by Charles W. Thurston
Latin America Correspondent
thurstoncw@rodmanmedia.com
Anew, region-wide paint and coat- ings association in Latin America, the Federación Latinoamericana de
Fabricantes de Pinturas, or Latin American
Federation of Paint Manufacturers, has
formally launched with a headquarters in Mexico, and officers in Brazil and
Argentina. Latinpat, as one source labels
the new organization, is headed by Javier
Maldonado Moctezuma, the general director
of PSI Pinturas, based in the city and state
of Puebla.
The Latin American paint market is estimated at $10 billion, and growing a percentage
point or two faster than regional GDP, which is
forecast by the World Bank to strengthen from
1.9 percent in 2014, to 2.9 percent in 2015 and
3. 5 percent in 2016.
“Out goal is to slowing draw in all the
countries of the region from our starting
base of six signatories. For those countries
without a dedicated paint and coatings organization, we hope to help them launch one,
with the ultimate goal of cooperating with
international paint and coating organizations,” said Maldonado. Also a past president of Mexico’s Asociacion Nacional de
Fabricantes de Pinturas y Tintas (Anafapyt),
Maldonado is a champion of small business, and also served as the president of the
Red Mexicana de Franquicias, or Mexican
Franchise Network.
In promotion of small and medium paint
and coatings companies in Mexico, Maldonado
pointed out that of Anafapyt’s total membership of some 300 companies, 80 percent are
small and medium in size. Further, he noted,
half of those companies had the capability to
export products, out of the more than 600 million liters they produce annually.
During his tenure as president of Anafapyt,
he opined that the proposed merger of
Sherwin-Williams and Comex would not
have a negative impact on the Mexican paint
and coatings industry overall; he welcomed
the potential of a greater flow of technology
into the country.
“Among follow-on goals are to help countries establish more global norms for contents,
including materials like lead, water-based products and other elements,” said Maldonado.
“Beyond that, technical training, the Care program, logistics, and statistics are areas where
we can cooperate,” he said.
The first country signatories to the
Latinpat organization are: Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay.
Thus far, Brazil – home of the Associacao
das Fabricantes de Tintas (Abrafati) – and
Mexico have the strongest national paint associations. Assisting Maldonado as the first
president are vice presidents from Brazil and
Argentina. The location of the federation will
travel with the president until a permanent
headquarters is selected, he said.
Maldonado’s company PSI Pinturas is a full-portfolio manufacturer of paint and coatings
products that distributes through a network of
32 franchises thus far. “We have an aggressive
program in place to reach 500 franchises over
the next five years,” says Maldonado. These
franchises would primarily serve the Mexican
market but could also serve some neighboring
countries through master franchise networks,
he added.
Among brands PSI produces in the market leading acrylic architectural line are: PSI;
Betavin; Royal Tone and Royal Paint; Sella
Class; Tinta Class and Tintas Concentradas. CW
The Latin
American
Federation
of Paint
Manufacturers has
formally launched
with headquarters
in Mexico, and
officers in Brazil
and Argentina.
New Latin American Paint Federation Formed
