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| PAINT&PINTURA |Outubro2016
POSITIVE FORECASTSPERSIST
As months go by, some improvement in the Brazilian
economy has been confirmed, however slight. TheOr-
ganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment
(OECD) has forecasteda3.3-percent fall in theGDP for
this year,whichmeans some improvement inexpecta-
tions,as the fallpreviouslyanticipatedwas4.3percent.
Fornextyear, theprojected fallhasalso improved from
1.7 to0.3percent. Theglobal GDPgrowth forecast for
2016 is 2.9percent.
Economistsoperating inBrazil’sfinancialmarket share
thatoptimism in their forecasts. According toaCentral
Bank survey, thecountry’sGDPwill shrink3.15percent
this year. For 2017, economists have slightly bumped
their GDP growth forecast to 1.36 percent from the
1.3 percent they previously estimated. They have also
announced a decrease in their inflation forecast for
this year.
Everythingwillgraduallygetbacktonormal.Businesses
have not allowed any of the bad news to intimidate
them,as theykeepon investing incapacityexpansions,
new developments, product improvements, technical
support, and customer service. This is because they
know that as slow as the process may be, both the
economyand thedemand for theirproductswill grow.
This issuebringsyouclearexamplesofsuch investments
beingmadeby large companies likeEuroamericanand
Cerviflan,bothcelebrating40yearsofbusiness inthe in-
dustry,Colornet,whicharecelebrating20years,and lastbut
not least, Covestro, celebratingall of 80 yearsof existence.
As for the featured themes for this issue, such as “Oxy-
genated Solvents”, “Wetting and Dispersing Agents”, and
“Colorants for Tinting Systems”, companies also continue
to invest in new technologies andR&D, showing amarked
concern with innovations that result in environmentally
friendlier products and, just as importantly, deliver positive
cost-benefit ratios amid these timesof crisis.
Even though the forecasts point to a declining economy,
they have been improvingmonth aftermonth. In addition,
this whole movement going on among businesses brings
optimismtothe industryandthehopethatgrowth iscoming
sooner thanwe think.We’re looking forward to it.
LucéliaMonfardini
OXYGENATED SOLVENTS - WITH A COMFORTABLE
A LEAD
Oxygenatedsolventscontinue tobemostusedof their
productclass inthepaintandcoatingssupplychain.This
isbecause the industry follows the trend towardsmore
sustainableand safermaterials featuringperformance
at affordable costs.
Themarket foroxygenated solvents continuesgaining
ground from other solvent types due to environmen-
tal concerns. The industry is more and more focused
on meeting end consumer requirements, and one of
them is for products delivering performance without har-
ming the environment. “Regulations in several countries
around the world have been changing, and Brazil will be
noexception. In this context, oxygenated solvents have an
edgeoverhydrocarbonsolvents, forexample,whichboosts
newdevelopments in this fieldwith a view tomakingmore
competitiveproducts thatcancontendwithoreven replace
other solvents that aremoreharmful to theenvironment,”
saysMCassabproductdevelopmentcoordinatorAnaAmélia
Horta.
Sustainability has been a major concern in the paint and
