Coatings Advancement – A Multi-Functional Approach

Until now, a t-shirt was just a t-shirt - A garment you would wear based on your preference and choice of various colours.

With the advances and changes in customer preference, the simple t-shirt has become a multi function, technology incorporating material you wear in various colours.

Now it dorns materials and coatings which makes it a multi-functional garment, giving enhanced protection, such as being water and stain repellent, fire retardant, changes colour as per external stimuli. It has also become a living entity with the fabric becoming breathable and self-cleaning along with weather protection.

Catching up with smartness quotient and Internet way of life, the E-Textiles/Smart Textiles - fabrics that enable digital components, sensors and electronics to be embedded in them, have started making headlines.

In stimulating the development of textiles, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology also are playing their roles with furthering research and innovation.

In a similar approach, the Coatings industry too is not satisfied with simple paints & coatings. Again consumer preference and technology advancement have made the coatings more - environment protective, corrosion and scratch resistant, weather durable, topped off with the most eye-catching gloss and shine. Moreover, there has been an evolution of components dynamics moving from metals to plastics parts. This has again changed the way coatings are developed and used.

The coatings industry is also re inventing itself to make products environment friendly. There is an increased demand for low-solvent and solventless technologies with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).

Innumerable research is underway with Nanotechnology being infused into coatings to modify specific properties (such as scratch, mar, wear, corrosion, and UV resistance) in highly specialized applications.

Glance through our ‘Coatings Special’ coverage as we attend to the decorative paints, industrial coatings and surface & coatings sectors. Also, read what the industry stalwarts have to say regarding the growth momentum of the sector in the country.

Further, have a look at our ‘News Analysis’ section, where we feature the benefits of the GST reform for the chemical industry. The landmark move - the Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into effect on 1 July. Within this, the GST rates for chemicals are at reasonable levels with most products being in the 5, 12 and 18 percent bracket which are important as many products serve as intermediates in a long value chain. Another important aspect of this reform is that the GST implementation will incentivize the unorganized sector to be part of main stream value chain. Read through and know more about the GST implications as we provide in-depth coverage.