Increased industrial paint demand, especially powder coatings and high performance coatings is expected to fuel growth of major paint companies.

The Indian paint industry, currently estimated to be Rs 50,000 crore, has the potential to grow at a CAGR of 12-13% over the next few years. The per capita consumption of paint in India is still very low. It was just 2.5 kg in 2010, but is estimated to be around 4 kg presently, indicating a good rate of growth during the last 5 years. Even this is very low as compared to the developed countries. The market is broadly divided into two segments, decorative and industrial. While the contribution of decorative segment, mainly comprising exterior and interior emulsions, enamels, primers and thinners, distemper, etc., is about 75% of the total paints market, industrial coatings and paints account for the remaining 25%. Both the segments have been showing robust growth in the last few years. While demand for decorative paints arise from household paintings, architectural and other display products, industrial coatings and paints are typically used for their protective properties rather than its aesthetics.

Three main segments of the industrial sector include automotive coatings, powder coatings and protective coatings. User industries for industrial paints include automobiles, engineering, infrastructure and consumer durables, the automotive sector accounting for roughly 50% share. The industrial paints segment is far more technology intensive than the decorative segment. Although the demand for industrial paints is lukewarm thanks to the general slowdown in the manufacturing sector, it is expected to increase going forward. This is on account of increasing investments in infrastructure. Domestic and global auto majors have long term plans for the Indian market, which augur well for automotive paint manufacturers. Increased industrial paint demand, especially powder coatings and high performance coatings is expected to materialise in the near future. The industry is cautiously optimistic n this front.

As mentioned above, industrial coating is a paint or coating defined by its protective, rather than its aesthetic properties, although it can provide both. The most common use of industrial coatings is for corrosion control of steel structures such as offshore platforms, bridges and underground pipelines. Other functions include intumescent coatings for fire resistance. The most common polymers used in industrial coatings are polyurethane, epoxy and moisture-cure urethane. Another highly common polymer used in industrial coating is a fluoropolymer. There are many types of industrial coatings including inorganic zinc, phosphate, and Xylan and PVD coatings.

According to a research report by US-based MarketsandMarkets, the global protective coatings market would be worth US$ 18,431.8 Mn by 2019. The report “Protective Coatings Market by Resin Type (Alkyd, Acrylic, Epoxy, Polyurethane, Polyester & Others), by Technology (Solvent Borne, Water Borne, Powder & Others) & by Application (Construction, Oil & Gas, Automotive, Aerospace, Product Finishes & Others) – Global Trends & Forecast to 2019”, defines and segments the global protective coatings market with analysis and forecasting of volume consumed and value generated. The protective coatings consumption is projected to grow from 4,253.9 KT in 2014 to 6,701.3 KT by 2019, at a CAGR of 9.52% during the same period.

The protective coatings market is mainly driven by growing demand for end-user industries such as construction, oil & gas, automotive, aerospace, and product finishes. Rising need for infrastructure is driving the consumption of protective coatings in the construction industry. Similarly, accelerating demand for efficiency has resulted in expanding the market for protective coatings in the automotive and aerospace industries. The oil & gas industry is projected to show a rapid growth with increasing demand for protection from corrosion and other environmental factors.

The global protective coatings market has an immense potential toward attracting small and big level industry players. It is experiencing a huge surge, especially in Asia-Pacific, due to its flourishing infrastructure and automotive sectors. It is the highest growing market followed by Europe and North America, driving the global consumption of protective coatings.

New product development is the major growth strategy adopted by the market players. Most of the companies are engaged in developing new and improved products to meet the rising demand from end-user industries to increase their protective coatings business. The companies are also expanding their operations and production capacities to new regions through capacity and geographic expansions.

According to the British Coatings Federation (BCF), the sole UK trade association representing the interests of the decorative, industrial and powder coatings, printing inks and wallcovering industries, coatings and paints is Britain’s most visible industry. It is estimated that corrosion of major structures and equipment, through inadequate protection, costs the UK over £10 billion a year (5% of GNP).

The UK coatings industry has built up an enviable expertise in making high performance coatings – in liquid form and as heat-cured coating powders – for a wide variety of tasks. For example, anti-fouling coatings for the hulls of ships, with formulations that enable ships to proceed efficiently. A hair’s breadth special smooth coating on the propulsion screw of a typical tanker can save over £300,000 on its annual fuel costs. And every such saving to the user means a bonus to the environment not only in big reductions in greenhouse gases but also in prolonging the life of our dwindling world stocks of fuel.

The British Coatings Federation offers a suite of over 60 distance learning technical coatings training modules over 4 levels of difficultly as part of the Coatings Training Institute (CTI), a joint venture with the European Coatings Journal.

At PaintIndia 2016 held in Mumbai in January, the BCF Coatings Training Institute was invited to discuss how the BCF’s CTI offer can help to deliver much needed technical training solutions to help upskill the several thousand new paint and coatings chemists needed by the Indian industry in the next 10 years. During the exhibition, there was a meeting of the governing council of the recently inaugurated Paints and Coatings Skill Council of India, a new body which has been modelled on the UK’s Sector Skills Council and has been created to achieve a step change in the skill base in the coatings industry in India, to help the country keep up with the local growth rates. The Indian council is in talks with the BCF CTI, which is already active in Asia in China and Japan, for a similar partnership in India.

PaintExpo 2016

PaintExpo is one of the leading global events for the paints and coatings industry. More than 470 exhibitors are expected at the 6th PaintExpo at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre in Germany from the 19th through the 22nd of April, 2016. More than 470 exhibitors from 26 countries will present the world’s most comprehensive offerings for the optimisation of liquid painting, powder coating and coil coating processes. Innovations and further developments ranging from pre-treatment to quality control for practically all materials and material combinations will be unveiled.

Visitors from companies with in-house painting operations and from job-shop coaters will be awaited by multi-sector offerings for a comprehensive range of materials which are unparalleled around the globe. The exhibition programme includes systems and application technology, pre-treatment and cleaning, paints, drying and cross-linking systems, conveyor technology, automation solutions and painting robots, measuring and test equipment, quality control, environmental engineering, accessories, consumable materials, packaging and services.

For the first time ever anywhere in the world, a system for cleaning conveyor system chains, for example as used in Power & Free conveyors, will be introduced at PaintExpo. It can be used in running production lines and contributes to the minimisation of costly scrap and rework caused by falling contamination. Visitors will also be awaited by processes and products for more efficient and ecological cleaning and pre-treatment such as newly developed liquid paints and powdered enamels with optimised decorative and functional characteristics. Innovative and advanced paint guns and atomisers provide for increased material efficiency, quality and ergonomics where the application of these coatings is concerned.