Kerry Pianoforte, Editor06.04.21
Coatings World interviewed some of the leading high performance and special effect pigment manufacturers. Included in this round table discussion are Frank Lavieri, EVP sales and marketing, DCL; Jennifer Boros, head of marketing, Americas Surface Solutions, EMD Electronics; Christine Gehres, director of buisness development, Heubach; Chris Manning, commercial director and Mark Ryan, marketing manager, The Shepherd Color Company; Scott Heitzman, business development manager – Plastics, Sun Chemical Performance Pigments and Michael T. Venturini, marketing director, Coatings, Sun Chemical.
CW: How did the high performance pigments market fare in 2020 and what were the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic?
DCL: Our customers saw a single-digit decline in their consumption of all pigments this year as the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for many colored items but an increase in their demand for high performance pigments. This was in part driven by the long term trend of these products to replace classical grades and in part due to our successful commissioning of new high performance pigment capacity at our Canadian manufacturing unit increasing our capacity of these grades. DCL is now the largest manufacturer of benzimidazolone pigments for coatings in the North America, including Yellow 151, 154 and Orange 36. We are also increased our capacity of high performance pigments used in the plastic industry, including Yellow 62, 168, 180, 183, 191 and Orange 64. All of these products can be imported to our USA customers without duties.
EMD: The pandemic provided challenges for many markets, including the markets for high performance effect pigments. With businesses shut down and consumer confidence low, we saw a decline in demand, above all in the cosmetics and automotive industries, and not so much in industrial applications.
Heubach: The market of inorganic HPP started very strong into the year 2020. Although the pandemic had begun at the beginning of the year, an effect on sales was only observed starting May.
The following months were ruled by a number of uncertainties with corresponding low sales volumes. Especially in the automotive area the market for HPP showed considerable weakness. Pigments that find use in architectural coatings continued to have strong demand.
The market already started coming back again in Q4/2020, stressing the whole supply chain to a maximum. Demand was high in Q1 and going into Q2, then fell dramatically to a relative 10% during Q3, and then ramping-up suddenly and back to, according our feeling, 130% in Q4.
Shepherd Color: We saw a dramatic drop in demand as people and the market responded to the pandemic. One basic tenet of Shepherd Color is that we ‘work for long term impact,’ and in this case that meant protecting our workers both from the health threat but also keep the team together for when business came back. Business did come back in late summer and has been extraordinarily strong ever since. Whilst the new operating reality and issues with the supply chain have been challenging, keeping our company whole has allowed us to respond.
Sun Chemical: 2020 was a challenging year for high performance pigments. There was significant impact from raw materials and quarantine shutdowns that have affected all markets. Automotive and deco coatings were particularly influenced by global events. Sun Chemical worked diligently on both sides with our raw material suppliers and global customers to work through those challenges. Our extensive supply chain and global sourcing strategy helped to mitigate the impacts and we continue to work through other ongoing and future challenges to provide uninterrupted delivery to our customers. Indications are that 2021 will be a dynamic year with tight supplies and increasing demand.
CW: Was there a noticeable decrease in demand this year?
EMD: Already since the second half of last year, the return of the markets has been discernible. The fast recovery in the automotive segment especially is an encouraging signal for our industry. Also the strong market rebound in China gives us a glimpse on how other markets might develop when vaccination progresses
The recently published figures for the first quarter of 2021 demonstrated that this also materializes in strong sales. With an organic growth of 4.6% in the first quarter, the result even exceeded our expectations.
Heubach: Consolidated Heubach saw small growth with inorganic but also organic HPP pigments in 2020 compared to 2019. The difference in 2020 was the way how we achieved this small growth. We were running at maximum capacity at certain times of the year while the production was very low at other times. Ramping-up again in Q4 posed large logistic challenges. Heubach saw growth in parts of the world which were not planned for while in other areas sales were below the expected budget. All-in-all the figures looked good, but the way to success was challenging due to the unpredictable, unexpected up and downs in demand.
