Hempel Announces Price Increases

Over the past two years, the cost of many raw materials used in the manufacturing of coatings has continued to rise.

In the last six months alone the cost of epoxy has increased by 20 percent in Europe and North America and as much as 58 percent in the Middle East and South & East Asia, according to ICIS Pricing and Technon Orbichem. In the same period, the price of zinc has increased nearly 15 percent globally, reaching a 10-year high at the start of 2018, per London Metal Exchange.

“There are regional differences, but overall global prices are clearly rising,” said Michael Hansen, EVP and chief commercial officer at Hempel.

“We have done our best over the past months to absorb these price increases and limit the effect on our customers. We are working closely with our suppliers, our R&D and our manufacturing set-up, but increasing prices is a reality and the trend is clearly continuing,” he continued. “We have no other option than to increase the prices of some of our products in our protective, marine, container, yacht and decorative segments.”