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WACKER Opens Technical Center in India
MUNICH,
Germany/MUMBAI, India – The Munich-based chemical company WACKER is
strengthening its presence in India by opening a technical center in
Mumbai, India. The facility will serve as a regional competence center for
developments and applications in the construction, coatings, plastics and
textile-coatings industry, the main focus being on construction polymers,
silicone emulsions, sealants, silanes and silicone resins. The new
technical center will enable WACKER to tap the fast-growing markets in
this part of the world.
The technical center is located in Goregaon, a suburb of Mumbai, and is
shared by Wacker Chemie India Pvt. Ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary, and the
joint venture Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd, where WACKER holds 51
percent of the shares. A few weeks ago, the sales subsidiaries moved into
a newly constructed building with offices covering about 11,000 square
feet. The new center will offer WACKER POLYMERS’ and WACKER SILICONES’
customers support in developing new products and product applications for
the Indian market, and in conducting comparative lab testing of
construction products with regards to locally available raw materials,
climatic conditions and regional construction methods.<more>
Growing paints
Paint companies turned
up the pitch during the festival season and reaped rich rewards..
It has been a happy Diwali
for most businesses, thanks to increased consumer demand. The same holds
true for paints and emulsion paints manufacturers who seem to have
converted the festival of lights into the festival of colours. An
increased spend in marketing over the previous festival season has
translated into greater sales.
The festival season is traditionally the time of the year when most people
choose to get their houses re-painted. Diwali marks the beginning of a new
year for most North Indians, which is accompanied by a new look to homes
across the country. After the slowdown of last year, growth is back for
paints manufacturers. Whether it’s the new companies or the veterans,
sales are up and the festive cheer is back.
The domestic paints market is estimated at Rs 17,000 crore, according to
the latest industry estimates. Seventy-five per cent of this market is
dominated by decorative paints used for painting homes.
With the demand seemingly returning to normal this season, market leader
Asian Paints further consolidated its market share of 30 per cent this
year. The company’s financial results for the quarter ended September 2009
reported almost 19 per cent growth in net sales. Asian Paints’ profits
more than doubled for the quarter.
“Demand conditions for our decorative business have been good in most
parts of the country. Only the international business was impacted by the
global slowdown. However, despite the slowdown, South Asia and the Middle
East performed well,” P. M. Murty, Managing Director and CEO, Asian
Paints, is quoted as saying on the BSE Web site.
Though a fairly recent entrant to the domestic market, Nippon Paints is
rapidly gaining market share in the markets it operates in. According to
Ramakanth Akula, Vice-President (Decoratives), “We embarked on a phased
geographical expansion. Currently we operate in South India and in a few
pockets of the West. Our focus is mainly on premium-end emulsions. Our
market share in South India, in the emulsion paints category, would be 10
per cent.” The company launched an aggressive marketing campaign this time
to attract more buyers. Akula told BrandLine, “A 360-degree media campaign
was carried out in the markets where we operate. A new TVC which starred
animated characters called ‘Blobbies’ was aired during the festival season
to differentiate us from the competition. The ‘Blobbies’ are an army of
cheerful, animated paint drops on a mission to paint India in every
imaginable hue on the Nippon Paint colour chart.” <more>
INTERVIEW-Kansai Nerolac to up capacity by 15 pct
MUMBAI, Nov 5
(Reuters) - Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KANE.BO: Quote, Profile, Research)
will add a fifth plant in December to cater to growing demand in
decoratives paint segment and expects to raise capacity by 15 percent with
the addition, a top official said.
Kansai Nerolac gets 55 percent of its revenues from decoratives, but is
the market leader in the industrial segment with a market share of 42
percent, managing director H.M. Bharuka told Reuters in an interview late
on Wednesday.
Kansai, India's second largest paints maker, has earmarked capital
expenditure of 1 billion rupees in 2009/10, mainly for building the new
decorative plant and for capacity expansion in existing plants, he said.
"We are spending more in decoratives as we are putting up a new facility
near Bangalore, Karnataka, which will go live by December," he said.
"And as far as industrial (segment) is concerned brownfield expansion is
underway in existing facilities."