Shepherd Color: There was no noticeable overall decrease in market demand this year. Business continues at an extremely good pace with demand very strong in several segments and in different regions of the world.
Sun Chemical: 2021 is another very dynamic year but with a different set of global circumstances with logistic challenges, the peaking demand in Asia, continued lockdowns across Europe and shortages of critical raw materials. The market is very volatile, and the volatility is expected to continue into 2022.
CW: Considering the higher cost associated with these types of pigments, what are the main advantages of using them?
DCL: High performance pigments are high tech products which offer tremendous value in coatings, plastics and specialty ink applications. These pigments have been engineered to meet a wide range of modern formulating challenges such as single coat coverage, safety for food packaging or high heat stability, to name just a few. To highlight these advantages to our customers, DCL gave a webinar in March entitled “Value Beyond Color” in which we presented five case studies showing where high performance pigments are the lowest cost coloration option and why. The case studies we presented included four from the coatings industry and one from plastics as well as both organic and inorganic pigment examples. The coatings case studies demonstrated how high performance pigments designed to be strong & opaque, stir-in dispersible, alkali resistant or weatherfast can save cost over other coloration options, including pigments with a much lower cost per kilo. These are only a few examples how these modern innovations are replacing classical pigments from the last century.
EMD: High performance effect pigments are designed to be durable, maintaining their color, effect and stability over long periods of time and varying environmental conditions.
In order to meet the high-performance expectations from coatings manufactures, they go through multiple testing processes, including long term durability, to ensure top performance. Ease of dispersion is also a key component of effect pigments that many end-use manufacturers look for. They need to be easy to use and incorporate into the final product. Finally, from an aesthetic standpoint, effect pigments can also offer unique color spaces and effects that can differentiate a product from others, really making them stand out from the crowd and more appealing to consumers.
Heubach: These pigments are used in all kinds of applications that require long-term durability. This is in line with the global trend toward more sustainability. The longer a coating protects a substrate and keeps its color, the higher the degree of sustainability. Even in countries with lower labor costs we see a trend to more durable applications.
Shepherd Color: While some people will evaluate pigments to minimize their dollar-per-kilo spend, we look to help our customers maximize the performance-per-dollar.
Durability has a cost-savings that extends far beyond the cost of the paint or coating. Degradation and premature failure unfortunately are part of the coatings performance.
Using Shepherd Color pigments in expertly formulated coating systems have shown multidecade performance is one way to avoid failure. Shepherd Color’s Dynamix® line of easily-dispersed, all inorganic pigments gives a full palette of high-performance pigments that provide advantages in the lab, scale-up and full production.
Sun Chemical: From a technical standpoint, the most important property exhibited by high performance pigments that distinguishes them from other pigments is their durability in the applications. Some examples of this include light fastness and resistance to chemical attack and high temperatures. In addition, Sun Chemical’s extensive manufacturing knowledge enables us to offer high performance pigments in a range of opacities from highly opaque to highly transparent. Highly transparent pigments like
Palomar Blue 15:1 enable formulators to achieve unusually high chroma colors when combined with SunMICA pearlescent and Benda-Lutz metallic effects.
CW: What high performance pigments has your company recently launched and what are their primary applications?
DCL: DCL has launched several new high performance pigments in the last year but I will only give two examples which also highlight the broad range of our R&D work. The first product is 2938 Naphthol Red 238, which is a transparent, glossy, low viscosity, high performance pigment designed for food packaging labels where there is a concern for color bleeding from the label when it comes in contact with food or cleaning chemicals. The second product is 5352 Phthalo Blue 15:2, which is a red-shade blue that is non-crystallizing and non-flocculating. It is valued in most coatings systems including decorative and both liquid and powder industrial coatings.
