Domestic paint industry to cross Rs 62K crore mark by 2016-17: ASSOCHAM
Festival season bring bright colours for Indian paints industry

Indian paint industry is likely to surge from the current level of about Rs. 40,600 crore to about Rs. 62,000 crore by 2016 witnessing a breathtaking double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 20%, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said.
The factors that have fuelled the paint industry's growth are the rise in disposable income and education, increasing urbanization, development of the rural market and various launches of many innovative products.

As per the ASSOCHAM recent report on Indian paint Industry: 2014 reveals that India is the second-largest consumer of paint in Asia. Top players include Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Berger Paints, AkzoNobel, Nippon Paints and Shalimar Paints, adds the report.

The Indian paint industry has seen a gradual shift in the preferences of people from the traditional white wash to higher quality paints like emulsions and enamel paints, said Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.<more>

AkzoNobel introduces sustainable powder alternative to chrome plating
AkzoNobel Performance Coatings has launched an innovative, bright metallic powder coating that provides a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to chrome plating.

Interpon Cr, part of AkzoNobel's Interpon powder coatings range, combines a chrome-like finish with the proven performance of a two-coat powder coating for applications such as furniture, lighting and other interior fixtures.

The unique combination of a highly reflective base coat layer with a clear top coat also offers outstanding resistance to finger marking.

"Special effect finishes are continuing to grow in popularity and metallics are very much in demand," explained Mark Reekie, Global Marketing Manager - General Industrial at AkzoNobel Powder Coatings.

"Designers and stylists are always on the lookout for new ways to enhance the appearance of their creations and Interpon Cr was created to appeal to those looking for a bright, durable coating that gives a creative edge to coated products."<more>

IFFCO to set up titanium project
Nellore: Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco) is all set to establish a titanium project to produce titanium sponge at its Kisan SEZ located at Racharlapadu in Kodavalur mandal of SPSR Nellore district.The Iffco managing dir-ector, Dr U.S. Awasthi, has submitted a proposal to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu last week to setup the project.
Iffco has earmarked 400 acre in the SEZ and it will invest `2,500 crore on the project which can provide direct employment to 1,000 people.

The titanium sponge is essential material for the aerospace industry and it is also used for manuf-acture of all types of pai-nts, glazed papers, plasti-cs, printed fabrics and fl-ooring materials. Iffco identified a Ukrainian firm for technology and engineering for the project. The raw material for the production is limonite and it will be extracted from beach sand. According to sources in Iffco, ilmenite is the major feed stock for the titanium project and it is available aplenty in the beach sand obtainable along costal stretches of Odisha, AP, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Out of estimated 514 million tonne reserves of ilmenite in India, 171 MT are in AP according to a study. Ilmenite production in India is around 1 MT annually and Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha are the major producers as of now.Permission from the state government for the mining of ilmenite is the key for setting up the project. Iffco officials say that working group of 12th Five Year Plan has recommended for simplification and facilitation of grant of concessions and land acquisition to facilitate exploitation of minerals available in the beach sand.<more>

BASF opens India polyurethane chemicals plant
The integrated polyurethane manufacturing facility will host a MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) splitter for processing crude MDI, a core component in the manufacture of polyurethane products.

BASF has inaugurated its new large-scale chemical production complex at Dahej in Gujarat, India, the company announced on Tuesday.

With a project cost of INR 1,000 crore (approximately €150 million), the site represents BASF’s single largest investment in India.

“As part of our investment plans of more than €10 billion in Asia Pacific between 2013 and 2020, we want to strengthen our production platform in India," said Michael Heinz, a member of BASF's executive board. "With our new Dahej site, we are enhancing our position as supplier with local production and can even better ‘create chemistry’ with our customers. With our advanced technologies and the commitment of our team in India, we will both contribute to and benefit from India’s huge market potential.”<more>

Asian Paints: decent revenue growth but margins shrink in Q2
Asian Paints’ operating profit for the September quarter grew at a much slower pace of 5% year-on-year to Rs.536 crore

Softening crude prices are expected to offer some respite to the company’s input costs.
Photo: Mint The good thing about Asian Paints Ltd’s financial results for the September quarter was that raw material costs as a percentage of revenue declined by about 40 basis points (bps) to 56%. But that did not offer comfort to the paint maker’s operating profit margin. Far from it. Asian Paints’ operating margin in the September quarter fell by 164 bps over the same period last year to 14.8% and it’s lower compared with the June quarter too. One basis point is 0.01%. The culprits: higher employee costs (one-offs) and other expenses (due to higher advertising spending). Asian Paints’ operating profit for the September quarter, therefore, grew at a much slower pace of 5% year-on-year to Rs.536 crore. On the other hand, the company’s revenue increased by 16.6% to Rs.3,633 crore. While the rate of revenue growth last quarter is slightly lower than the June quarter revenue growth, investors would do well to remember that the September quarter did have a relatively high base to begin with. For instance, in the September quarter last year, Asian Paints’ revenue growth was 18%.<more>

