HM Bharuka , MD, Kansai Nerolac in an interview with ET Now talks about talks about the possibility of a price hike and the company's expansion plans.

I believe there has been a price hike of over 10% that you have undertaken cumulatively over the last couple of months. Would it be true? Would there by any other price hike that could come about?

That is not last the couple of months. Actually, starting April till today, we have hiked the price by about 11% and the increase in cost is about 13%. So still about 2% we need to pass on and of course the cost is going up again and crude oil has further shot up. So we will have to wait and watch how the entire raw material packet behaves and then we will take a call for further hike.

So the movement in crude has been fairly steep in the last couple of months. So for the October to December quarter since you are anyways working with a bit of a gap between the input cost prices and the final product prices, would it be fair to assume that margins for the current quarter could take a bit of a hit?

It is not only crude oil prices. There are other ingredients which are rising especially titanium dioxide. So price hike does not only relate to crude oil, actually it relates to the entire basket of the raw material which we are using and in last couple of months, price hike has been steep and there is a possibility either we will go for further price increase or if we do not do that, then there would be impact on the margin.

In fact you are already sitting on a gap of about 2% between your costs and your price recovery. Are you considering another price hike in the near term? What quantum are you looking at possibly and by when would it be effective?

There is a possibility for further hike. Certainly we need to bridge this gap of 2%. Fortunately for the industry, there is a good growth. Growth is more than 20% and because the growth is good, we would not like to disturb the growth by increasing the prices.

At the same time, we are very conscious of our margin. So we are trying to balance between the margin and the growth and if this cost increase continues and if it is sustained, then we have no choice but to increase the prices and that call we will take in mid-January or February. By that time, even financial budget would be in picture. So we will have to weigh all options and then take a call. <more>

PPG Paints Aided Pakistani Nuclear Reactor, U.S. Says
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co. was charged by the U.S. with selling products to Pakistan that were used for a nuclear power plant in violation of U.S. export laws.
In a criminal information filed today in federal court in Washington, the Shanghai-based subsidiary of PPG Industries Inc. is accused of selling a paint system to Pakistan in 2006 that was used to coat the inside of a nuclear reactor being built near Chashma, Punjab. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The government is also seeking more than $32,000 in forfeiture.
The national security section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in court papers that PPG needed a license from the U.S. Commerce Department to sell the material to Pakistan. PPG applied for the license, but it was rejected in June 2006. Prosecutors allege that from June 2006 and through March 2007, PG Paints sold hundreds of gallons of the epoxy product to Pakistan using China as a decoy.
“To conceal the true end-user of the Coatings and to evade United States export controls, defendant PPG Paints Trading would falsely state that the coatings were to be used at a nuclear power plant in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the export to which would not require a license from the DOC,” prosecutors wrote in court papers.<more>
US imposes highest ever fine on company for Pak nuke exports <more>


Valspar Spy Gets 15-Month Federal Prison Term
A former Valspar Corp. technical director has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for stealing up to $20 million in formula secrets to share with Nippon Paint, his future employer.
David Yen Lee, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in Chicago to theft of a trade secret—reduced from five counts of economic espionage with which he was originally charged. He had faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge.
In addition to the prison sentence, Lee was ordered to pay $30,975 in restitution, to reimburse Valspar for the costs of its internal investigation. He will begin serving his sentence next year.
Valspar has not commented on the case and did not respond to a request for comment Thursday (Dec. 9).<more>


Saif Ali Khan to surprise young couples
Mumbai, Dec 28 (IBNS) Actor Saif Ali Khan will now be seen helping couples surprise their respective spouses.
Asian Paints has announced the launch of Royale Play, which allows its customers to have a quick makeover of the walls.
Royale Play offers a variety of textures, right from combing to crinkle, from ragging to dapple, to bring out the explorer in you.
“You can now surprise your spouse by giving your room a makeover. All you have to do is get in touch with Asian Paints, choose a color and a texture from their elaborate décor guide and while your spouse is away for a day you can transform your room,” said a company spokesperson<more>

Jotun Powder Coatings targets 15 per cent growth in the UAE for 2011
Leading manufacturer celebrates 20 years of unparalleled success in the UAE's powder coatings industry
Jotun Powder Coatings, one of the world's leading producers and suppliers of powder coatings, has announced plans to achieve 15 per cent growth in the UAE in 2011, amidst its continued leadership position in the region after 20 years of unparalleled success. Part of the internationally renowned Jotun Group based in Norway, Jotun Powder Coatings UAE has celebrated the 20th anniversary of setting up of its manufacturing facility in Dubai. On this occasion, the company has also announced the future focus for the next strategic period, which is to concentrate on product innovation and to develop sustainable, high performance and technologically advanced coatings that can cater to the diverse needs of various user industries.<more>

