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...will remain a very moderate rate for several years to come. Resins for solvent-free coatings (waterborne, powder, UV) and higher performing resins such as polyurethanes offer the greatest potential for the future.
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According to Steven Nerlfi of Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney, a market research firm, 4.66 billion pounds of vehicle (resin plus crosslinker) valued at $4.5 billion were sold into the U.S. coatings market in 2002. He estimates the volume of vehicle sales will climb to nearly 5 billion pounds and be valued at almost $4.9 billion in 2006, which corresponds to a growth rate of 2% per year. Mr. Nerlfi notes that the biggest resin types are acrylics and urethanes.
Michael D. Brown of The ChemQuest Group, Inc., a management consulting firm located in Cincinnati, OH, forecasts sales of resins for the U.S. coatings market to grow at an average of 3.1% per year to 4.1 billion pounds in 2006. The demand for acrylics and vinyls in architectural coatings remains and this group of resins will continue to experience above average growth and maintain its leading sales position. The use of epoxy resins for industrial maintenance and e-coat applications will also continue to grow, while alkyds will see a further decline in sales with the ongoing shift away from solventborne coatings.
As the shift to waterborne coatings continues in response to increasing environmental regulations, the ChemQuest Group sees an increased struggle for manufacturers to develop resins that meet the performance levels required for heavy industrial maintenance. The long-term trend is to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to 50 gms/liter. At the same time, there is a trend toward the use of higher performance resins such as polyurethanes, notes Mr. Brown.
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All of the major players agree that regulatory compliance requirements are a key driver of the resins market today. Henry Bunch, business director, Engineered Polymer Solutions/Color Corporation of America (EPS/CCA) says Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) regulations coming in 2005 in the northeastern U.S. and the need for maintaining product performance at the lower VOC levels are of most importance. He also notes that drivers in the Industrial markets are the hazardous air pollutant (HAPs) regulations and maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) compliance for aerosols, again, without sacrificing performance.
Waterborne technologies continue to increase in popularity as the EPA pushes through tighter VOC regulations and resin manufacturers respond with higher performance products, adds Wolfgang Regele, Vice President of product management for Reichhold. "Step-change technology is a big focus, at least for Reichhold. We are offering new waterborne alkyds as a technology bridge for those formulators and end-users reluctant to abandon conventional technologies," he notes.
"Vinyl acetate/ethylene (VAE) emulsions will be a key technology to introduce the emissions-free concept to the entire European paint industry," says Diana Peninger, director strategic marketing for Celanese Emulsions. In these emulsions, water replaces the function of plasticizers (hydroplastification), but the emulsions maintain the same degree of processability and quality, such as wear resistance, as emulsions based on solvents and plasticizers.
"We see the new environmental regulations that address VOCs as outstanding opportunities for Surface Specialties to address the needs of our customers in the automotive, architectural and industrial segments," says Terry Scoville, market manager for liquid coating resins--Americas, of Surface Specialties UCB. Reduced cost, solvent-free and reduced-VOC, and improved durability properties for construction and transportation coatings also provide large growth opportunities for innovative technologies, according to Chuck Reardon, Dow polyurethanes global business development manager, Rigids and CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers).
In the polyurethanes market segment, customer demand, created by unmet consumer needs, is the factor initiating new technologies, says Mr. Reardon. "Customers gravitate toward the technology leaders in the coatings marketplace and tend to stick with those that can provide improved product performance at lower costs through innovative chemistries."
For powder coatings, resin manufacturers are continuing to focus on technologies for thinner films and low-temperature cure applications to reduce applied costs and offer powder coating technology to popular heat-sensitive substrates such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF), notes Mr. Regele.
UV cure coatings are also gaining interest. "The trend towards UV/EB-cure coatings continues to gain momentum as more and more formulators recognize the incredible performance--not to mention environmental--benefits of the technology," says Dr. Gary Ceska, vice president of technology for Sartomer Company. "In fact, a recent study reported that industrial coatings alone account for 47% of all UV/EB-cure applications. "We expect that number...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos
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