Neighbouring states perceive Andhra Pradesh a threat to their investments
HYDERABAD|BANGALORE: After Andhra Pradesh succeeded in attracting top two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp to set up a manufacturing facility by offering uninterrupted power supply and other incentives, its neighbouring states consider Andhra a threat to their investments.

Leading paints manufacturer Asian Paints has already showed interest in establishing two facilities in Andhra by dropping its plans for Karnataka, while many power-intensive manufacturing units in neighbouring states are in parleys to shift lock, stock and barrel to Andhra, said three persons in the know.


"Encouraged by the proposed incentives and uninterrupted power supply, Asian Paints wants to set up two large projects — in South and north coastal Andhra regions — involving over Rs 2,000 crore of investments each," a senior state bureaucrat said. The company has sought at least 150 acres each for these two proposed projects, the person added.

While an Asian Paints spokesperson said a decision on shifting investments from Karnataka to Andhra "is still pending", a senior company official, who did not want to be named, said, "We have some issues with the Karnataka government pertaining to land allocation." Neighbours have already raised concern over Andhra's aggressive poaching investments with the help of tax breaks and other incentives coupled with generous support from the Centre.<more>

Asian Paints arm to set up manufacturing facility in Indonesia
Asian Paints Ltd has now announced that Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal ("BKPM"), the Investment Coordinating Board of Republic of Indonesia, has approved the aforesaid investment application and has issued a principal license for setting up manufacturing facility. Further steps to be taken for setting up the greenfield operations in Indonesia will be subject to necessary regulatory and other approvals.

Berger International Limited (BIL), Singapore, a subsidiary of Asian Paints (International) Limited (APIL), Mauritius, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, had on August 22, 2014 filed an application for investment approval with the Regulatory authorities at Jakarta, Indonesia for setting up a paint manufacturing facility as part of a greenfield foray into Indonesia<more>.

Kansai Nerolac Paints Q2 net up 41% at Rs 72.66 crore
Company had reported net profit of Rs 51.67 crore in the July-September quarter of 2013-14 fiscal
Kansai Nerolac Paints today reported 40.62% increase in standalone net profit at Rs 72.66 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.

The company had reported net profit of Rs 51.67 crore in the July-September quarter of 2013-14 fiscal.

Net sales during Q2, 2014-15 were at Rs 915.18 crore, an increase of 17.18% as compared to Rs 780.96 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a BSE filing.

Overall expenses during Q2 stood at Rs 820.19 crore, up 14.52% as against Rs 716.15 crore in the same quarter last year.

During the half year period ended September 30, 2014, Kansai Nerolac reported net profit of Rs 145.64 crore as against net profit of Rs 112.60 crore in the same period a year ago.

Net sales during the half year period ended September 30, 2014 stood at Rs 1,836.25 crore compared with Rs 1,570.77 crore in the corresponding period last year.<more>

Kansai Nerolac Paints ties up with Flipkart for festive season
MUMBAI: Kansai Nerolac Paints today said it has entered into a strategic marketing tie-up with leading e-tailer Flipkart ahead of festive season.

The interactive consumer interface will allow one to browse through a gallery of wall finishes, designer textures, product benefits, videos and customer testimonials before making the purchase, the company said in a statement

The Exchange had sought clarification from Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited regarding news item captioned "Kansai Nerolac ties up with Flipkart". The Company has clarified that "Our Company, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. (KNP) is associated with Flipkart in an endeavor to engage the consumer with its range of products online. We have also offered a discount for the festive season on booking the painting service. Given the sensorial nature of the category, which is predominantly Do It For Me, KNP does not envisage this move as material change in the company s nature of business. KNP continues to invest aggressively in the brick and mortar retail to enrich the consumer experience. i.e. selling product through dealer/distribution. Association with Flipcart is mere marketing association to promote our brand. It is promotion and painting service in normal course of business having no material effect. There is no exclusive strategic tie up.Hence the Company had not considered it necessary to intimate the Exchange in terms of Clause 36 of the Listing Agreement".

