Kerry Pianoforte08.04.09
Manufacturers of high performance pigments (HPP) faced yet another challenging year. As the economic downturn continues to impact the U.S. housing market and the recent automobile manufacturer's crisis has severely curtailed auto production, demand for HPP has been soft.
"With the two major industries, housing and automotive, suffering from the economic downturn the demand for colored high performance pigments are drastically reduced," said Falko Orlowski, coatings business manager, North America, Clariant Corp. "In the face of the increasingly competitive marketplace many manufacturers of paint and coatings try to find cost effective solutions. One growth area for HPPs is the decorative market where higher quality systems become more demanding."
According to Thierry Chevrier, vice president, dispersions and pigments for BASF in North America, the market for high performance and special effect pigments was soft during the first quarter of 2009, similar to the rest of the economy. "However, BASF is optimistic that the U.S. government's stimulus funding plan will help lead to some improvement in the market by year-end,
"With the two major industries, housing and automotive, suffering from the economic downturn the demand for colored high performance pigments are drastically reduced," said Falko Orlowski, coatings business manager, North America, Clariant Corp. "In the face of the increasingly competitive marketplace many manufacturers of paint and coatings try to find cost effective solutions. One growth area for HPPs is the decorative market where higher quality systems become more demanding."
According to Thierry Chevrier, vice president, dispersions and pigments for BASF in North America, the market for high performance and special effect pigments was soft during the first quarter of 2009, similar to the rest of the economy. "However, BASF is optimistic that the U.S. government's stimulus funding plan will help lead to some improvement in the market by year-end,
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