The firm's current capacity stands at about 175,000 tonnes an annum and
the new plant will raise capacity by 15 percent annually, he said.<more>
Bayer MaterialScience Enters JV With India's Malibu Plastica
FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- German pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer
AG ( BAYN.XE) said Wednesday that its Bayer MaterialScience unit has
entered into an agreement with Malibu Plastica Limited, of Ahmedabad,
India, to set up a joint venture that will supply polycarbonate sheets to
the Indian market
AkzoNobel to Buy Dow Powder
Coatings
AkzoNobel has announced signing an agreement with The Dow Chemical Company
(Dow) to acquire its powder coatings activities. Financial details were
not disclosed.
AkzoNobel expects the deal to bring key technological know-how and
significant potential to its Powder Coatings business as well as to
enhance the company's position in the U.S.
Dow purchased the powder coatings activities earlier this year as part of
its acquisition of Rohm & Haas. The business achieves global sales of
several hundred million dollars and employs around 700 people.
“This is a strategic acquisition which will enable us to further penetrate
key industrial coatings segments," explained Leif Darner, the AkzoNobel
Board member responsible for Performance Coatings.
With powder coatings factories in the US, Europe, and China, Rohm & Haas
developed several important new technologies—especially for the automotive
and architectural segments—while the deal will also add MDF and
thermoplastic capabilities to AkzoNobel's existing expertise.
"Our intention is to move towards a more dedicated approach, whereby sites
concentrate on specific technologies," added Rob Molenaar, Managing
Director of AkzoNobel Powder Coatings.<more>
Nanoparticle-Based Coating Prevents Ice Buildup
PITTSBURGH -
Preventing the havoc wrought when freezing rain collects on roads, power
lines and aircraft could be only a few nanometers away. A University of
Pittsburgh-led team describes, in the Nov. 3 edition of the journal
Langmuir, a nanoparticle-based coating that thwarts the buildup of ice on
solid surfaces and is easily applied. The coating was developed in the lab
of Di Gao, a Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Professor in Pitt's
Swanson School of Engineering.
The paper, by lead author and Pitt doctoral student Liangliang Cao,
presents the first evidence of anti-icing properties for a burgeoning
class of water repellants, including the Pitt coating, known as
superhydrophobic coatings. These thin films mimic the rutted surface of
lotus leaves by creating microscopic ridges that reduce the surface area
to which water can adhere. However, the authors note that because ice
behaves differently than water, the ability to repulse water cannot be
readily applied to ice inhibition. Cao's coauthors include Gao, Jianzhong
Wu, a Chemical Engineering Professor at the University of California at
Riverside, and Andrew Jones and Vinod Sikka of Ross Technology Corp. of
Leola, PA. <more>
Sherwin-Williams to
Distribute Wagner Powder Coating Equipment Through ProVisions™ Program
(CLEVELAND – October 27, 2009) – An agreement between The Sherwin-Williams
Company and Wagner Systems, Inc., will expand the relationship between the
two companies, enabling product finishers using Sherwin-Williams
innovative ProVisions™ program to purchase Wagner’s line of manual
industrial powder coating equipment. Included in the new offerings are the
Wagner powder cup gun set and Wagner’s newest manual powder system,
PrimaSprint. Wagner liquid coating equipment lines are already available
through the ProVisions™ one-stop shopping program.
ProVisions augments Sherwin-Williams complete line of coatings solutions
by helping finishers reduce administrative and inventory carrying costs
through simplified order placement, tracking, and just-in-time delivery of
supplies, sundries, spray equipment and coatings. The ProVisions program
is supported by an extensive, web-based catalog that includes a
comprehensive selection of brand name supplies and equipment ranging from
abrasives, test and safety equipment to spray equipment such as pumps,
pressure pots, hoses, and now powder coating equipment.
Through Sherwin-Williams SherLease financing programs, qualified
ProVisions customers benefit from terms with no finance charges and one
monthly invoice, eliminating the need for separate purchase orders and
providing an important solution for product finishers looking for an edge
in the market. <more>
Sherwin-Williams Awarded
Coatings Contract for U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt
Cleveland, OH (October
27, 2009) - Sherwin-Williams has been awarded the contract to supply
marine coatings as part of a three-year overhaul of the supercarrier U.S.S.
Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
The project began in August and will continue through late 2012 at
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Newport News, where the vessel was
constructed and launched in October, 1984. The 1,092-foot-long carrier has
seen duty in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.<more>
PPG Architectural Coatings
Announces 2010 Pricing Action
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- PPG Industries, Inc. announced today that its Architectural Coatings
business unit will execute price increases across distribution channels in
January 2010 in response to a resurging escalation of raw material costs.
"After a brief period of stable costs we have returned to a climate of
increasing costs on key raw materials in the fourth quarter of 2009; and
the outlook for next year is for continued escalation," said Scott Sinetar,
Vice President, PPG Architectural Coatings. "We have been extremely
aggressive in this slow economy in reducing controllable internal costs,
but these measures
cannot sufficiently offset this new wave of market-driven inflationary
pressures."
PPG Architectural Coatings supplies architectural paint and coatings for
residential, commercial and industrial uses through home centers,
company-owned paint stores and independent dealers nationwide. Its brands
include Pittsburgh Paints, Porter Paints, Olympic Paints and Stains, and
PPG. <more>
Silver outshines other colors
as most popular vehicle shade
Oakland Press file
photo/JOSE JUAREZ Alex Zarbaugh and his stepfather, Doug Spicer, of Canton
sit inside the body of a silver 2010 Ford Taurus in an exhibit at the 2009
North American International Auto Show. For the ninth year, silver has
ranked as the most popular vehicle color.
For the ninth consecutive year, the silver category, including charcoal
and gray shades, has ranked as the most popular vehicle color worldwide in
the annual survey conducted by PPG Industries, the world’s leading
manufacturer of automotive coatings.
“What helps drive silver’s popularity are all of the innovative effects
that really make silver shine … much more than just a simple gray,” said
Jane Harrington, manager, color styling for PPG automotive coatings in
Troy.<more>
AkzoNobel shows paints
downturn.
The worlds largest
paint group says recovery in demand remains fragile.
Akzo Nobel NV, the world's largest producer of paints and coatings said a
recovery in its markets remained fragile as it reported a lower sales for
Q3 2009.
Revenue dropped 10% against the same period last year to $ 3,639m <more>
Bayou Completes Acquisition
of Garneau
The Bayou
Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of Insituform Technologies, Inc. has
announced the completion of its $12.25 million (CAN) acquisition of
Garneau, Inc's pipe coating and insulation facility and associated assets
located in Camrose, Alberta Canada. The acquisition was effected through
Bayou Perma-Pipe Canada, Ltd., a joint venture between Bayou and Perma-Pipe,
Inc., and will serve as the operating company for Bayou's Canadian
operations.
Sico Paints Unveils 2010-2011
Color Forecast
LONGUEUIL, Canada –
Move over neutral color schemes. Livelier hues will be making a comeback
in home décor in 2010-2011, and it’s all about using color as a mood
lifter in the midst of challenging times, according to leading Canadian
paint brand Sico Paints.
“During the past years, Canadians have opted for comforting, warm neutrals
like browns and beiges as a result of an uncertain economic, political and
environmental climate, but now people have had enough with doom and gloom
and are looking for a change, a new beginning,” said Stéphanie Pelland,
Marketing Communication Manager for the Sico brand and member of the
international color forecaster Color Marketing Group. “In 2010-2011, we’ll
see a trend toward consumers choosing livelier colors to reflect their
optimism in their quest for a brighter future.”
Colorful hues such as deep reds and purples, vivid blues and greens,
pigment-infused pastels such as baby blues and pinks, and earthy golds and
clays will be among the new colors featured in next year’s palette.<more>
Powder Coating Technolgy Wins
PPG R+D Award
Duranar powder
coatings are the result of a unique color-blending and manufacturing
process that, for the first time, enables powder coatings to be
economically produced in small batches of custom colors tailored precisely
to individual customers' specifications. The new process also has the
potential to make powder coatings for architectural aluminum "greener" by
significantly reducing the material waste and amount of energy used in
their manufacture.