Crown Paints up for sale
Crown Paints is being put up for sale with a price tag of over £100m.
Endless, the turnaround specialist which backed a £70m management buyout of Crown Paints from Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel in 2008, has appointed advisers to explore strategic options for the business.
The M.E.N understands the north west company – the Queen's favoured paint firm – is likely be sold to a trade or private equity buyer.
Crown, which is based in Darwen, Lancashire, and has a distribution centre in Warrington, said last week it was on course to double underlying pre-tax profits to £20m for 2010, on sales of £180m.
Despite a continued decline in domestic demand as a result of the recession, strong promotional strategies with key customers and a number of product launches have helped the firm to increase its UK market share by two per cent to 19 per cent.<more>

New high temp powders available from Kitsap Powder Coating
Dale Gerber, owner of Kitsap Powder Coating LLC announces it is carrying a new line of high temperature powders that are specially formulated to withstand temperatures up to 1,200 degrees fahrenheit. This powder works well on all exhaust systems, fire place inserts, fire pits and barbeques. These powders are available in a range of colors and textures. This powder coating is designed for optimum performance in harsh environments, such as automotive exhaust and other high temperature applications. It has heat and corrosion resistance and has been tested to the specifications of automotive and other equipment manufacturers. This product has achieved a standard of performance never before available in a powder coating.<more>

AkzoNobel is shutting down its plant in Hungary at the end of 2010. The paints and coatings company produces decorative
paints in Tiszaújváros. The decision is part of the company’s long-term global strategy which addresses the concentration of production capacity in Europe. There have been big changes in the sales structure of the paint market and demand has dropped, according to the company. Unfavorable changes have caused production efficiency to worsen. About a hundred people will be laid off at the plant in Tiszaújváros.

Tikkurila to sell its powder coatings business
Tikkurila Oyj's Swedish subsidiary Dickursby Holding AB is to sell all the shares in OOO Tikkurila Powder Coatings, a Russian industrial coatings company, to Teknos Group Oy. With a production plant in St. Petersburg, OOO Tikkurila Powder Coatings sells and markets its products in Russia under the Ohtek brand. The transaction is subject to approval of the competition authorities.

Tikkurila is to divest its industrial powder coatings business, because it is not a part of Tikkurila's core business. After the transaction, Tikkurila has no powder coatings related operations.

The transaction will not have a significant impact on the financial result or balance sheet of the Tikkurila Group. The revenue of OOO Tikkurila Powder Coatings will be approximately EUR 2.3 million in 2010, and the company employs some 50 people.

Tikkurila is the leading decorative paints company in Russia, where it operates four paint factories after the transaction. The products are sold under the brands of Tikkurila, Teks, Finncolor and Gamma in over 5,000 retail outlets. Tikkurila has some 1,500 employees in Russia. <more>

ASTM on facebook
W. CONSHOHOCKEN, PA - ASTM International has recently established a presence on some popular social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These social media platforms provide another outlet for users and stakeholders to receive the latest news about ASTM International and international standards activities.

The official ASTM International Facebook page provides followers with the latest news about standards development within ASTM's 142 technical committees, as well as information about publications, meetings and more, with direct links to the ASTM website. Currently, more than 1,200 "fans" keep up with ASTM through Facebook. A separate Facebook page for ASTM students features news about ASTM student memberships, awards, paper contests and information about standards in the classroom. <more>

Blacker than Black
Black is black, right? Not so, according to a team of NASA engineers now developing a blacker-than pitch material that will help scientists gather hard-to-obtain scientific measurements or observe currently unseen astronomical objects, like Earth-sized planets in orbit around other stars.

The nanotech-based material now being developed by a team of 10 technologists at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is a thin coating of multi-walled carbon nanotubes — tiny hollow tubes made of pure carbon about 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Nanotubes have a multitude of potential uses, particularly in electronics and advanced materials due to their unique electrical properties and extraordinary strength. But in this application, NASA is interested in using the technology to help suppress errant light that has a funny way of ricocheting off instrument components and contaminating measurements. <more>

Dolphins Keep Coatings R&D in the Swim
Taking a lesson from dolphins, pilot whales and other animals with anti-fouling skins, a multinational research consortium is using nanotechnology to create synthetic, chemical-free, anti-bacterial surfaces for ship hulls and other applications.
The surfaces can reduce infections caused by pathogens such as S. aureus and E. coli without the use of potentially harmful metal ions, nanoparticles, chemicals or UV radiation, say researchers at Singapore-based A*STAR's Industrial Consortium on Nanoimprint (ICON).<more>





2nd PA Bridge Painter Killed in Fall
Authorities are investigating the death of a New Jersey painter who perished in a fall Sunday from the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge in Maine, where he was working.
Ercio Gasques, 29, of Newark, NJ, was the second employee of Odyssey Contracting, of Houston, PA, to die in a bridge fall in the last 14 months.
Gasques was working on the bridge in eastern Maine when he fell about 2:15 p.m. Sunday, according to the Hancock Count Sheriff’s Department, which responded to the scene.
40-Foot Fall <more>