EMD: Xirallic NXT Amur Black, the newest addition to our Xirallic NXT line. Xirallic NXT Amur Black is a unique blue-black effect pigment with a silky-silvery fine texture and a wealth of sparkle. It is ideal for creating elegant, dark stylings, and can be used in a wide range of coatings applications such as automotive (interior and exterior), architecture and appliances.
Heubach: We launched a number of super-strong PBr24 grades in 2019 and were focusing on customizing these grades during 2020 with quite good success.
Shepherd Color: Shepherd Color is excited to add a yellow Bismuth Vanadate pigment to our Dynamix easily-dispersed pigment line, known as Yellow 30C133. This green-shade yellow complements the unique and patented NTP Yellow 30C152 and Orange 30C342 to give coatings companies a complete toolbox of durable, opaque, and chromatic pigments for high-performance applications. All three are in easily-dispersed versions that removes the time-consuming, variable, and expensive pigment grinding step.
Sun Chemical: Sunbrite Super Fine Red 254: 226-9254 is a new addition to Sun Chemical’s DPP product range. Applying Sun Chemical’s extensive knowledge and experience in high transparency pigments to make a transparent grade of this versatile chemistry,
CW: What markets (e.g. automotive, electronics, etc.) have the most potential for growth for high performance pigments in the future?
DCL: We see the largest growth of high performance pigment usage from the industrial coatings and food packaging industries who were the early adopters of these new technologies. Brand owners have pushed their suppliers to provide environmentally friendly, safe, durable and attractive coloring solutions and high performance pigments are the answer to these needs.
EMD: Automotive OE manufacturers are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competition and paint color is one way to do this. Creating eye-catching and unique stylings that are attractive to their customer base can make their offerings more appealing and I expect to see continued effect pigments growth here. The packaging industry also shows growth opportunity as many consumer goods manufacturers look to aesthetically differentiate their products on the shelf or on-line, creating distinctive designs and color effects to capture shoppers’ attentions.
Heubach: At Heubach we see good potential with inorganic HPP especially in the architectural field. This may be usage in plasters or in coil coatings. The main demand is generated by outdoor applications. The use of high-performance organic pigments for automotive, industrial and architectural area is picking up again.
Shepherd Color: With Shepherd Color’s long history in high-durability color pigments, areas like building and construction are a strong and growing market. But we don’t just look at markets in general, we work with customers to find answers to specific opportunities. An example is how laser direct structuring pigments used to make electrically conductive traces in plastics can be used in powder coatings. The IR pigments that are used in cool coatings are being used in plastics to improve the ability of IR sensors to sort dark colored plastics. That same invisible marking properties are useful to self-driving car technology. When it comes to pigments, to limit their criteria to just color is to ignore the ability to add other desirable properties.
Sun Chemical: Growth for high performance pigments comes from several markets as formulators take advantage of their performance/price benefits. Industrial coatings have opportunities for pigments such as Fanchon Orange and Yellow (PO 36, PY 138, PY 150) in application from safety markings to industrial machinery. Architectural coatings continue to be a growth market for high performance chemistries like Sunbrite Red 254 because of its lightfastness and chemical resistance to disinfecting solutions. In automotive applications, Palomar Blue 15:1 has the potential for growth as automotive production returns in the US and EU.
CW: What new technologies are your R&D lab working on (e.g. smart coatings, nanotechnologies)?
EMD: We are always following and anticipating new market applications and trends and seeing how effect pigments and functional materials will have a role in them. This drives our R&D pipeline, developing new technologies to meet customer and market needs in aesthetic and also functional aspects. Heubach: We are currently in the small scale-up phase of an inorganic orange/red product line that was registered as PO88 and PR299. These are potential pigments for full shade applications in chromatic red and orange shades, where up until now no inorganic materials are available. A further project is dedicated to a super-strong Spinel Black PBk28 with high jetness that we plan to trial in the plant in Q4.
Shepherd Color: Shepherd Color continues to look for ways to ‘push the edge’ of the durable color envelope all while improving sustainability of our products along with the paints and coatings that incorporate them.
