CHINACOAT2013 was held November 20-22 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. The show was preceded by the Nano and Bio Technology, in Coatings and Finishing, on November 18-19.  According to the show’s organizers, this year’s CHINACOAT exceeded past exhibitions. 

To explore the flourishing coatings market, CHINACOAT2013 provides exhibitors with a unified one-stop trading platform. The show is organized by Hong Kong-based Sinostar, and is held in Shanghai on odd years, Guangzhou on even years. The show was very well attended, with a reported 25,736 visitors and showcased a wide variety of new products and technologies. In addition to the high attendance numbers, the show was attended by an audience prepared with questions and a high level of interest in the exhibition.

Exhibitors and Attendees Respond
Exhibitors at this year’s show reported that CHINACOAT was overall a positive experience for them.
Helmut Unkel, director of H.J. Unkel Group discussed his experience at CHINACOAT2013.

“It was well attended by visitors,” Unkel said. “There were enormous numbers this year, I think it was definitely a lot more visitors than any other year, and the quality of visitors was good. It’s wasn’t just people who came to collect catalogs, it was people who came looking for information or people who came with a problem for which they need a solution. But it was absolutely a professional show.”

Toshiaki Fujima, group II senior manager, chemical sales and marketing, KH Neo Chem, explained KH Neo Chem’s purpose and goals at the show.

“This show was much more organized than it was the last time I attended years ago, in 2005,” Fujima said “It was totally different. People were well educated and knew our products much better than before. So that’s very good for us product wise and company wise.”

Zi Li, president, Trust Chem discussed their new products and business this year. Trust Chem launched several new products at CHINACOAT including some new yellow high performance pigments for ink as well as new red high performance pigments for ink.

“The show was busier this year than last and we saw more customers this year,” Li said.

Shenton King, director of marketing, business development, King Industries, and Dr. Michel Hourani, VP/general manager, coatings additives division, said the show had a lot of value for them.

“There is a marketing value to CHINACOAT but that is really a small part of it.  For us we tried to bring something new to the show.  We are constantly developing new products to address market needs.  It was a very busy show and so we tried to meet with our partners and customers to present the latest developments,” King said.

In terms of new trends, King and Hourani both agreed that lower VOCs, chromate-free systems, waterborne technology, environmentally friendly systems, and lowering energy cost are important in the market.

“People are looking for good corrosion inhibitors to help them with these new chromate-free systems, so we are introducing corrosion inhibitors that can help with that and also introducing new catalysts to work with the new anti-corrosive pigments for this market,” Hourani said.

“Environmentally friendly catalysts are a trend world wide.  Formulators are replacing heavy metal catalysts in polyurethane coatings including Chinese formulators,” Hourani added. “So we have environmentally friendly catalysts for these coatings based on zinc or bismuth and that is being introduced at the show.  Also, we are introducing new catalysts to enable the formulator to reduce the cure temperature in melamine systems.”

Charles E. Hoover, Jr., chief operating officer, Hoover Color Corporation, discussed CHINACOAT and the coatings market.

“One of the things I liked about this show, and I think this show is really the best overall, because at this show you got the technicians who came to learn about technology that is available, so you were able to tell people about your product and why they should use your product over something else,” Hoover said.

Joon Choo, vice president, Shamrock Technologies, explained that CHINACOAT served as a meeting point for friends and customers in the industry.

“The show was a gathering place where we saw a lot of friends and customers in the industry and caught up,” Choo said. “The message we sent is that we are continuing to be as committed to the industry as we always have been, with new products and new developments. After the crisis of a couple of years ago where there was a shortage of materials, we’ve recovered from that and things have stabilized. We’re expanding our radiation capacities in Kentucky and we’re also expanding our operations in China as well. We’re still riding the growth of Asia so we’ve had a big year.”

Aaron Hollman, global products manager effect pigments, Sun Chemical explained the benefits of CHINACOAT.
“CHINACOAT provided an excellent venue to connect with the full gamut of global and domestic coatings producers,” Hollman said. “Sun Chemical and our parent company DIC are uniquely positioned to offer a wide range of coatings solutions. No other supplier can match the breadth of our product portfolio of organic pigments, effects and resins. We have added a state-of-the-art technical service center in China and continue to add local manufacturing assets in key pigment chemistries.”

Asian Market
Hoover said that globalization of the coatings market has truly impacted the industry worldwide.

“I think that what you’re seeing is the real impact of globalization on the coatings market, especially when you have OEM pieces that are manufactured in one location, assembled in other locations, and moved around the world,” Hoover said. “So we are seeing a real impact in Asia from Europe. The European consumers are down, and even though the U.S consumers are up, it’s still been a tough year for sales in Asia.

“Whether we’re also seeing a lead-time development as products are made around the world, the amount of time it takes from producing a raw material to delivering to the final consumer is actually longer than its been in maybe even a year,” he said.

“I think we’re really seeing globalization becoming a major influence on coatings industry.”

Li remained optimistic overall about Trust Chem in the market.

“Business in China is, depending on which coatings area, slightly down. Industrial coatings are showing some increase,” Li said. “Southeast Asia we see a lot of up and down. Mainly Indonesia and India are down. Vietnam we see being up, it is really a growing country.  Economy worldwide is growing however we did not reach our budget. The year is not over so it is just a rough estimate. Overall, I’m optimistic and positive about the year.”

Fujima explained that KH Neo Chem opened a new office in China, which assisted in growth.

“This year we established an office in Shanghai,” Fujima said. “We have been growing and generally our customers have been growing too. However growth has been slow and there is a lot of expectation especially on the manufacturer side in China.”

