Opportunities in the paints and coatings industry

The paints and coatings industry is set to see massive growth over the coming five years. MENA Infrastructure asks a panel of experts for their thoughts on the significant drivers and the biggest challenges facing the sector.

Infrastructure applications together with the arid conditions in the region put a huge amount of stress on paints and coatings solutions. How is your company working to create ever more durable solutions for users?

Eirik Kristensen. Jotun invests US$27 million annually on research and development. Our lab in Norway and the regional labs in Dubai and KL work to produce new products and improve the current ones to keep the Jotun assortment the best products in the market using the cutting edge technology available. Most of our premium products are based on pure acrylic binders that provide high durability for the paint system and excellent protection for the structure, this includes, 'Lady', the premium interior paint, and the Jotashield exterior range that includes Jotashield Tex Ultra a high performing paint that provides crack bridging ability up to 2.6 mm, the reason why it was specified to protect the Dubai Metro elevated rails. In addition to that, last year, we launched Jotashield SuperDurable, a silicon-acrylic paint that protects property for as long as 20 years.   

Christophe Rizzo. As a dispensing system manufacturer Inkmaker produces machines and as such don't produce any paints and/or coatings. However, Inkmaker can help its customers to develop products to face these critical conditions. The accuracy, the flexibility and the repeatability of our machines can help the R&D teams to work better and more efficiently to do its own tests. We have had various positive feedback from our Nordic customers who have seen numerous advantages from our technology and software including, speed of production, homogenisation of the colours, accuracy up to 0,01gr, reports, statistics and logbook.

Roberto Wurst. The main application of our paint additives is focused on the improvement of the production process of the architectural paint itself. Dispersing agents and defoamers play their part in optimising the manufacturing steps as well as improve the storage stability and the scrub resistance of the finished paint. One of the main challenges of future innovation will be focusing on natural and renewable resources. BK Giulini made a first step in the defoamer product category creating Lopon E 81, which was developed on the basis of vegetable oils.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in the protective coatings industry in the MENA region? And what are the biggest opportunities?

CR. The paints and coatings manufacturers from the MENA regions have three big challenges: to respond to the economical increase of their internal market, to face the European competitors and to improve their product quality. The MENA region, even through this economical crisis, is still investing in new projects and new construction. This is attracting European paints and coatings manufacturers, ready to play a role in this new business, and with that they bring quality and experience to the sector.

MENA manufacturers must increase their production quality and capacity by getting an automatic dispensing system. Inkmaker can help by increasing the speed of production with repeatability, reducing production and time waste, and offering all reports in accordance to the ISO standards. Only those who will be able to answer to these three points will have a successful future.

RW. Due to an increasing awareness regarding sustainable and environmentally friendly products, one of the most important demands is the reduction of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which we supported for many years through our stabilisers for water-based paints. Polyphosphates exhibit excellent performance, they are completely inorganic and are obtained from natural resources. The VOC-content of poly-acrylic dispersants has been reduced significantly as well in the last few years.

EK. We see the biggest challenge as also being the biggest opportunity in this market. We can say that we have a 'feast in famine' situation. Currently the protective coatings industry is witnessing a slow down, but we can see that changing and we expect a lot of projects to arise in the coming few years. We have to make use of this time and be prepared, armed with the best products and best expertise.

Sustainability is an increasingly important consideration in construction around the MENA region, seen through the increase of LEED practices for example. In your opinion, how is this trend reflected in the paints and coatings industry? 

RW. Water-based emulsion paints and coatings have been used successfully as protective and decorative coatings for many decades and constitute industrial benchmarks. Over the years these systems were adapted steadily to the changing demands of the market replacing more and more of the solvent-based recipes. Today water-based systems are available for nearly all kinds of applications and the used raw materials are available in abundance.

EK. When we think of sustainability in Jotun we do not only limit it to established standards in various markets - we are aware that green building is a growing trend in the world nowadays and that several standards including Estidama and GS 11 are followed. Jotun meets those standards. We have products that have low VOC; Fenomastic Emulsion Gold for instance is as low as 73 on VOC. In addition to that, we do not use any dangerous chemicals in our products even if their use is not locally banned where we operate. Moreover our products are Formaldehyde and APEO free.

CR. Inkmaker is absolutely sensible to the sustainability of its products, same as the paints and coatings industry. Everybody has to develop in this direction if they want to go hand in hand with the future business. All players in the paints and coatings industry are focusing their R&D on green technology. Today we have already some ecofriendly products in place, but I am sure that this is only the beginning. Inkmaker, at this point, is helping its customers to respect the environment by reducing the storage and the waste products. Additionally, Inkmaker software is counting solvent consumption and gives VOC statistics reports.

What do you predict as the most significant driver of the paints and coatings sector in the MENA region over the coming five years, and why?

EK. From our point of view, paints in the coming five years will be based on one or more of three main drivers that are performance, sustainability and functionality. The market will demand products that can perform well, i.e. has good characteristics for affordable prices. Moreover, the market will demand products that are well produced for the wellbeing of the population and the environment, which means becoming as green as possible. On top of that the market will demand products that function with an added value to a normal paint, such as protection against bacteria.

CR. The next five years will be a very difficult time for MENA paints and coatings manufacturers because they will face European competitors and be under pressure from request of higher quality from their customers. But I am sure that those who increase their own production quality will be able to overcome from this situation and emerge stronger than before. Moreover, the future is that MENA companies offer their product to the European market.

The driver is the quality and the crisis is showing that those who invested in quality in the past, are suffering less today. Over the next five years this investment will give only benefits.

RW. We fully agree that sustainability is a key future driver in this sector, as in so many others. BK Giulini takes an active part in this process with dispersing agents based on polyphosphates and polyacrylates, defoamers and other additives sold under the trademarks Polyron and Lopon. Dispersing agents are essential components of emulsion paints, providing the even distribution of the pigment and filler particles, enabling long-time storage and improving the abrasion resistance. In addition to these effects dispersants have a positive influence on the levelling, the covering quality and the gloss of paints. With this long-time experience as a partner in the paint industry, BK Giulini can provide solutions for all kinds of dispersing problems in water-based systems. Our additives are suitable for VOC free systems (Blue Angel).

Eirik Kristensen is currently the Regional Marketing Manager for the MENA region whose responsibilities also include India, Spain and Turkey. Kristensen joined Jotun in 2005 and has previously held senior positions within the advertising and marketing industry.

Christophe Rizzo started his career at Inkmaker in 1997 as technical engineer. After two years, he moved to the after sales service and three years later, started as sales manager for France, Scandinavia and Poland markets. Today, he is Sales Director for the EMEA countries, North and South America.

Roberto Wurst has been working in the chemical industry for over 25 years. He joined BK Giulini 10 years ago as General Manager of the subsidiary in Argentina, thereafter moving to the German head quarters where he heads the Business Unit Bekaphos as director since late 2006.

---

What the analysts say

According to recent research from Frost & Sullivan, the Middle East's paints and coatings industry is set to reach US$2.7 billion by 2014 spurred largely by investment in large-scale infrastructural and industrial projects. But ensuring such paints and coatings solutions are both fit-for-purpose and properly applied will be vital if contractors and end-clients are to reap the rewards of technology innovations in this area.