Smaller Brazilian Coatings Deals Flourish

A host of smaller Brazilian paint and coatings companies have been churning out new products, forging new strategic relationships and expanding offerings, according to the national coatings manufacturers association, Abrafati, the Associacao das Fabricantes de Tintas. In a message to members ahead of the annual trade show, Abrafati 2015, which was held in Sao Paulo from October 13-15, Dilson Ferreira, the executive director of the organization, noted a variety of recent member activities.

As the fifth largest paint market in the world, Brazil presents excellent opportunities for growth, points out Ferreira. With 200,000 million inhabitants, an automotive fleet of 50,000, a housing shortage of five million units and a national housing budget of $150 billion through 2018, automotive and architectural segments are poised for growth, he points out. Industrial coatings for the oil and gas market, for transportation and for white goods manufacturers also are expected to grow dramatically once the economy stabilizes.

Among local manufacturers offering new products, Polystell do Brasil is introducing a new line of low-VOC polymeric coalescents, new bactericides, and PolyTiO, a nano-encapsulated product that can reduce TiO2 content in paints by up to 30 percent by weight, with associated final cost reduction of up to 15 percent, the company reports. The product required five years of local development and is produced at the company’s São Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo state plant.

One new international product offering for Brazil comes from Croda, which will provide its non-ionic surfactants, made from bio-ethanol, for use in automotive epoxy emulsions. In March, Croda announced a new sustainable non-ionic surfactant production line for New Castle, Delaware, with a $170 million investment with a 2017 startup date. Croda has a manufacturing facility in Campinas, state of Sao Paulo.

Another international company adding Brazil to its international network is Shanghai Pioneer, which is introducing its solid acrylics line to the company through its hemispheric subsidiary Pioneer Solutions Americas (PSA), based in El Monte, California. PSA will distribute the products in Brazil through quantiQ, a chemical distribution subsidiary of Braskem, according to Fan Zhang, the account manager at PSA.

Similarly, True Color Pigmentos e Corantes Ltda, based in Atibaia, state of Sao Paulo, will partner with Brilliant Group, of Richmond, California, which produces water-based fluorescents among other products. True Color also will be launching aluminum pigments, Abrafati notes.

Another new international offering coming to Brazil is the anti-corrosive line of France’s SNCZ that will be sold by Adexim-Comexim, based in Sao Paulo. And Bandeirante-Brazmo will introduce both Dianal and Lucite acrylic resins to the country, Abrafati notes. The Maua, state of Sao Paulo distributor is a unit of Grupo Formitex.

On the equipment side of the industry, Equiplast Comércio de Equipamentos e Máquinas Ltda. has introduced a new double-filler canning machine that can handle both paint and plastic spackle products, Abrafati reports.