During Abrafati 2011, the industry approached the ecological trend by launching products focused on efficiency and sustainability.
by Vanesa Restrepo
For many, the current wave of green products in the world is a passing fad that seeks to take advantage of a niche market with great growth possibilities and that, in addition, enjoys acceptance among consumers of raw materials and finished products.
However, the market is taking a new direction, supported by modern legislation that encourages the care of the environment and that creates in the final customer an awareness of responsibility for the impact of each of their consumptions.
The most recent version of Abrafati, held at the end of November in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was a thermometer that allowed us to conclude that the future of investments in the raw materials and paints sector in general is greener than might be believed.
"The sector's investments in the next ten years are focused on the development of sustainable solutions, with environmentally friendly technologies and manufacturing processes with less ecological impact," said Dilson Ferreira, president of the Brazilian Association of Paint Manufacturers, Abrafati, and head of the event.
In effect, Ferreira explained, the fair has tried to look for what they call "the painting of the future"; that is, ecological solutions to manufacture less polluting products that consume fewer resources.
"Two years ago we asked the industry what the painting of the future would look like and the ideas and research projects arrived. This year we landed those ideas and what you see at the fair is the result of private sector research," added the director of abrafati's Board of Directors, Antonio Carlos de Oliveira.
Facts that speak for themselves
According to the representatives of the association, one of the segments with the greatest promise of development is that of renewable solvents manufactured from sugar cane and other ecological materials to replace hydrocarbon derivatives.
But it is not only about efficiency but also about economy, because during the last three years the prices of raw materials have been increasing, significantly affecting the cost structure of paint manufacturers and reducing their profit margins.
That is why raw material suppliers have taken care of delivering new products such as additives to prolong the useful life of paints in the can, organic pigments extracted from natural sources, defoamers, rheological modifiers and resins with more ecological production and better performance.
Thus, the objectives are clear: "Today companies in the sector want to consume with less energy; that is, to have the same result but with less cost," said Dilson Ferreira.
The official stressed that the manufacturing processes have been perfected to redistribute the energy peaks throughout the day and thus avoid overloads in the national electricity grid.
Added to this are new pigment dispersion techniques and high solids technologies that ultimately aim to reduce waste levels and production waste. In this process, added Antonio Carlos de Oliveira, both the association and the paint manufacturing companies have been working on the training of the end user so that the elimination of waste is maintained throughout the production chain.
"It's a gradual process that takes several years, but we're already explaining to consumers how to generate less waste," De Oliveira said, adding that based on the Coatings Care program, Brazil has worked on creating and standardizing a system for disposing of manufacturing chemical waste and paint residues after application.
To highlight
The green showcase
In the aisles of Abrafati 2011 the new alternatives of eco-friendly and efficient products shone. Among the products that stole the applause of the attendees stands out the new line of products for protection and conservation of the multinational Lanxess.
The company, which invoiced 7,100 million euros (US $ 9,486 million) in 2010 bet on the preservation of paints "in can" and the prevention of the formation of fungi and bacteria. "One of the launches of the line of fungicides and algaecides for dry film protection is Sporgard, a product formulated for the construction sector that fights internal fungi," explained Luis Gustavo Ligere, regional sales coordinator of the company.
According to Ligere, these new lines are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and have stability at high temperatures, odorless characteristics, "do not attack the environment and guarantee indoor air quality."
Meanwhile, the firm Clariant bet on emulsions with the launch of its new terpolymer technology that emerges as an alternative to pure acrylics and styrene-acrylics.
"They are formulations developed on measures for customers according to the profile of their production process, their final products and their market needs," said Pablo Cadavid, global product manager and manager of the emulsions business unit for the Brazilian market.
Cadavid said that the concept of the new emulsions is based on the low emission of pollutants for the formulation of ecological paints, high-performance coatings for wood and metal, as well as nanotechnology for sealants.
Another of the companies that presented eco-friendly novelties was Wacker, which during 2010 generated a turnover of 4,750 million euros (US$6,346 million), 17% of which was invoiced in the territory of North and South America.
The company's commitment was to organofunctional silanes, silicon compounds with an organic function that act as cross-linkers in the formulation of adhesives, sealants and coatings. This line of products, collected under the brand Geniosil was awarded the New Product Innovation Award 2011, delivered by the consultancy Frost & Sullivan.
This line of products, according to the company, is used as an adhesion promoting agent is paints, varnishes, sealants and adhesives, as well as in the modification of surfaces such as plastic and in the cross-linking of polymers such as polyethylene, polysiloxanes and polyacrylates.
But there was not only talk of efficiency in the part of raw materials. The firm Tintomatic, producer of mechanical equipment for the tintometric area also presented its new gyroscopic agitator and an automatic dispenser that, in addition to having benefits such as efficiency and precision in the work of agitation and mixing of colors, are energy efficient because they register lower energy consumption.
Alessandra Sales, marketing director of the company explained that these new equipment are easy to handle, compact, efficient and manufactured in Brazil with the highest technology available.
To highlight
Abrafati recorded growth
The organization of Abrafati 2011, headed by the president of the Brazilian Association of Paint Manufacturers, confirmed that during this year the event had a 50% growth in the number of stands, which "is a reflection of the recovery of the sector".
Thus, in the exhibition area it went from having 150 to 220 exhibitors and in the scientific area there were 72 conferences (including plenary sessions) related to market themes and environmentally friendly technologies.
"We also received 180 different proposals for papers related to sustainability and environmental issues in the paint industry, which shows a growth compared to 2009, when we had 120 records," Ferreira explained.
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