Though the additives market has been unstable in recent years, global economic stability has given suppliers in this industry cause for optimism.

According to Charles Giaudrone, general manager of Coatings at Eastman Chemical Company, the global market for additives grew in 2014 but varied by region.
“Above global average growth occurred in Asia, North America and portions of the Middle East and Eastern Europe,” Giaudrone said.

Shenton King, director of marketing at King Industries, said that his company expects to see overall growth in the coming year.

“We experienced healthy growth in 2014 and remain optimistic for a successful 2015,” he said. “We experienced continued interest and growth in our core technologies as well as increased developments utilizing our new technology launched over the past several years, including mercury and tin free catalysts, catalysts for low temperature cure, and new applications for our resin modifiers which improve the properties of durable thin films.”

Growth in the additives market hinges somewhat on raw material costs. In recent years, prices have been unpredictable, though numbers seem to have stabilized alongside the global economy.

Bob Ruckle, global marketing and sales manager at Siltech Corporation said “there has been some upward pressure on raw materials, especially silicone, and some additive manufacturers have raised prices.  At Siltech we raised our schedule prices three percent,” he said.

Giaudrone pointed out that additives are somewhat less sensitive to economic instability because of the “relatively low levels in which they are used in formulas.”

“While raw material and energy dynamics are part of our day-to-day business environment, additives are less sensitized to such volatility,” he said. “Additionally, additives are typically used for a specific function or to solve a specific problem, making their value-in-use in formulations higher relative to other components.

King echoed that sentiment. “An additive that solves a problem or outperforms the current state of the art will always be competitive in the marketplace, because high quality, high performance, reliability and excellent technical service are highly valuable,” he said.

He added that, while raw material prices were fairly stable in 2014, the market’s previous instability has forced companies to be more creative.

“It is always a challenge to prevent your core products from being effected by raw material price increase,” he said. “Our ability to continually improve and manage other operational costs allows us to have the flexibility to stay competitive and profitable in the marketplace.”

Considerations
When choosing an additive, there are a multitude of variables to consider. According to Ruckle, there are two “traps” to avoid during the process.

“One trap is to start your formulating work with a formulation that already contains additives but not challenge yourself if they are still needed in the new formula,” he said. “Additives are a small part by weight but a large part of the performance, they need to be an integral part of the evaluations.”

He continued, “The other trap is not considering that additives are multi-functional, if the data sheet says flow and leveling agent that product will lower surface tension but will likely also affect foam, wetting, slip, overcoatability and many other properties.  It is key to understand how the additive will affect all of the properties. Effective supplier tools provide that information.”

Eastman’s Giaudrone pointed out that both security and ever-changing international regulations are extremely important in this market.

“Formulators need to be cognizant of the current and future regulatory environment,” he said. “Additionally, it is very important to consider security of supply as many additives play a critical role in the functionality of the paint. A consistent quality of raw materials from a vertically integrated production base offers the best security towards achieving performance and value targets in formulated products.”

King said that quality, performance, efficiency and sustainability are key considerations for a formulator. However, he added that the right relationship between formulator and supplier is often the key to success.

“The technical service capabilities of the additive supplier is very important,” he said. “Choosing an additive supplier with no technical service capabilities is a good way to waste money and miss opportunities.

“A formulator must use high quality additives for high performance applications. Choosing a high-quality manufacturer of additives to supply your business is of critical importance.  Not only does it guarantee performance, but it guarantees high quality production processes with emphasis on excellent environmental and safety and health practices, ensuring stability and sustainability,” he said.

New Technologies and Products
Like any other market, the additives industry is advancing alongside technological advancements. King said that the paint and coatings market “has responded extremely well to the global call to action to reduce VOCs and the use of  harmful mercury and tin additives. 

“We recognized this trend over decades and responded with a line of resin modifiers (K-FLEX) and mercury replacement catalysts (K-KAT), which have both experienced healthy growth in recent years,” he said.
King added, “In 2014 our coil and OEM customers were formulating for cure temperatures down to 170ºC and 110ºC respectively.  We responded and developed a special line of catalysts to meet this demanding temperature requirement and have been experiencing good success.  Our new NACURE XC-311 is our champion product for these applications.”

Other products that King Industries has launched include: NACURE XC-31, a catalyst for low temperature cure; K-FLEX XM-337, a resin modified for improving durability of thin films; K-KAT 651, a hydrolytically stable tin free bismuth catalyst; NACORR 1389MS, designed for primerless direct-to-metal (DTM) corrosion protection; K-STAY 555, for improved anti-sag; and DISPARLON AQH-800, an easy-to-use thixotrope for waterborne applications.
Giaudrone of Eastman Chemical Company also said that the paint industry has been “preoccupied over recent years with achieving performance at reduced VOC and emission levels.

“Now some attention seems to be focusing towards functional paint where the coating offers functionality beyond the basics.  Examples of functional coatings are anti-microbial, energy absorbing, sound absorbing products,” he said.
Giaudrone added that, in terms of new product launches, “Additives tend to have very long product life cycles.”

He added, “At Eastman Chemical Company we have a very strong pipeline of projects that when launched will bring benefit to the market. Much of our new technologies are focused on addressing challenges associated with major market trends, such as health and wellness, energy efficiency and environmental impact.  

“An example of this was the launch of our Solus family of rheology additives which offer customers improved productivity and the ability to achieve lower VOC and emissions while delivering performance gains in the area of appearance across a range of automotive applications. We also have a strong technology pipeline aligned with major market trends, for example: BPA-free packaging solutions, layer reduction solutions and improved indoor air quality solutions.”
Siltech’s Ruckle said that his company is “combining chemistries to provide multi-functional properties. This may mean non-foaming wetting agents or reactive additives.”

Interestingly, Ruckle added that most of Siltech’s new products are developed in partnership with customers.

“In 2014 we developed emulsifiers and actives for coatings defoamer formulators, a new high slip agent and several other products,” he said. “We also introduced a variation on our PFOS-free Fluorosil perfluoroalkyl functional silicones which made them reactive in condensation or free radical/UV cured systems.  This allows for locking the additive into the network of the coating.  For example, Fluorosil ACR C7-F is a UV curable version of this technology.”

Looking Forward
King Industries has recently completed the purchase of an 11-acre parcel of land in Waterbury, Connecticut for production expansion.  Its groundbreaking is planned for spring of 2015. 
“We have designed a state of the art, inherently safe, and highly efficient plant with operator safety and environmental awareness being the most important elements in our design,” King said.

While Giaudrone said that joint ventures and acquisitions are important to Eastman Chemical Company’s growth strategy, the company does not yet have any planned for 2015.

“We are very excited about the four acquisitions we completed in 2014 which include BP’s Aviation Turbine Oils business, Knowlton Technologies, Taminco, and Commonwealth Laminating,” he said.

“Specific to our coatings additives portfolio, Eastman’s recent acquisition of Taminco brings complementary technology platforms to our innovation tool kit and our dedication to the coatings industry continues with the recent announcement to expand the capacity of our Texanol plant in Longview, Texas,” he added.