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orsolvent-basedformulations,accordingtoAdrianaVeríssimo,
AcrylicMonomersbusinessmanagerEvonik.“Themarket for
monomers inBrazil has significant potential,whichhasbeen
particularly driven by their technical evolution and by our
customer requirements in industries like building and con-
struction. In times of crisis, however, suppliers are required
toputmoreeffort into introducingnewdevelopments in the
marketplace, openingnewnichemarkets, and spreading the
wordmore forcefullyonall benefitsmonomersprovide.”
ErikaCristinaBarros deSouza, development and application
expert at IGM Resins, says that monomers have developed
somuch over the past several years, that they have gone
frombeing a rawmaterial that helped todeliver theproper-
ties required by the various formulations to often being a
key or the one key ingredient. “Monomers ensure a variety
of technical benefits, suchasflexibility, high reactivity, good
adhesion, chemical and physical strength, water resistance,
heat resistance, weatherability, low surface tension, low
shrinkage, goodspigment dispersionandwetting, hardness,
etc.Asaresult,theyare in increasinglyhighdemand,especially
monomers featuringuniqueproperties, such as ethoxylated
monomers, which enable us tomeet complex requirements
likeflexibilitywithhigh strength and reactivity.We comeup
withnewmonomers eachday, withuniqueproperties rang-
ing fromoptimizingadditive levels inslipandwettingagents,
for example, to unparalleled adhesion to several kinds of
substratesand invariousdifferent applications.”
BASFproducesacrylicmonomersattheBASFAcrylicComplex
inCamaçari, Bahia,where itsprocessesemploy cutting-edge
technology that helps to reduce CO2 emissions and waste
generation.According toValterMilani, senior salesmanager,
Petrochemicals, at BASF, technological advancements like
these are contributing tominimizing environmental impacts
and improvingenergyefficiency.“Acrylicmonomersareused
asrawmaterialstoproducetheacrylicresins,dispersionsand
emulsionsemployed inpaintformulations.Hencethechoiceof
whatmonomer tousebeingkey to influencingboth theper-
formanceandcompetitivenessofpaintsandcoatings.Forthis
reason,acrylicmonomersareundercontinuousdevelopment
atBASF,which isnot limitedtothemasaproduct,butextends
to our production processes, ensuring good performance
andenergyefficiency, and thus reducingour consumptionof
natural resources.”
Milani alsopointsout that paint and coatings companies are
in search of suppliers that can assure a reliable supply, at
competitive prices, of acrylicmonomers that not onlymeet
their current requirements, but are alsodesigned tobe able
toaccommodate futureneeds, aswell asproducts that
bringnewtechnologies intotheregion.“Theyrelyonthe
experienceof their supplierswith thequalityandsafety
aspects for theirproducts.”
INDUSTRY IN THE SPOTLIGHT - MORE THAN THREE
DECADESDEVELOPINGCOLORS
Inbusinessfor35years,Argalithasastructurethatbreaks
down into three manufacturing sites producing 5,000
tonsofmortarpermonthandmorethanfivemillion liters
ofpaintspermonth.
The story of Argalit began to be written back in 1982,
whenLuizGonzagaMachado set his eyes in themortar
industry and started the business in the town of Ca-
choeirode Itapemirim,EspíritoSanto. In1984,thefactory
was relocated to the townof Cariacica to secure closer
access to rawmaterials and further improve thequality
of its products, whereArgalit started concentrating its
productionofmortar and grout. As several yearswent
by, thenext stepwas tobreak into themarket fordeco-
rativepaintsaswell.
Currently, Argalit has threemanufacturing sites, two in
EspíritoSanto, in the towns of Viana andCariacica, and
one in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, with
production takingupacombinedareaof40,000square
meters.“We’vebankedon joiningourVianaandCampos
plants in order to improve production efficiency, and
we’ve had cutting-edge equipment installed to speed
upour productionprocess.Wehave invested about R$
3million,andtheresultswe’veachievedhavehadaposi-
tive impact onour capacityand logistics,”CEORaphael
CassaroMachadopointsout.
Thecompany ispresent inmore than600Braziliancities
and townswithadiverseproduct range, spanning from
acrylic paints, textured coatings, enamels and comple-
ments for wood surfaces tomortars and grouts, and
its product lines are testedby the appropriate national
agencies, such as the ABNT (Brazilian Association for
TechnicalStandards),forexample. Inaddition,Argalithas
keycertifications required in themarketplace, including
under theABRAFATI PSQ (Industry-SpecificQualityPro-
gram), and the ISO9001and ISO 14001 standards, and is
about tobecertifiedunderOHSAS 18000.
FILLERS - 70YEARS INMINERAL FILLERS
Lamil was born in 1947 as a domestic producer of agal-
matolitebased inthemunicipalityofParádeMinas, inthe