Significant changes in the industrial coatings market outlook

The global industrial coatings market is very fragmented, including onshore oil and gas, commercial construction, and industrial maintenance. According to the research report of Transparency Market Research, it is expected that by the end of 2022, the global industrial coatings market will grow from US$31.47 billion in 2017 to US$41.68 billion. In the forecast years of 2017 and 2022, the compound annual growth rate of the industrial coatings market will reach 5.8%. According to this report, from a regional perspective, from 2017 to 2022, the global industrial coatings market will be dominated by North America.

"Overall, the industrial coatings market has performed well in the past year," said Chris Bradford, global marketing director of AkzoNobel Industrial Coatings. "The strong economic conditions have steadily promoted the development of the coil coatings business. In terms of timber, the stable job market situation and low interest rates have increased consumer confidence and the willingness to invest in new houses and house renovations, and the market has generally remained stable. . Due to consumer attitudes and preferences for the high recyclability of metal cans, the packaging growth rate is above average, especially for beverage cans. The food can market remains stable and continues to shift to bisphenol A-free and MOC-free coatings."

Kevin Braun, Vice President of PPG Global Industrial Coatings, said: "Our business is fairly balanced globally. A year ago, we saw modest weakness in the general market in all regions of the world. However, we believe that with China , Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the end of 2019, the growth of some key industrial areas, the market will usher in a slight recovery in 2020. In view of COVID-19, the industrial coatings market prospects have undergone significant changes.

"Our protection business, including industrial coatings, achieved steady growth in 2019, and revenue increased by 5.2% over the same period last year," said Martin Wiese, Haihong's senior protection and industrial business director. "Partly thanks to the strong performance of our wind energy and infrastructure market segments and the good performance of our railway market segment, we are still the leader in the North American market. This proves that the entire Haihong Seniors Organization is Build a strong customer center."

Coronavirus disease

The impact of COVID-19 will have a ripple effect on the industrial coatings market as the industries it serves continue to be negatively affected.

According to Wiese, although the blockade still affects many countries, because Haihong's business is global, it can still take care of its global customers and assets. "From the beginning, our top priority was the health and safety of employees, customers and partners," Wiese explained. "The situation is developing day by day, just like many other companies, we are adapting to a new normal internally and externally. Of course, the elderly Haihong has been affected by the global pandemic. The business is very difficult, but we also see that we cross The business of the department is slowly recovering."

"The protection market is our largest market segment," he continued. "This is a growing business, despite the current good conditions. Our absolute focus is to safely serve our customers at any cost. We avoid delivery interruptions, but in some cases, we are also required Provide paint to customers. This also requires us to increase flexibility in production. China is a good example. During the suspension of production in China, we cannot meet the needs of Chinese customers through local production because the authorities control the production of paint in our three factories. Volume. Therefore, we have produced some coatings for the Chinese market in other regions such as Malaysia and the Middle East. This is of course cost-intensive, but we can still continue to serve our customers."

COVID-19 has delayed many large construction projects around the world. Wiese said: "Obviously, this has a negative impact on our protection business. Nonetheless, the market is moving in the right direction, especially in China. We have also seen a'tremendous victory', especially in the passive fire protection market ."

"For industrial coatings, customer shutdowns, record declines in consumer spending and lack of capital expenditures have all had a negative impact on our market," Braun said. In a wide range of industries, markets related to construction, automobiles and transportation have been significantly affected. At this critical moment, our company focuses on what the "new normal" looks like. As consumers work remotely and continue to cook more food at home, the demand for coatings in our electronics and cookware field is increasing. "

He continued: "The health and safety of employees and their families is our top priority. While prioritizing the health and safety of employees, we have identified ways to provide customers with services in a safe and effective manner, many of which Indispensable business, which provides important commodities in the epidemic. We will continue to monitor the health of employees worldwide and take measures to protect PPG employees and customers in accordance with the requirements of global and regional governments. We have adjusted our business in accordance with government guidelines , The company also adjusted its business in response to a substantial reduction in economic activity."

Bradford said: "In the final analysis, at AkzoNobel, our top priority is to keep our employees, their families and our partners safe and healthy. We are closely monitoring the pandemic situation and taking all necessary measures.

We fully support and comply with national and local government requirements. We are also taking all reasonable measures to continue to provide services to our customers and maintain business continuity. Our procurement team is working closely with suppliers to actively manage our raw material supply. We are monitoring and managing the scope and duration of any local requirements affecting our actual location/related to our actual location. As the situation continues to develop, we continue to adjust our actions. "


Growth opportunities

Senior Haihong expects that the government’s publicly funded infrastructure plan to start the economy, support industry and employment will bring growth.

