Features

High Performance and Special Effect Pigments

The high performance and special effect pigments market continues to improve and all indications are this growth will continue into the near term. Pigment manufacturers are focusing on developing products that deliver outstanding performance.

Kerry Pianoforte, Associate Editor08.15.12

The market for high performance pigments (HPP) and special effect pigments has continued to show signs of improvement. Although still not quite back to pre-recession levels high performance and special effect pigment manufacturers are expressing cautious optimism that this positive trend will continue.

“For 2012, the challenges continue for high performance and special effect pigments, even though we have seen improvement in overall demand versus the same time last year,” said Maria Giannobile, marketing manager, pigments and colorants, BASF Corp. “Market demand continues to rebound, however, it continues to remain highly correlated with the global economy and tied to critical segments such as automotive and durable goods. Overall, we remain cautiously optimistic regarding the business outlook as we continue to improve upon our position by utilizing our broad portfolio. BASF offers a full portfolio spectrum that can address a wide variety of market sectors and applications.”

“Due to continued, although slow growth in the global economy, we continue to see a positive upswing in the high performance and special effect pigmen