Sun Chemical: Sun Chemical, as part of the DIC group, has a vision of the future that is based on sustainability and our continued contribution to society. Integrity, diversity and social responsibility must guide our developments and is part of what is known as the “DIC Way.”
CW: How did the high performance pigments market fare in 2020 and what were the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic?
DCL: Our customers saw a single-digit decline in their consumption of all pigments this year as the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for many colored items but an increase in their demand for high performance pigments. This was in part driven by the long term trend of these products to replace classical grades and in part due to our successful commissioning of new high performance pigment capacity at our Canadian manufacturing unit increasing our capacity of these grades. DCL is now the largest manufacturer of benzimidazolone pigments for coatings in the North America, including Yellow 151, 154 and Orange 36. We are also increased our capacity of high performance pigments used in the plastic industry, including Yellow 62, 168, 180, 183, 191 and Orange 64. All of these products can be imported to our USA customers without duties.
EMD: The pandemic provided challenges for many markets, including the markets for high performance effect pigments. With businesses shut down and consumer confidence low, we saw a decline in demand, above all in the cosmetics and automotive industries, and not so much in industrial applications.
Heubach: The market of inorganic HPP started very strong into the year 2020. Although the pandemic had begun at the beginning of the year, an effect on sales was only observed starting May.
The following months were ruled by a number of uncertainties with corresponding low sales volumes. Especially in the automotive area the market for HPP showed considerable weakness. Pigments that find use in architectural coatings continued to have strong demand.
The market already started coming back again in Q4/2020, stressing the whole supply chain to a maximum. Demand was high in Q1 and going into Q2, then fell dramatically to a relative 10% during Q3, and then ramping-up suddenly and back to, according our feeling, 130% in Q4.
Shepherd Color: We saw a dramatic drop in demand as people and the market responded to the pandemic. One basic tenet of Shepherd Color is that we ‘work for long term impact,’ and in this case that meant protecting our workers both from the health threat but also keep the team together for when business came back. Business did come back in late summer and has been extraordinarily strong ever since. Whilst the new operating reality and issues with the supply chain have been challenging, keeping our company whole has allowed us to respond.
Sun Chemical: 2020 was a challenging year for high performance pigments. There was significant impact from raw materials and quarantine shutdowns that have affected all markets. Automotive and deco coatings were particularly influenced by global events. Sun Chemical worked diligently on both sides with our raw material suppliers and global customers to work through those challenges. Our extensive supply chain and global sourcing strategy helped to mitigate the impacts and we continue to work through other ongoing and future challenges to provide uninterrupted delivery to our customers. Indications are that 2021 will be a dynamic year with tight supplies and increasing demand.
CW: Was there a noticeable decrease in demand this year?
EMD: Already since the second half of last year, the return of the markets has been discernible. The fast recovery in the automotive segment especially is an encouraging signal for our industry. Also the strong market rebound in China gives us a glimpse on how other markets might develop when vaccination progresses
The recently published figures for the first quarter of 2021 demonstrated that this also materializes in strong sales. With an organic growth of 4.6% in the first quarter, the result even exceeded our expectations.
Heubach: Consolidated Heubach saw small growth with inorganic but also organic HPP pigments in 2020 compared to 2019. The difference in 2020 was the way how we achieved this small growth. We were running at maximum capacity at certain times of the year while the production was very low at other times. Ramping-up again in Q4 posed large logistic challenges. Heubach saw growth in parts of the world which were not planned for while in other areas sales were below the expected budget. All-in-all the figures looked good, but the way to success was challenging due to the unpredictable, unexpected up and downs in demand.
Shepherd Color: There was no noticeable overall decrease in market demand this year. Business continues at an extremely good pace with demand very strong in several segments and in different regions of the world.
