Polyurethane Power

When it comes to coatings technology, there are a few factors your customers keep in mind: price, appearance and performance. While the former is a major concern-especially in today's economic climate-it can't be the only factor a company bases its choice on when it comes to protecting its most valuable assets.

"If you stand back a bit from the woods of these economic problems that we have today, the trends are very clear and that is we are continuing to go towards environmentally-friendly coatings and more performance-based coatings," said John Williams, president, coatings and colorants division, Bayer. "When people paint an object, they want it to provide not only good appearance, but some lasting protection. It doesn't matter if it's a car, a bridge or a file cabinet."

Suppliers to the industry contend the combination of performance and environmental pressures make polyurethane coatings a premier technology for a wide number of products. They must be right: several companies-and even military organizations-have employed polyurethane-based products to serve their diverse markets and customers. Take U.S. P