Europe
regulations, the growing switch from
solvent to waterborne products in industrial coatings and increased use of
biomaterials.
Also there is a greater demand from
end-users for higher performance coatings which requires the development of
more sophisticated technologies.
As a result coatings producers are
having to provide to their customers
more tailored products, often with specific functional properties.
“Traditional coatings properties are
no longer enough,” said Daniel Bruenink,
director global marketing, decorative
coatings at Evonik Industries, the leading German speciality chemicals producer, now a major player in coatings raw
materials, especially additives.
“Our customers are seeking to gain
an advantage by imbuing their coatings
with additional functionality,” he added.
The larger chemical companies are
well positioned to meet the needs of
these customers because of their R&D
capabilities.
Evonik, which has a strong R&D
competence, was among the most visible
of participants at ECS with a large exhibition stand and a high profile in new
product presentations and at the show’s
conference.
Earlier this year it completed the acquisition of Air Products’ Performance
Materials division which transformed it
into one of the world’s leading suppliers
of coatings additives with approximately
€2 billion ( $2 billion) in sales, equivalent
to about 17 percent of the company’s total sales.
The ECS was an opportunity for
the company’s newly formed coatings
additives business line to unveil its
new portfolio for the coatings and adhesives industry.
“We have here a unit with a technology platform that is unique worldwide, offering solutions for almost any
challenge in the formulation of paints
and coatings,” claimed Claus Rettig,
chairman of Evonik’s Resource
Efficiency segment.
In the coatings area, Evonik is now
a global leader in water-based addi-
tives, high-performance additives, curing
agents, rheological additives and matting
agents.
Among the new products introduced
at the ECS was a compatibilizer which
stabilises both organic and inorganic
pigments in alkyd resin coatings. Evonik
also showed new polyetheretherketone
(PEEK) powers which reduce wear on
industrial components in applications
with demanding mechanical, thermal and
chemical requirements.
Another innovation was an easy-to-disperse silica product which during the
production of coatings ensures shorter
processing and cleaning times and less
waste.
Among other multinational chemical companies which produce coatings
raw materials and were prominent in
the show were Dow Chemical, BASF,
Clariant, Solvay, Lubrizol, Arkema and
Lanxess.
Dow emphasised materials for adding functionalities to architectural coatings, such as low odor, ease of cleaning
and improvements to air quality through
near-zero emissions of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs).
“We are seeing real demand for high-
performance masonry coatings with
specific attributes that vary with local
conditions and individual market de-
mands,” said Ulrich Nauber of Dow
Coating Materials. “This means that it is
important to be able to offer formulators
a menu of options.”
Arkema also highlighted a trend to-
ward smart coatings in the construc-
tion sector, where, according to Claire
Reynier, of Arkema Coating Resins, “en-
ergy efficiency and healthy buildings are
the challenges for tomorrow.”
Among the non-European additives
producers making their first appearance
at the ECS was Songwon Industrial
Group of South Korea which is the
world’s second largest manufacturer of
polymer stabilisers behind BASF.
The company introduced at the show a
range of antioxidants, UV stabilizers and
hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS).
“As a global company it is im-
portant for us to be present in the
European coatings market,” said
Rosanna Telesca, leader, market centre
coatings at Songwon International AG,
Frauenfeld, Germany. “Europe is a
trend center in new technologies. Once
a new technology is developed here it
will soon be exported to Asia and else-
where in the world.”
A number of leading international
chemical companies, like BASF, Clariant
and Lanxess gave prominence to their
pigments and dispersions portfolios, but
also highlighted materials and additives
in other areas. Clariant even launched a
bioproduct – a sugar-based VOC-free
neutralizing agent.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a
leader in special effects pigments, introduced a number of other products resulting from a move into materials for
functional coatings.
Among these were polysilazanes, a
new class of coating binder based on a
silicon polymer technology now proprietary to Merck following the $2.5
billion acquisition two years ago of AZ
Electronic Materials, a UK–listed company making high-purity speciality chemicals for the electronics market.
The takeover was aimed at using AZ’s electronic chemicals to expand
Merck’s speciality chemicals division.
“Because of its focus on electronic
chemicals AZ did not see the tremendous prospects in this polymer which
after curing becomes a highly durable,
resistant and transparent ceramic-type
material,” explained Oliver Piening, director global marketing technical functionals at Merck.
Merck believes that with its high
level of thermal, corrosion and scratch
resistance, high hardness, hydrophobicity and applicability in low to medium
thicknesses it has a great potential as a
binder in transportation, architectural
and industrial coatings.
“At the moment it is only being made
in a small plant in India,” Piening said.
“We are discussing the building of a new
plant possibly in Germany or the U.S.”
A major expansion in polysilazanes
production capacity would be a big diversification for Merck in its coatings
business but is illustrative of the new horizons being explored by Europe’s raw
materials producers. CW
