CLIPPING
8
| PAINT&PINTURA |Abril 2017
HEADING FORGROWTH
Whileprojections for theBrazilianeconomy remainunstable, it is
stillexpectedtogrowthisyear,yetataslowerpacethanpreviously
expected. The government has announced a reduction in their
economic growth forecast for this year, whichhas gone from 1
percentdownto0.5percent.
Brazil’sMinistry of Financehas reported that the country’sGDP
(GrossDomesticProduct)couldgrowatarateof0.49percentfor
thefirstquarterof2017, thengoup0.68percent for thesecond,
up0.73percent for the third, andup0.79percent for the fourth
quarter. Each such rate is as compared to theprevious quarter.
Accordingly, theGDPgrowth rate for the fourthquarter of 2017
wouldbe2.7percentoverthesameperiodof2016.
Inviewofsuchforecast,thegovernmentreallybelievestheBrazilian
economynowhastherecessionbehind it,andthatwecanexpect
abrighter future. For 2018, it is believed that theGDPwill grow
2.5percent.However,MinisterofFinanceHenriqueMeirellessaid
thatasBrazil’seconomystartspickingup, itmaygrow inexcessof
3percent in2018.
Another pieceof goodnewshasbeenpublishedbyBloomberg,
the international newoutletspecializing ineconomics,whichhas
assessed thecountry’ssituationandconcluded that theBrazilian
economicupturn for thisyear isgoing tobea“true rolemodel”
among global economies, after the country suffered theworst
recession in itshistory. Bloombergalso says thatBrazil isamong
thecountriesthatwillseemorerapidgrowththisyear.
Inthis issueofPaint&PinturaMagazine,webringyouanarticleon
oneoftheyear’smostimportantthemes-“ChemicalDistribution,”
featuringaninterviewwithRubensMedrano,presidentoftheBra-
zilianAssociationofChemicalandPetrochemicalDistributorsand
UnionofSãoPauloStateChemicalandPetrochemicalWholesalers
(knownforshortinPortugueseasAssociquim-Sincoquim),whosha-
redwithushisforecastsforthisyear.“Consideringthatwestarted
fromanegativebasisfor2015, thisperformancesendsuspositive
signals,thatwe’reovercomingthecrisisandgraduallygettingback
ontrackforsomemoderatebutsustainablegrowth.The industry
isexpectedtokeepscoringpositivefiguresfor2017.Ifwesucceed
in sustaining agrowth curve, even if only amoderateone, then
that in itselfwillbegreat for thedistribution industry.Should this
optimistic scenariobeconfirmed in thecourseof theyear, thatwill be
quiteauspiciousforthechemicaldistribution industry.”
Leading chemical distributorswere also consulted for the article, and
theyallsaidtheyhavegoodexpectationsforthisandthenextfewyears.
Checkoutthefollowingpagesforthefullpiece.
TheApril issueof ourmagazinealsobrings you themajor innovations
from theworldover thatwasondisplayduring theEuropeanCoatings
Show,oneofthe largesttradeshowsforthepaintandcoatings,sealant,
constructionchemicalandadhesiveindustries,whichwastakenplaceon
April 4 through6 inNuremberg, Germany. Keyhighlightsat thisyear’s
event includesustainability, nano-technology, greenbuildings, debates
onpricehikes for rawmaterials,newapplications forTiO2, andvarious
trendscurrentlydriving innovation inpaintsandcoatings.
One other outstanding event was the 29th Paint & Pintura Coatings
Technology andManagement Forum in theNortheast Region, which
took place onMarch 23 at HotelWyndhamGardenRecife, located in
the townof JaboatãodosGararapes, in theRecifemetropolitanarea,
Pernambuco (Brazil). Thisyear’sfirst editionof the forumwasamajor
successandhadamassive turnout, featuring lectureson technical and
management-related themesand the latestnewdevelopments for the
paintandcoatings industry.
Checkout all of these articles and themost important news from the
marketplace inthis issue.
LucéliaMonfardini
INTERVIEW -EXPANSION INBRAZILANDWORLDWIDE
March14,2017sawWackerChemieAG,aGerman-basedcompanyspe-
cializinginperformancechemicals,holdtheirannualpressconferencein
Munichtoannouncedits2016results.EarlyinhisopeningspeechRudolf
Staudigl,grouppresidentandCEO,statedthatthegroupexceededtheir
profitexpectationsfor2016.Staudiglalsosaidthatglobalsalesgrew2
percent,that ittheydidsomostlyonthebackofhighersalesvolumes,
toreach€5.4billionforthefullyear2016.
Thegroupservescustomersinthebuildingandconstruction,paintand
coatings, textile,andadhesiveandsealant industries,amongmanyothers.
Currently,Wackerhasan integratedglobalproductionsystemconsistingof
26productionsites,employsapproximately17,000people,andprovidesover
3,200productssuppliedtomorethan3,500customers.
InBrazil,thecompanywillbecelebratingits40thanniversaryinAugustofthis
year,and itdoes indeedhavemanyreasonstocelebrate,sincethecountry is
ahighly importantmarketforthegroup,accordingtoConstructionPolymers
marketingmanager for SouthAmericaGustavoSoares. “Wacker hasakey
market inBrazil.Approximately18percentofallofthegroup’ssaleswereto