Products and Services
CHINACOAT featured 1,019 exhibitors, including 198 new exhibitors.
Michelman exhibited a variety of Michem and Licomer branded solutions at CHINACOAT. Among the offerings were coatings and additives used to produce water repellency in decorative coatings; anti-block, slip and scratch resistance in can and coil coatings; rub and mar resistance, along with a high gloss finish in inks and overprint varnishes; adhesion promotion in adhesives; gloss along with soft feel in leather polishes; and gloss with scratch resistance in commercial and household floor polish formulations.
Under its new brand, Celanese – The chemistry inside innovation, the company is highlighting a wide variety of products including vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions, acrylic emulsions, EVA polymers, vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) and solvents for use in coatings and adhesives applications at CHINACOAT.

Highlighting their solutions for architectural paints, Celanese is also showcasing its EcoVAE line of vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) emulsions for use in ultra-low odor, low VOC (volatile organic compounds) decorative paints. In addition, Celanese is showing its VAE emulsions for use in waterproofing coatings, which are also low odor and low VOC. In discussing their solutions for automotive paints, Celanese is highlighting its Polysolvan O solvent for use in automotive paints. Because of its very low volatility, Polysolvan O is used chiefly as a paint additive in the form of a highly effective flow agent.

Mark Oberle, senior vice president, Celanese, took the time to sit down with Coatings World at the show and explain that this has been a big year for the company.

“This is likely to be a record year for our emulsions globally,” Oberle said. “From a demand standpoint we are seeing growth, especially in the non-commodities base. There’s also a lot more going on outside the bulk commodities particularly with plastic and emulsions.”

The focus for Celanese this year is the one brand approach to the market, according to Oberle.

“I think the big difference is in how we’re approaching our customers going forward. And it is likely to be wider portfolios of solution options than our customers have seen in the past. I think the big message for me is for people to come and discover what the entire Celanese portfolio is and see what we can offer when we get all our business together.”
Celanese sales, marketing and technical specialists were available throughout the exhibition to answer questions regarding EcoVAE emulsions or the company’s other offerings at booth 3E41-48.

Troy Corporation exhibited at CHINACOAT in Hall E4, Zone 7, Booth 4G21-26. The exhibit highlighted how Troy can assist Asia-Pacific customers to reach performance and cost targets through exceptional technical service and use of advanced, high-performance products, some of which are developed specifically for the Asia-Pacific region.

“With a broad line of innovative, high performance Polyphase and Troysan dry-film preservatives, Mergal wet-state preservatives, and Performance Additives, Troy offers manufacturers the opportunity to exceed their performance goals and achieve cost savings at the same time,” said Don Shaw, vice president and general manager of Troy Asia. “Visitors to the Troy stand will find information on unique products and services that can add value to their paints and coatings, providing performance and financial advantages over their competition.

Troy also presented Polyphase and Troysan preservatives at CHINACOAT, which address some of the biggest concerns of the paint and coatings industry in the Asia-Pacific region, namely low cost-in-use, long-lasting performance in tropical climates, and favorable environmental attributes. “Troy is dedicated to Asia, and we will continue to develop the products that will enable our customers to succeed in their markets,” said Shaw. Troy maintains multiple field testing sites in Asia for the evaluation of the full line of dry-film preservatives to ensure dependable film protection in end-use coatings.

Lonza Materials Protection offers Asian markets two new multi-active blends of Densil antimicrobial for use in exterior paint, coatings and related building projects. The Densil ZOD and Densil FAZ antimicrobials were developed to address the unique challenges faced by coatings formulators, particularly in tropical environments where mold, mildew, algae and other contaminants deface and damage painted surfaces. With regulatory approval in key Asian nations, Lonza’s new Densil products are innovative blends of proven actives that offer broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties and other benefits, according to the company.

The biocidal blends protect painted and coated surfaces from fungi, such as mold and mildew, as well as algae and many forms of bacteria. In addition, the additives are chemically stable, do not affect paint applications, such as viscosity and drying times, and deliver long-lasting film protection. They are also effective on a diverse array of substrates, including wood and stucco.

Like Lonza’s Zinc Omadine ZOE antimicrobial, the new Densil products contain Zinc Omadine antimicrobial and use a proprietary, color-stable technology. The concept behind the products is to complement the durable, long-term, controlled-leaching, low-water solubility properties of Zinc Omadine antimicrobial with a secondary, more water soluble fungicide.

Solvay Novecare had a wide variety of new products on display at CHINACOAT2013, including its two new Rhodoline specialty paint additives.

“At this year’s show, we are showcasing two new innovations in our line of specialty paint additives – Rhodoline OTE (Open Time Extender) and Rhodoline FT (Freeze/Thaw stability additive,” said Marc Teo, Asia Pacific regional market director, Solvay Novecare Coatings. “The OTE product extends the time before paint dries, enabling better control in achieving an even coat of paint, among other benefits. The Rhodoline FT product prevents paint from freezing in cold temperatures, which is a problem especially prevalent in China and other geographies with cold climates. Both of these specialty additives are APE-free and contain zero VOC.”

Apart from Rhodoline FT and Rhodoline OTE,  Teo said that Solvay is showcasing two other solutions, Sipomer Cops 3 and ABEX DBR.

CHINACOAT2014 Guangzhou
CHINACOAT2014 Guangzhou will be held on Dec 3-5, 2014 in the China Import and Export Fair Complex (Canton Fair Complex). For more info on CHINACOAT visit www.chinacoat.net.