Wiese said: "The specific industries that will be affected will vary from country to country, but we hope to see some infrastructure plans and projects driven by sustainable development. All countries attach great importance to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and promote green and sustainable energy such as wind energy ."

Bradford believes that many applications have growth opportunities. He pointed out: "Overall, once the market begins to reopen, the demand for projects that are already funded and in the development stage will increase, and commercial buildings will provide the greatest opportunity for growth. People’s interest in antimicrobial coatings is also increasing. The growth of wood coatings is based on the construction of new houses and the renovation of houses. In addition, the shortage of contractor labor force has also promoted the increase of decoration in factories, especially in construction products. Finally, in packaging, as consumers increase their interior Consumption, finding products with stable shelves, and replacing fresh foods due to rising prices/increasing supply, the demand for whole foods and beverages is increasing."

PPG will continue to invest heavily in its powder coatings because they believe that powder coatings are a leading market trend, and because of its inherent sustainability advantages, its growth rate is higher than the market. "Products with sustainable advantages are driving markets in all industrial sectors, but we have seen consumer electronics customers have adopted water-based coatings, mainly in response to changing global regulations, the desire to reduce their environmental footprint and consumers "," Braun pointed out.

Braun said: "In the "new normal" of the COVID-19 world, Asia is in a leading position. Although we have seen China's economic growth slow down in recent years, other parts of Asia have shown development, such as India, where the economy is Continue to expand. Economic conditions outside Asia, especially in the United States and Europe, have severely restricted industrial production. This is a cycle that has begun in the last two years, and COVID-19 has greatly exacerbated this cycle."

"In the rapidly changing global landscape, we believe that the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing region, followed by North America, which is driven by a combination of agriculture and commercial construction. In terms of packaging, due to the long-term blockade of economies As well as a preference for sustainable and recyclable packaging, the world is growing. Finally, in terms of timber, the growth is largely related to imports and exports and will depend on the speed of recovery of the people, goods and residential construction markets."

Wiese said that traditional industries such as oil, gas and infrastructure have achieved strong growth in 2019. "In addition, our protection business in Europe has contributed to revenue growth, and our new passive fire protection products have also played a positive role."

Among all these uncertainties, customers want to be assured that the supply chain will remain strong and they will be able to obtain high-quality products.

"Given the global pandemic, our customers are interested in guaranteed supply," Braun said. "As the company restarts, the entire supply chain needs to be prepared and supported. From a product performance perspective, we have seen increased interest in coatings that help to inhibit bacterial growth. PPG recently targeted our SilverSan Antimicrobial powder coatings launched a rapid transportation plan in response to the growing demand in this market. In addition to these urgent needs, customers’ needs for performance and key functions have not changed. Our focus will continue to be on asset protection, sustainable products and Products that can reduce total cost solutions."

Bradford said: "Customers in the construction and construction industry must ensure that their equipment is beautiful for many years, so they must specify coatings that have been proven to provide long-term durability and weather resistance." They also require functional and aesthetic characteristics to help their products stand out. For packaging coatings, from reliable epoxy coatings to high-performance bisphenol A-free coatings, our customers have different needs. Regardless of technical requirements, our customers are looking for consistently high-quality products. They are looking for reliable partners to bring value to their business through excellent products, technical knowledge and services, and the ability to innovate with them. Finally, in terms of wood, our customers have three main areas of focus: adding value to the end consumer, which means improving aesthetics and stain and scratch resistance, reducing their total cost of ownership, with the emphasis on removing process steps or Products with expensive manual steps, as well as increase their overall production capacity or reduce their costs, and extend the durability of external products to reduce maintenance requirements. "

According to Wiese, there are three key requirements in the industrial sector: global consistency and service; saving more operating costs; and reducing long-term maintenance needs.

Wiese said: "Customers doing business in different parts of the world need consistent high-quality products that must meet local and international standards, and wherever they do business, they need fast service, delivery and response. Our global Large customer management concepts can meet this need, and our largest global customers are entrusting more and more business to us."

"Reducing operating costs is a top priority for most of our customers," Wiese said. "In 2019, we have increased our focus on this key area. This includes providing customers with tailor-made services through factory application production lines, whose overall goal is to reduce their total production costs. We also launched new ones in 2019 Coatings to help customers reduce application costs and increase productivity."

Wiese added: “Most customers want to reduce long-term maintenance needs. Due to the high cost of offshore maintenance, this demand is particularly strong for offshore asset owners such as wind turbines and oil and gas platforms. To meet this demand, we launched in 2019 The waterproof topcoat Hempatop Repel 800 was developed in close cooperation with one of the world’s leading oil and gas companies. Our analysis shows that the water entering through the coating system is the main cause of the failure of offshore asset coatings. By actively removing water from the coating surface, Hempatop Repel 800 can significantly reduce maintenance requirements compared to currently available coating systems."