FOCUS ON POWDER COATINGS A MONTHLY REPORT FROM KEVIN BILLER APRIL 2017
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING
IN THIS ISSUE
INDUSTRY NEWS 1-5 Akzo Nobel rejects PPG offer Sherwin-Williams, Valspar Extend Merger Plans FreiLacke expands powder coatings production TECHNOLOGY 5-6 Preparation of powder coatings based on epoxy/clay nanocomposite Flexible epoxy novolac coatings with cardanol-based flexibilisers Rolls-Royce Unveils Diamond Dust Paint MARKETS 6-7 Powder coatings market worth $13.49 bn by 2022 M&A global review 2016 China to lead adoption of green technologies EVENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN POWDER COATINGS ISSN 1364–5439
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Powder coatings are well-known as one of the most durable and environmentally friendly industrial coatings for metal substrates. They are applied to items as diverse as medical instruments to heavy gauge pipelines to automotive wheels. Because the most common application technique involves electrostatically charging the powder to facilitate attraction to a conductive (e.g. metal) surface it is rare to encounter an application to a non-conductive surface such as glass. A dynamic custom coater in California has thought outside of the box to develop a technique to powder coat glass bottles for high end consumer goods such as fragrances, nail polish and spirits. The company, Bottle Coatings, Inc., is the brainchild of Shivie Dhillon and is a spin-off of his primary business, Sundial Coatings. Sundial Coatings has a thirty year history of providing high quality coating services to the automotive and home appliance industries. The success of Bottle Coatings relies mainly on a patented two-coat process that allows the powder to be applied evenly to the vitreous substrate. Glass bottles are preferred to ceramic packaging as glass provides more precise closure tolerances. What's even more innovative is that this process blocks the entire spectrum of UV light including UVA, UVB and UVC wavelengths. Keeping UV light out of a packaged product is critical to the shelf life of nail polish, especially the higher end polishes that use UV energy to cure or harden the finish. Initial attempts were made to filter the UV light with inhibitors or absorbers however these materials eventually lose their functionality and the contents of the bottle suffer. Dhillon perfected a technique to block UV light and therefore protect the contents indefinitely. In addition to excellent application consistency and UV blocking this process delivers outstanding chemical resistance to the aggressive solvents, plasticizers and additives commonly found in nail polish. This technique affords a limitless array of colors and designs which give the producer the option for bold and stimulating designs to market their product lines. Bottle Coatings has developed a specialized custom colormatching system which can duplicate the color of nail polish content, a highly attractive feature to producers. The ability of the coating system to block UV has provided Bottle Coatings with spectacular growth since establishing the operations in 2013. After conquering the nail
polish packaging market Bottle Coatings set its sights on the spirits and fragrance industries. This finishing technology is a great fit for both of these applications as both product types degrade with exposure to UV light. It should be noted that this is not the first instance where powder coatings have been used as a finish on glass substrates. In the 1980s Portuguese wine makers had their bottles powder coated and in the 1990s glass building facades were powder coated in the UK. Bottle Coatings may not be the first to coat glass however their process and more importantly their commercial success speaks volumes for this unique technology. Expect this innovation to spur significant technical advancements and expansion into new markets.
INDUSTRY NEWS Akzo Nobel defends itself against €21 bn takeover Akzo has received an €21 bn takeover offer from rival PPG. The offer represents a 29% premium on Akzo's closing price on 8 Mar. If the two companies do come together, the result would be a new global leader in coatings and glass. Akzo Nobel had sales of €14.2 bn in 2016 and an operating profit of €1.5 bn. PPG had sales of $14.5 bn and operating profits of $1.9 bn. Akzo's management has unanimously rejected the offer for the normal reason that it does not reflect the true value of the company. Management is now studying alternatives to keep shareholders on board. Some investors have called for the company to be split up. This could now happen, as it is one of the possible strategic options with which Akzo will react to the offer from the US. This would lead to the divestment of the speciality chemicals division, which had sales of €4.8 bn and EBIT of €630 M in 2016. Akzo is also studying a spin-off.
Original Source: Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- und Finanzzeitung, 9 Mar 2017, (Website: http:// www.handelsblatt.com) (in German), Copyright Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt GmbH & Co KG 2017.