Sun Chemical: 2021 is another very dynamic year but with a different set of global circumstances with logistic challenges, the peaking demand in Asia, continued lockdowns across Europe and shortages of critical raw materials. The market is very volatile, and the volatility is expected to continue into 2022.
CW: Considering the higher cost associated with these types of pigments, what are the main advantages of using them?
DCL: High performance pigments are high tech products which offer tremendous value in coatings, plastics and specialty ink applications. These pigments have been engineered to meet a wide range of modern formulating challenges such as single coat coverage, safety for food packaging or high heat stability, to name just a few. To highlight these advantages to our customers, DCL gave a webinar in March entitled “Value Beyond Color” in which we presented five case studies showing where high performance pigments are the lowest cost coloration option and why. The case studies we presented included four from the coatings industry and one from plastics as well as both organic and inorganic pigment examples. The coatings case studies demonstrated how high performance pigments designed to be strong & opaque, stir-in dispersible, alkali resistant or weatherfast can save cost over other coloration options, including pigments with a much lower cost per kilo. These are only a few examples how these modern innovations are replacing classical pigments from the last century.
EMD: High performance effect pigments are designed to be durable, maintaining their color, effect and stability over long periods of time and varying environmental conditions.
In order to meet the high-performance expectations from coatings manufactures, they go through multiple testing processes, including long term durability, to ensure top performance. Ease of dispersion is also a key component of effect pigments that many end-use manufacturers look for. They need to be easy to use and incorporate into the final product. Finally, from an aesthetic standpoint, effect pigments can also offer unique color spaces and effects that can differentiate a product from others, really making them stand out from the crowd and more appealing to consumers.
Heubach: These pigments are used in all kinds of applications that require long-term durability. This is in line with the global trend toward more sustainability. The longer a coating protects a substrate and keeps its color, the higher the degree of sustainability. Even in countries with lower labor costs we see a trend to more durable applications.
Shepherd Color: While some people will evaluate pigments to minimize their dollar-per-kilo spend, we look to help our customers maximize the performance-per-dollar.
Durability has a cost-savings that extends far beyond the cost of the paint or coating. Degradation and premature failure unfortunately are part of the coatings performance.
Using Shepherd Color pigments in expertly formulated coating systems have shown multidecade performance is one way to avoid failure. Shepherd Color’s Dynamix® line of easily-dispersed, all inorganic pigments gives a full palette of high-performance pigments that provide advantages in the lab, scale-up and full production.
Sun Chemical: From a technical standpoint, the most important property exhibited by high performance pigments that distinguishes them from other pigments is their durability in the applications. Some examples of this include light fastness and resistance to chemical attack and high temperatures. In addition, Sun Chemical’s extensive manufacturing knowledge enables us to offer high performance pigments in a range of opacities from highly opaque to highly transparent. Highly transparent pigments like
Palomar Blue 15:1 enable formulators to achieve unusually high chroma colors when combined with SunMICA pearlescent and Benda-Lutz metallic effects.
CW: What high performance pigments has your company recently launched and what are their primary applications?
DCL: DCL has launched several new high performance pigments in the last year but I will only give two examples which also highlight the broad range of our R&D work. The first product is 2938 Naphthol Red 238, which is a transparent, glossy, low viscosity, high performance pigment designed for food packaging labels where there is a concern for color bleeding from the label when it comes in contact with food or cleaning chemicals. The second product is 5352 Phthalo Blue 15:2, which is a red-shade blue that is non-crystallizing and non-flocculating. It is valued in most coatings systems including decorative and both liquid and powder industrial coatings.
EMD: Xirallic NXT Amur Black, the newest addition to our Xirallic NXT line. Xirallic NXT Amur Black is a unique blue-black effect pigment with a silky-silvery fine texture and a wealth of sparkle. It is ideal for creating elegant, dark stylings, and can be used in a wide range of coatings applications such as automotive (interior and exterior), architecture and appliances.
