Bay to Bay Expands in Latin America

Concrete coating specialist Bay to Bay Resinous Coatings (BTB) is expanding its footprint in Latin America beyond the Caribbean to Mexico, with future plans to add Central and South American locations.

Rising construction demand for epoxy, polyurethanes, polyaspartics, and other finish solutions are driving the expansion, with the help of strategic suppliers like Sika and a host of international construction companies, says Jeff Poritz, CEO of BTB, recently explained to CW in an interview.

BTB, based in Sunrise, FL, expects to open its first office in the region by the end of May, in the Polanco District of Mexico City, where Bay to Bay LATAM will operate sales offices, along with a materials and equipment warehouse.

“We’ve been doing quite a bit of work in the Caribbean, in Antigua, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic; we’ve also done some projects in Mexico, but now we’re starting to ramp up and get bigger contracts and hope very soon to gain government certifications to legally do some of the bigger [public] projects there,” says Poritz.

Beyond the Caribbean and Mexico, BTB plans to open offices in Panama and other locations in Central America including Costa Rica, as well as in South America, including potential locations in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

Poritz says recent meetings with a group of Latin American country heads from strategic supplier Sika will help BTB establish the locations. Sika has offices and/or factories in 18 countries in Latin America.

BTB also works with Sherwin-Williams, Kemper System and several manufacturers in Mexico, Poritz notes. Once the Mexico City office is open, BTB will work more closely with local manufacturers, he said. BTB operates one manufacturing facility near Detroit, producing traffic coatings, 100% solids epoxy, novolac epoxy, urethane cement, aliphatic urethane top coat, and polyester coatings, Poritz says.

Following Customers to Latin America

Apart from building business through strategic relationships with coatings manufacturers, BTB also follows its clients’ international construction companies into Latin America, where advanced concrete coatings services are not widely available, Poritz notes.

“We’ve had a great deal of interest in moving into the continental Latin American countries for some time. We’re currently servicing the Caribbean with good frequency, which really grew the name outside of the US. It got to the point where opening a new division in Mexico City was not only fortuitous, but necessary, given we’re being contacted often by US contractors awarded LatAm projects and by LatAm contractors in their respective countries,” Poritz says.

“Right now, Latin America is about 10% of our business, but over the next five years, we expect that to grow to between 20% and 30% of our total volume,” Poritz estimates. The North American market for concrete coatings is estimated at $4.3 billion, and the South America market is roughly estimated at about half of that value, according to a recent study by Market Research Future.

Latin American Market Size

Grand View Research estimated that the Latin America market for concrete coatings was worth $815 million in 2022 and will reach $1.2 billion by 2030, growing at a rate of about 4.9% per year.

The Brazil market for concrete coatings was identified at $348 million in 2023 and expected to rise to $505 million by 2030, growing at a 5.3% CAGR, Grand View predicted.
The Mexico market for concrete coatings was worth $57 million in 2023 and is expected to rise to nearly $77 million by 2030, Grand View indicated.

Concrete Coatings Systems

There are a wide variety of concrete coatings systems in the market today, with differing price points and performance options, Poritz points out.

“Resinous Coatings is a broad term incapsulating numerous commercial systems, both industrial and decorative. These systems include, but are not limited to, urethane cements, MMA (methyl methacrylate) systems, chip flake flooring, as well as some quartz and thin-mil coatings,” says Poritz.

“We also do a lot of traffic marking projects, a lot of [concrete] expansion joint work, fire-rated expansion joints, urethane cements, epoxy flooring and concrete restoration,” Poritz notes.

Among users of concrete coatings are warehouses, garages, hotels and commercial kitchens, pharmaceutical and other controlled environment structures, stadiums and broad infrastructure projects, like roads. In the Caribbean, BTB recently has provided coatings services for St. John’s Hospital in Antigua, as well as the US Embassy in the Bahamas.

“I would say our average job is anywhere between five square feet and 100,000 square feet,” Poritz calculates. “Coverage can vary from 40 square feet per gallon to 140 square feet, depending on the material,” he adds.

Within Latin America, Grand View indicates that epoxy was the largest revenue generating product among concrete coating solutions in 2022. “Polyaspartics is the most lucrative product segment registering the fastest growth during the forecast period [2019 to 2030].”

Enhanced Coating Functionality

Concrete coatings are in greater demand thanks to the higher performance characteristics of each of the market formulation segments. Qualities including high adhesion, heat and chemical resistance, and electrical insulation are among primary user demands. Polyaspartic coatings are also known for their resistance to yellowing and fading from UV exposure.

Another key consideration by customers is the low VOC emission level of polyaspartic coatings compared to traditional epoxy use, Poritz notes. “Regulations in many Latin American markets, like Mexico and Brazil, are encouraging newer concrete coatings technologies, like polyaspartic coatings,” he says.

“Latin America now takes great interest in low VOC, regulating it closely. There are actually some countries that have low-VOC materials blended that aren’t even available here in the United States,” Poritz notes.

Polyaspartic Coatings in Demand

Among formulation options, polyaspartic coatings demand is growing faster than other competing solutions.

Polyaspartic coatings typically include a polyurea base coat for strong bonding and an aliphatic polyaspartic top coat for the gloss finish. A significant advantage of polyaspartic coatings is their rapid curing time, often faster than epoxy, allowing for quicker installation and use.

Major Players, Major Markets

Among major players in the global concrete coatings business listed by Prophecy Market Insights are PPG, AkzoNobel, Sherwin-Williams, Covestro, Rust Oleum, RPM International, Polyval Coatings, Cipy Polyurethanes, and Coatings For Industry.

In its Mexico concrete coatings report, Grand View identified key market suppliers as KeyCorp, Exmar, Axalta, RPM, S-W, Masco and Tennant.

Within Latin America, Brazil is perceived as the largest market for concrete coatings. Brazil’s gross domestic product is the largest in the region at $1.95 trillion, compared to $5.97 trillion for the entire region, according to the World Bank.

“Country-wise, Brazil is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2023 to 2030 [for concrete coatings],” Grand View reckons.