The paint industry in terms of quality is increasingly demanding, and it is clear that the segment that serves the road demarcation, for its very reason of being, is no stranger to this premise and focuses its efforts on the care of the environment, as well as on providing safety and durability to the end users of its products.By Santiago Jaramillo H.
Traffic paints, specifically with what has to do with reflective and non-slip materials, has focused its work on developing compounds that provide higher qualities in terms of avoiding automotive incidents and, of course, preserving the integrity of drivers.
"In the industry of paints for road demarcation there has been an interesting and positive dynamic of change, this situation focuses on being more responsible with the environment and with the safety of the end users of the product, which is why the consumption of products with alkyd resins of chlorinated rubber has been considerably decreased and the use of aqueous acrylic paints has increased. This type of change favors, in addition to the environmental issue, the achievement of signals with less smooth surfaces and with better chemical and physical resistances, "said Iván D. Martínez Ruiz, belonging to the Research and Development area of the Colombian company Pinturas Novaflex - Princolor S.A.
For his part, the Colombian Eduardo Giraldo, traffic line manager of the Compañía Global de Pinturas S.A. (Pintuco), agreed that "in recent years a greater awareness has been created in the safety issues that affect the roads of cities and roads, and around this we have developed the materials used in high standard signage".
In the same way, he stressed that road or highway users require solutions to drive their vehicles in adverse conditions such as rain, low visibility, etc. "In cities, especially motorcyclists, they require demarcations that provide them with greater stability and less slippage. Once this type of needs has been identified, Pintuco has developed materials that have special qualities, which increase properties such as retroreflectivity and slip resistance," he stresses.
Meanwhile, Kelly Velásquez Ramón, Marketing representative of the company CPPQ S.A., pondered that "in Peru the conventional painting system is maintained, that is, regulated paints that meet the parameters: service time, abrasion and resistance according to the substrate to be demarcated; as for reflective materials, reflective beads are normally used which are sown on the newly applied paint, there are other complementary products for reflectivity such as studs or adhesive tapes".
Innovation
Already in what has to do with relevant novelties and innovations in the segment of paints for road demarcation, specifically with regard to reflective and non-slip materials, Martínez Ruiz highlighted the interest of entities such as the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (Icontec) in achieving standards that include regulations on the use of non-slip and reflective materials.
"This, added to the State's interest in reducing accidents on the roads, has driven the use of different coating alternatives with the same objective: to increase the coefficient of friction of the applied film; examples of this are the inclusion of cold plastic paints and the use of materials with non-slip properties in acrylic paints. Innovations are on the way, and will occur in the optimization of resources in obtaining durable and safe signals, that is, obtaining better performance and greater security at a reasonable price."
Another point that Martínez contributes is the environmental issue: the reduction of plasticizers in the production of paints and the improvement of performance in aqueous alternatives, for example.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Peruvian industry warns that in her country "there is no marked demand for this type of products", but recognizes that this market could acquire importance in the coming years.
Special properties
The traffic line manager of the Compañía Global de Pinturas S.A. (Pintuco), defined the retroreflectivity offered by horizontal road signage as the property that has the demarcation of returning the light in the same direction from where it comes, that is, from the headlights of the vehicles. This requires a very well designed system, which usually consists of paint and microspheres that adhere to it. "We currently have microspheres, manufactured in different parts of the world, that vary in their refractive indices and diameters to return as much light as possible. But paint is a key element of this system and its quality in the formulation ensures that it meets its goal," he said.
Additionally, as Giraldo acknowledges, "we have developed innovations in materials, such as cold plastic, which allow the application with specialized equipment of different structures in the finishing of the demarcation, which generates better visibility alternatives in rainy conditions, given the relief that protrudes above the water. This material is also formulated to have a slip resistance greater than 45 SRT, which is highly recommended for pedestrian crossings and stopovers in cities where the braking of vehicles and motorcycles occurs, and this property is required in greater proportion. New added materials have also been developed, such as Super Grip, which can be sown in traditional or thermoplastic paints either as a final finish or between layers, which increase the resistance to slippage by up to 25 SRT above its original value, "he stresses.
Balance sheet and strategies for the future
Moving on to the balance sheet that 2009 showed, Iván D. Martínez said that it was positive "and 2010 will continue to be positive for those of us who have as priorities the satisfaction of customers, the safety of end users and the constant technical accompaniment to applicators".
Meanwhile, Kelly Velásquez Ramón pondered that "in 2009 (in the Peruvian market) the demand grew by up to 40%".
Faced with the strategies that can be key in terms of innovation and promotion, Eduardo Giraldo stressed that it is necessary to have a clear reading of the needs of users on the roads, carrying out a segmentation oriented to the government or private administration and once these requirements have been identified, have the technical and R & D team very well structured, to provide the right support and solutions.
On the other hand, Martínez indicated that it is important to work together with public entities, they are responsible for demanding quality in the works and demonstrating continuous improvement in this issue is a way to guarantee market participation. "In the field of technical innovation, we must work on several aspects: greater ease and decrease in application times and delivery of tracks, surfaces of high resistance and non-slip properties with lower costs, obtaining paints with low presence of volatile organic compounds and achieving better performance in relation to the life of reflectivity".
Finally, the representative of the Peruvian market concluded that "the price-quality-stock congruence available, as well as the innovation associated with organic products" is of the utmost importance.