Heubach: We launched a number of super-strong PBr24 grades in 2019 and were focusing on customizing these grades during 2020 with quite good success.
Shepherd Color: Shepherd Color is excited to add a yellow Bismuth Vanadate pigment to our Dynamix easily-dispersed pigment line, known as Yellow 30C133. This green-shade yellow complements the unique and patented NTP Yellow 30C152 and Orange 30C342 to give coatings companies a complete toolbox of durable, opaque, and chromatic pigments for high-performance applications. All three are in easily-dispersed versions that removes the time-consuming, variable, and expensive pigment grinding step.
Sun Chemical: Sunbrite Super Fine Red 254: 226-9254 is a new addition to Sun Chemical’s DPP product range. Applying Sun Chemical’s extensive knowledge and experience in high transparency pigments to make a transparent grade of this versatile chemistry,
CW: What markets (e.g. automotive, electronics, etc.) have the most potential for growth for high performance pigments in the future?
DCL: We see the largest growth of high performance pigment usage from the industrial coatings and food packaging industries who were the early adopters of these new technologies. Brand owners have pushed their suppliers to provide environmentally friendly, safe, durable and attractive coloring solutions and high performance pigments are the answer to these needs.
EMD: Automotive OE manufacturers are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competition and paint color is one way to do this. Creating eye-catching and unique stylings that are attractive to their customer base can make their offerings more appealing and I expect to see continued effect pigments growth here. The packaging industry also shows growth opportunity as many consumer goods manufacturers look to aesthetically differentiate their products on the shelf or on-line, creating distinctive designs and color effects to capture shoppers’ attentions.
Heubach: At Heubach we see good potential with inorganic HPP especially in the architectural field. This may be usage in plasters or in coil coatings. The main demand is generated by outdoor applications. The use of high-performance organic pigments for automotive, industrial and architectural area is picking up again.
Shepherd Color: With Shepherd Color’s long history in high-durability color pigments, areas like building and construction are a strong and growing market. But we don’t just look at markets in general, we work with customers to find answers to specific opportunities. An example is how laser direct structuring pigments used to make electrically conductive traces in plastics can be used in powder coatings. The IR pigments that are used in cool coatings are being used in plastics to improve the ability of IR sensors to sort dark colored plastics. That same invisible marking properties are useful to self-driving car technology. When it comes to pigments, to limit their criteria to just color is to ignore the ability to add other desirable properties.
Sun Chemical: Growth for high performance pigments comes from several markets as formulators take advantage of their performance/price benefits. Industrial coatings have opportunities for pigments such as Fanchon Orange and Yellow (PO 36, PY 138, PY 150) in application from safety markings to industrial machinery. Architectural coatings continue to be a growth market for high performance chemistries like Sunbrite Red 254 because of its lightfastness and chemical resistance to disinfecting solutions. In automotive applications, Palomar Blue 15:1 has the potential for growth as automotive production returns in the US and EU.
CW: What new technologies are your R&D lab working on (e.g. smart coatings, nanotechnologies)?
EMD: We are always following and anticipating new market applications and trends and seeing how effect pigments and functional materials will have a role in them. This drives our R&D pipeline, developing new technologies to meet customer and market needs in aesthetic and also functional aspects. Heubach: We are currently in the small scale-up phase of an inorganic orange/red product line that was registered as PO88 and PR299. These are potential pigments for full shade applications in chromatic red and orange shades, where up until now no inorganic materials are available. A further project is dedicated to a super-strong Spinel Black PBk28 with high jetness that we plan to trial in the plant in Q4.
Shepherd Color: Shepherd Color continues to look for ways to ‘push the edge’ of the durable color envelope all while improving sustainability of our products along with the paints and coatings that incorporate them.
Sun Chemical: Sun Chemical, as part of the DIC group, has a vision of the future that is based on sustainability and our continued contribution to society. Integrity, diversity and social responsibility must guide our developments and is part of what is known as the “DIC Way.”