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| Paint&pintura | Junho2015
products.FiguresfortheBrazilianmarkethavedemonstra-
tedhowhardatimewearehavingandhowbadlythecrisis
isaffectingus.Given thecurrentsituation,SearchQuímica
believes that achieving results similar or close to thoseof
2014willbeenoughofacause forcelebration.”
Themarket forbasicmonomers inBrazil (acrylicandvinyl)
couldwell havegrown if ithadn’tbeen foragrowingpro-
tectionismand for antidumpingactions that haveproved
ahindrance to thisdevelopment, according toVictor Luis
MalufAmarilla,technicalmarketingdirectoratKalium.“The
increase in paint prices is not followed by growth in the
incomeof thepopulation. In thisperiodof sloweconomic
growth, people attach less importance tomaintaining a
freshpaintjobon their surfaces. As a result, consumption
evolutiondatawilldisplayadecrease inthegrowththathad
beenexperienced.Forthisyear, lookingatthecurrentpat-
ternsofeconomicgrowth,Ibelievethere isatrendtowards
eitheraslightdownturnorminuteornear-zerogrowth.”
Amarillaalsopointsout that theBrazilian industry’sworst
enemy isprotectionism.“Weshouldavoidantidumpingac-
tions, lowertariffsonrawmaterials,constantlymonitorthe
entryoffinishedproducts,andexpandbilateraltradeagre-
ements, notwithstanding that theMercosur isahurdle to
that.StrengtheningtheMercosur inthecurrentframework
meansweakeningthedomestic industry,”hewarns.
Colorimetry - ColorPrecision, Accuracyand
Quality
Showingrapidgrowth intheBrazilianmarket,colorimetric
equipmenthavebecomeanecessity insidepaintfactories
toensurecolorqualitycontrol,measurement,formulation,
correction and research, while streamlining production
and reducingcosts.
Colorimetryhassucceeded ingaining itsdegreeof impor-
tance in thepaint industry by ensuring color quality and
accuracy.“Today,anyoneworkingwithcolorsnecessarily
has tohaveequipment toat least control theirproducts.
Usingacolorimetricsystemenablesyoutoensurequality
fromthereceiptofrawmaterialstocompletionoftheend
product.Thisprovides industries inthecolorbusinesswith
benefits intermsofsavings, speedandquality,”saysLuiz
Fatarelli, director at Cordix Comércio de Equipamentos
paraLaboratórios.
Todependonthehumaneyeforprofessionalapprovals is
averyhighrisktowhichsomecompaniesarestillexposed,
accordingtoAlexandreZerbatto,X-Rite’ssalesdirectorfor
Brazil.“Oneofthekeyqualityfactorsbywhichacompany
ismeasured is its ability to supply lotswith the same color in
different periods. Nobodywants to buy paint for a touch-up
andthennoticeadifference inshadeontheirwall,carorpacka-
gingmaterial. Inaddition tospectrophotometerandsoftware
solutions, X-RitePantoneprovides a hue test by thenameof
Munsell FM100 thatassesses theperceptionof thehumaneye
as to theclassificationof slightlydifferenthues. This test isap-
plied toproductionand laboratorypersonnelwhoareused to
assessingcolorsvisually, andabout 10percentof theusers fail
thistest,onaverage,whichshowsthe importanceofassessing
paintcolorusingautomated tools.”
Currently,mostpaintmanufacturers, fromsmall to largeones,
alreadyhavesomecolorimetrytechnology inuse.“Colorimetry
iseverythingwhen itcomes topaintquality.Considerapracti-
cal example: asweareshoppingat thesupermarket,weseea
productonshelfwhosepackaginghasadifferentcolorthanthe
otherones. Whatdoesthatmakeusthinkaboutthatproduct?
At least, it isspoiledandwill remainon theshelf,asnoonewill
buy it.Nothavingequipmenttocontrol colorqualityandcolor
formulationcancreateproblems involvingreturns fromcusto-
mersand,asaresult, lossesmuchhigherthanthe investment in
basiccolorimetricequipmentwouldhavebeen,”saysDatacolor
Brazil’smanagingdirectorRicardoLovetro.
According toMAST’s salesmanager SergioRobertoMarigon-
da, the importanceof colorimetry lies in keeping the color of
producedandsold lotsconsistent,withnovisibledifference in
relation to the customer’s standard. “On theone hand, colo-
rimetry keeps customers satisfiedwith a quality product and
thusretainsthem.Ontheotherhand, itpreventswasteoftime
andmoneyon rework. Forcompanies thatwork in thefieldof
colors,colormeasurementovertimehasbecomean imperative.
Because colorimetry can quickly ensure color consistency on
theirproducts, ithasbecomean indispensablerequirementfor
achievinguniformcoloronproductssupplied tocustomers.”
Majorbrandshave realized thatapaintproductwith incorrect
colorcancompromise the imageofamanufacturer,especially
among en customers, according to Coralis’ director Ricardo
Gargalaca. “We’ve seen companies losingmillions due to re-
turnsof lotswithout color control.Manufacturers that realize
the importance of colorimetry usually are or becomemarket
leaders,whereasmanufacturerswhohavepricingas themain
selling point are usually unable to invest in their equipment
andprocesses.”
CarbonBlack -Versatility inShadesofBlack
Newdevelopmentsthatleadtolowercostsandemployadvanced
technologiesfollowingthetrendtowardsenvironmentallycom-