PPG and the Duranar powder coatings team - Ron Ambrose, Kristin Bartlett,
Dennis Carson (deceased), Tony Chasser, Carol Jackson, Henry Lowman,
Steven Sternberger and Howard Wright - will be recognized for their
achievement at R&D Magazine's Awards Banquet, Nov. 12. The Duranar powder
coatings team was a runner-up for a 2009 PPG Innova Award.<more>
House Passes Chemical
Security Measure Over Industry Objections Share Business
Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House passed legislation today opposed by
DuPont Co. and other firms that would give the government the authority to
force companies to replace chemicals that terrorists could use in attacks
with safer alternatives.
The measure, approved 230-193, would make permanent the homeland security
secretary’s power to oversee security practices at chemical plants. The
legislation also proposes that Congress approve $900 million from 2011 to
2013 to fund chemical-plant security.
Congress in 2006 passed a law giving this oversight to the homeland
security secretary in response to post-Sept. 11 fears that terrorists
could steal dangerous chemicals or target the plants themselves. Lawmakers
made the secretary’s power temporary because they couldn’t reach a
compromise on permanent standards<more>
Valspar Paint Adds Refreshed Colors to its Laura Ashley Home Collection
WHEELING, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In response to consumer demand, The
Valspar Corporation, a leader in the paint and coatings industry, is
introducing 24 new paint colors this fall to its Laura Ashley Home
collection, available in Valspar Signature Colors. The updated colors
range from soft peaches and corals, to deep red, muted purple, and teal,
adding intriguing colors with depth while maintaining the Laura Ashley
aesthetic of contemporary English elegance.
"As consumers seek solace at home during the current recession, the colors
they choose in their home décor can help create a mood of optimism and
escape," said Sue Kim, Color Trend and Forecast specialist, Valspar.
"Laura Ashley and Valspar have collaborated to create paint colors that
allow consumers to achieve this look and feel with palettes of clean
peach, coral tones and muted purples that bring out the essence of the
Laura Ashley brand." <more>
Jotun unveils state-of-the-art SR100m paint plant in Yanbu
YANBU - Jotun Saudia Co, Ltd., the local subsidiary of the Norwegian paint
& coatings producer Jotun A/S, inaugurated on Tuesday its new SR100
million, state-of-the-art factory in Yanbu. The new factory was set up
adjoining Jotun’s existing factory covering a total area of 34,000 square
meters in Yanbu in response to the growing demand for high quality paints
and coatings, supported by the expanding construction industry in the
Kingdom. <more>
New jobs being created -- yes, it's really happening in Minnesota
A small, family-owned business in northern Minnesota is creating new jobs.
PoDCO Web siteIn 2002, a local Lancaster, Minn., family established a new
business -- PoDCo, a powder coating and dye sublimation business that
currently employs 13 people. The company announced this week it is ready
to hire new workers.
The company uses a patented process that is able to embed dyes on
powder-coated surfaces, and on some plastics, to make those products like
strikingly like real wood surfaces. They can also create marble,
camouflage surfaces and other designs.
The announcement of new jobs comes with PoDCo's second expansion.
According the to company's web site, the company: <more>
Benjamin Moore Helps Define
the Color of the Universe
E-mail to a Friend Add
To Favorites Print (MONTVALE, NJ--November, 2009) -- Look. Up in the sky.
It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's Benjamin Moore Ivory Tower 2157-70, a
warm, almost peachy white.
Or, at least that is the paint color most closely matched to the beige
tone that NASA scientists say is the color of our universe.
A report recently issued on nasa.gov noted that a group of NASA scientists
wondered what color the entire sky would be if it was "smeared out." Their
curiosity was triggered while researching what stars are commonplace in
nearby galaxies. The answer was a "conditionally perceived shade of beige"
that earned the name "Cosmic Latte." Benjamin Moore's color experts
analyzed the posted hue and found the Ivory Tower match among its
3,300-color palette.
And, just what did it take for the NASA team to come to its findings? They
measured light from thousands of stars from more than 200,000 galaxies,
and computed a total average, assigning a color value. The single
perceived composite color they came up with has become much less blue over
the past 10 billion years, indicating that redder stars are becoming more
prevalent. <more>
Operator dies as oven explodes.
Krishnamohan Shukla, an operator at Kuchhal
Light metal P. Ltd died
when an oven exploded in the Pithampur sector 2 unit in MP India . He was
sent to Indore for treatment in critical condition. The factory management
did not disclose the incidence for several hours The Indistrial Health and
Safety director confirm the casualty.<more
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