Jenson & Nicholson (India) loss widens in Jul-Sep quarter
Jenson & Nicholson (India) said its net loss for the quarter ended September 2014 has widened to Rs 10.37. It reported a net loss of Rs 9.55 million in the same quarter previous year.

Net sales for the quarter declined marginally 1.86% to Rs 128.67 million, compared with Rs 131.11 million for the prior year period.

Earnings per share stood negative at Rs 0.44 compared with negative Rs 0.42 in the same quarter last year.<more>

Commencement of Trial Production
October 13, 2014:
Berger Paints India Ltd has informed BSE that the Company’s Powder Coating plant at Maharashtra has commenced trial production on October 01, 2014.

Berger Paints India Ltd to announce Q2 results on Nov 04, 2014
A meeting of the Board of Directors of Berger Paints India Ltd will be held on November 04, 2014, to consider the Company's Unaudited Financial Results for the quarter ended September 30, 2014 (Q2).
Berger setting up training academy for painters in Kerala
KOCHI: Berger Paints India Ltd, which has introduced 'Express Painting', a solution for faster painting services in Kerala and West Bengal, is setting up a training academy for painters at Kochi to upgrade their skill, a top official today said.

'Express Painting has been introduced in Kerala and West Bengal. Trials are going on and the response has been very positive from painters and dealers', its Managing Director and CEO Abhijit Roy told PTI.<more>

Axalta Renews Powder Coatings Joint Venture Partnership in China
Partners to Provide Quality Powder Coatings under New Name ‘Axalta Huajia Coatings’

SHANGHAI, CHINA — Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, announced the renewal of its strategic partnership with the Huajia division of the Yongjia Group under a new name, Axalta Huajia Coatings. The reaffirmed joint venture reinforces the company’s leading position as a powder coatings manufacturer and innovator through continuously providing quality powder coating solutions designed to meet the needs of local and global customers.

Headquartered in Huangshan, China, Axalta Huajia Coatings is committed to building scale and focusing on localizing its powder coating solutions for Chinese customers. With six powder coating operations across China, Axalta Huajia Coatings has increased manufacturing capacity and product range to meet the growing demand for high quality powder coatings for its customers in China. In 2014, Axalta added new capacity at the Qingpu manufacturing center to meet the rapid growth of the China powder coatings market.<more>

DULUX LAUNCHES DULUX VISUALISER APP TO REACH THE NEW AGE CUSTOMER
Akzo Nobel, the global paints and Coatings Company and the makers of Dulux Paints announced two initiatives. The Company introduced ‘Dulux Visualizer’- an innovative and user-friendly app in the paints industry that uses augmented-reality technology to gratify the evolving needs of the new age consumer and also released the latest edition of its annual global study of colour trends, ‘Colour FuturesTM 2015’, unveiling Copper Orange as the Colour of the year 2015.

The Dulux visualizer app with its augmented-reality feature, allows one to picture the walls even before painting them. The app gives an instant and realistic impression of how any room will look, in the colours of one’s choice.The App is available free of charge in the Apple store and in Google Play.<more>

Nanoparticles Display Ability to Improve Efficiency of Filters
Tehran, Iran | Posted on October 28th, 2014
The membranes are used in water purification industries, milk concentration and transparency of fruit juices.

In addition to high efficiency, separation through filters has lower operational costs. Therefore, the wide application of the devices is observed in various industries. The aim of the research was to reduce the blocking of ultrafiltration membrane made of emulsified polyvinyl chloride by using titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles.

Being more hydrophobic is the problem of emulsified polyvinyl chloride in comparison with other polymers, including polyether sulfone. The use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles increases hydrophilicity of the synthetic membrane, and it prevents organic materials from sticking to the surface of the membrane, so the pores of the membrane are not blocked any more. Therefore, the addition of nanoparticles increases porosity and the flux of water and protein passing through the synthetic membrane. This membrane has even better performance than the similar polyether sulfone membranes.

The research team is currently studying the application of other nanoparticles for the modification of EPVC polymer<more>

Coil Coatings Market Worth $6,410.44 Million by 2019
DALLAS, October 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
The new research report "Coil Coatings Market by Type (Polyester, Fluropolymer, Siliconized Polyester, Plastisol, and Others), by Application (Steel & Aluminum), and by End User Industry (Building & Construction, Appliances, Automotive, and Others) - Global Forecast to 2019", published by MarketsandMarkets, report analyzes the global coil coatings market with respect to market drivers, opportunities, and trends in different regions. The current market value of the global coil coatings market (2013) is about $4,449.02 million and is estimated to reach $6,410.44 million by 2019, at a CAGR of 6.30% between 2014 and 2019.

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