintain in spite of all the challenges it faces. Aerospace paint is
the only type of exterior paint that has to handle such extraordi-
nary temperature changes, as well as exposure to light.”
Voisin added that, as far as the interior cabin is concerned,
there are so many people coming in and out through the day
that the interior has to be stain, scratch and mar resistant. On
both sides of the plane, she said, the cabin or exterior, there are
lots of unique ways in which coatings have to perform.
Andreas Ossenkopf, director - head of aviation at
Mankiewicz, said that the entire industry is experiencing growth
at present and so the demand for coatings is expanding along
with it.
Ossenkopf added that much more can now be achieved with
the paint on aircraft exteriors, thanks to the development of
basecoat clearcoat systems by Mankiewicz.
