Black and white pigments are key components for paint and coatings formulations. Here is look at the latest products and company news for some of the top suppliers of these key raw materials.

Titanium Dioxide
U.S.-based chemical company, Huntsman Corp. has recently announced plans to buy Rockwood Holding’s paint pigments and performance additives business for $1.1 billion.

Rockwood’s Performance Additives and TiO2 business includes the manufacture and supply of sulphate process TiO2, synthetic iron-oxide and other organic pigments, timber treatment products and specialty automotive materials.
The acquisition will make Huntsman the second-largest global producer of TiO2 and inorganic color pigments.
Huntsman said that acquisition will generate cost savings of $130 million annually by the end of 2015 and would take the combined pigments business public within two years of the deal’s closing.

“This acquisition provides a unique opportunity to unlock value within our pigments business and builds on the strong improvements we have made to its competitiveness,” Peter Huntsman, president and CEO of Huntsman commented in a recent press release. “With this combination we will be better positioned to serve customers through a broader product range including color pigments, functional additives and specialty TiO2 pigments.  We will become the second largest global producer of TiO2 and inorganic color pigments.”
“The transaction announced today is the next step in our long-term value creation strategy for our Pigments business,” he added. “We anticipate TiO2 demand will continue to recover in the coming quarters, and during this time we will be focused on strengthening our world class pigments business and capturing approximately $130 million in expected annual cost savings, to be fully achieved by the end of 2015.  We plan to further unlock value through a public offering of our new combined pigments business, which we expect to pursue within two years of completing this acquisition.”

DuPont Titanium Technologies recently increased prices on all its TiO2 products sold in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions effective October 1 or as contracts allow, as follows:
$100 per metric ton (USD) for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions; $100 per metric ton (USD) for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the dollar markets or EUR €75 per metric ton in Eurozone markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa region; Five cents per pound (USD) for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the North America region with the exception of DuPont RPS Vantage titanium dioxide products sold into paper and paperboard applications, which will be managed separately.

Carbon Black
Carbon black pigments are used in formulations to help absorb UV light and impart durability to a coating. They are used in a wide variety of applications including automotive, decorative and industrial coatings.
Orion Engineered Carbons offers a broad range of products for use in a variety of applications including, automotive, architectural and industrial coatings.

Orion Engineered Carbons has many new products including the new XPB 255, XPB 430, NEROX 505 and NEROX 605, XPB 545 and PRINTEX Nature.

XPB 255 is an after-treated carbon black pigment that offers tailored and well-balanced properties ideal for high-jet automotive coatings, and is well suited to both solventborne and water-borne polyurethane (PU) coating systems. It is also useful for alkyd/melamine stoving enamels.
Experimental Black XPB 430 was developed to deliver the high jetness and bluish undertones needed for durable, high-quality automotive base coats. Rapid and thorough dispersion is essential to improve productivity and achieve waterborne coatings of highly consistent quality.  XPB 430 can be dispersed directly in water and develops the final colorimetric properties within minutes without further milling or further wetting additives.  The recommended paste formulation for XPB 430 contains no wetting agents – only water and a defoamer (at 0.5%).

NEROX 505 and NEROX 605 pigments are suitable for both solvent and waterborne coating systems, and offer numerous advantages including stable dispersion, high jetness and  high bluish undertone.
A new, conductive Carbon Black XPB 545 is now available from Orion Engineered Carbons that is ideal for antistatic coating formulations.

PRINTEX Nature, a new carbon black pigment made from renewable feedstocks such as plant oils, is now available from Orion Engineered Carbons to meet the growing demand for more sustainable products, in printing inks, polymers, and coatings.
Azelis has entered a new distribution agreement to offer carbon black pigments from leading Indian manufacturer, Phillips Carbon Black Ltd., Kolkata in selected European countries.
Phillips Carbon Black Ltd. is part of the RP - Sanjiv Goenka Group and is the largest carbon black manufacturer in India. With a total capacity of 500,000 tons it is the world’s sixth largest producer of carbon black. Orient and Royale brands have been present and recognized in Europe for many years.

“Phillips’ carbon blacks are manufactured to the highest standards and backed by comprehensive application testing and strict quality controls,” said Michel Dumusios, international business director Azelis coatings and rubber and plastic additives. “Coupled with their support gained from over 50 years in the industry, Azelis’ dedicated teams are well placed to provide first class technical and commercial service to customers with this range.”