Revista Paint & Pintura - Edição 235

CLIPPING PAINT&PINTURA | Agosto 2018 | 7 Greater Campinas area, comprising twentymunicipalities with a combined population of threemillion people, whichmakes it the tenth largest metropolitan area in Brazil, is home to large andmedium-sizedmanufacturers of decorative, industrial and automotive coatings and surrounded by other cities and towns where there is a concentration of businesses in themost varied of industry segments. Currently, it is one of the country’s most developed regions, with Campinas standing as the thirdmost populous municipa- lity in São Paulo state, behind Guarulhos and the state capital, and the fourteenth in the whole country. It comes in the fifth position among the 100municipalities analyzed by the Best and Largest Brazilian Cities Index, published by Delta Economics & Finance, and is also the tenth richest city in Brazil. ORGANIC PIGMENTS - DEEP COLORS AND SUSTAINABILITY In response to a high demand for a broad range of colors, the portfolios available from organic pigment suppliers grows by the day, with innovative, high-performance products deeply focused on low environmental impact. The consumption of organic pigments has been growing year after year both in Brazil and worldwide. One of the main reasons for such a growing demand is because inorganic pigments have ceased to be used in many market segments due to restrictions on heavy metals and replaced by organic products. “The chief requirement in the paint and coatingsma- rket today is for quality products, which means materials that ensure color reproducibility, do have the physical and chemical properties they are purported to, and are easy to handle and work, easy to process and disperse, and compliant with the legal and environmental requirements imposed on the product to be applied. It’s worth pointing out that one of the tenets for newdevelopments is to provide low-environmental-impact products,” says Aromat technical manager Fernando Rosa. José HenriqueMello, sales coordinator for Clariant’s Coatings & Printing business, tells us the demand for organic pigments is directly linked with what goes on in the paint and printing inkmarkets. “In the decorative paint segment, which accounts for 80 percent of the entire paint and coatings output, there’s a growing demand which is expected to remain so over the next few years. For automotive coatings, on the other hand, because of the prevalent trend towards various shades of silver gray, white and black on cars, the demand for organic pigment has been stable - or could even be decreasing relative to the previous years. The comingwave of restrictions on lead-based pigments, which until now have only applied to decorative paints, will be mandatory for all segments - or all other kinds of paint and coating formulations - going forward, and that, too, will certainly lead to increase in consumption for organic pigments, which are the main alternative to lead-based ones. Nevertheless, the biggest challenge facing us right nowa potential shortage of and cost increase for rawmaterials. We source our rawmaterials fromcertified suppliers that meet a series of requirements, so that we can deliver products that are up to the strictest of regulations. We are now in the process of assessing new alternatives, as additional amounts are in demand.” In the eyes of Valne Lucas Vieira, director at Clariquimi- ca, the market for organic pigments in Brazil has been evolving, and increasingly so. “This evolution has been underpinned by three key movements, to wit: the very growth in our own domestic market; the diversification of organic pigment use into other industry segments over and above paints and coatings, such as plastics, for example; and our technology being embraced in thema- rketplace, in keeping with the worldwide trend towards adhering to sustainability principles, which places organic pigments, as heavy metal-free products, in a position of perfect harmony with the requirements of any industry segment whose products need coloring with sustaina- bility assurances. The only red flag is that we’re having to cope with the heavy impact that the raw material shortage and price increase has on our costs, which is aggravated by the strong depreciation of the real (BRL, the Brazilian currency), thus calling for ongoing efforts towards finding alternative materials—and this is some- thing that our partner Clariant relentlessly undertakes, so that we can better serve our customers notwithstanding any difficulties.” HYDROCARBON SOLVENTS - SAFER SOLUTIONS Hydrocarbon solvents still play a key role in the manu- facture of paints and coatings not only due to their high solvent power, but also for delivering great performance at very competitive costs. Suppliers of hydrocarbon solventsmake upmature, com- petitive industry that has undergone significant changes in the past few decades. While they are a product from a non-renewable source (petroleum), hydrocarbon sol- vents have really evolved, especially as regards environ- mental concerns. “It’s been going on since the enactment of restrictions on the use of benzene, which is a solvent with outstanding solvent power, but also a proven car- cinogen, as has therefore been replaced by toluene and xylene. Also part of the process was the introduction of hydrogenated solvents, which rise to unique quality levels in order to serve customers in an increasingly demanding market environment. On the aliphatic solvents front, pro- ducts boast a higher degree of specialization as solvents with lower distillation ranges are created and optimized