Stimulus Spending: Where's the Opportunity for Paints & Coatings? Part 1

With consumers holding their breath while they wait for the next economic shoe to drop and businesses cutting costs and jobs to offset lost revenues due to the worldwide economic downturn, the U.S. government has taken bold action to jolt the economy through massive spending in several key areas. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the Stimulus Bill as it is commonly referred to, was signed into law on February 17, 2009.

Reading through the large volume of pages of the "U.S. Stimulus Package" and sorting through the various promises and cross-promises to determine specific business opportunities is both interesting and time-consuming. To assist the specialty chemicals constituency, Chemark Consulting's Fast Track Solutions Team has studied this bill in order to cull out its impact on the paints and coatings industry-from suppliers, formulators, down-stream distributors and end-users. The key general targets that represent opportunities for our industry are:

� Increased investment in the renewable energy industry by providing capital over the next three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity;