Fire Engulfs Plastic Container Storehouse in Northern India
A massive fire engulfed a plastic container storehouse in Kanpur City of India's Uttar Pradesh state on Monday.

The fire broke out at 3:30 a.m.

“This factory named Jolly Containers deals with Nerolac paints. This factory stored plastic containers used by the Nerolac Paint Company.”

The storehouse did not have basic firefighting equipment, and a case has been registered against the owner of the company.

No one was injured in the incident.

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Kansai Nerolac Paints profit jumps 73.53% for Mar`11 qtr
Kansai Nerolac Paints announced a phenomenal rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 2011. During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 73.53% to Rs 588.60 million from Rs 339.20 million in the same quarter previous year.

Net sales for the quarter for the quarter rose 22.84% to Rs 5,205.40 million, while total income for the quarter rose 23.68% toRs 5,286.70 million, when compared with the prior year period.<more>

Asian Paints Q4 slips on high raw materials cost
Asian Paints said its fourth-quarter (January-March) net profit fell due to high raw materials cost and added that the upward surge in prices is likely to continue due to shortage of key raw materials caused by global capacity constraints, the company said in a press release Wednesday.

“Demand conditions for international as well as industrial businesses were challenging," chief operating officer and managing director, PM Murty, said in the press release.

The company’s standalone net profit declined 3% to Rs 171.43 crore for the quarter ended March 31, compared with Rs 177.4 crore previous year on rising raw and packing material costs. Net sales rose to Rs 1,607.39 crore from Rs 1,296.09 crore.<more>

Solid Q4 earnings boost Akzo Nobel India
Akzo Nobel India gained 2.40% to Rs. 859 at 12:10 IST on BSE, after net profit surged 221.4% to Rs. 57.82 crore on 21.4% rise in net sales to Rs. 266.60 crore in Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010. 

The company announced the results after market hours on Wednesday, 11 May 2011.<more>

Akzo Nobel plans new Rs 250 cr plant in India 
Global paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel plans to set up a new manufacturing plant in India at an investment of up to Rs 250 crore as part of a strategy to become a one billion euro entity in the country by 2015.

The Indian arm of the Amsterdam-based company is scouting for locations in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to set up the plant, which it expects to be ready by FY13.
"Currently, we are pretty close to full capacity and the management understands that in order to achieve our target of becoming a one billion euro entity in India by 2015, we need more capacity," Akzo Nobel India Chairman Nihal Kaviratne told PTI.

Akzo Nobel India Ltd is the listed company of the group and is mainly into decorative paints, automotive coatings and surface chemistry. The group's other business areas such as performance coatings and specialty chemicals are also significant in India but are not under the aegis of the publicly listed entity.

In the year FY11, Akzo Nobel India reported a total revenue of Rs 1,096.8 crore with a profit after tax of Rs 176.6 crore.<more>

Akzo Nobel India Board to consider Dividend for 2010-11
A meeting of the Board of Directors of Akzo Nobel India Ltd will be held on May 11, 2011, to consider the Audited Financial Results of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2011 and recommendation of Dividend for the said financial year.

The stock was trading at Rs.841, up by Rs.0.30 or 0.04%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.841 and low of Rs.835.05.

The total traded quantity was 169 compared to 2 week average of 1979. <more>

Japan earthquake likely to adversely affect the supply-chain in industries
Picture this: You are set to move into a spanking new apartment, and the equated monthly installments have already begun to tick. A few days before you decide to take possession, the builder calls to tell you that your home is ready to move in. Except for a few things, he adds sheepishly - security cameras, intercom systems and fire sprinklers have yet to be fitted in the tower.

Or what if this happens: your smartphone crashes to the ground, one of its 100-odd components - a humble screw - gets lost. Your mobile is not the same again. You go to the manufacturer for a replacement, but he tells you he does not have the part. And this comes days after the dealer who is repairing the car that you banged into the rear of a bus tells you that the vehicle will have to spend a few more weeks in the shop.

If carmakers are nervous, so are suppliers of components. And paints. Kansai Nerolac sources raw materials from its factories in Japan. The company has now begun sourcing chemicals from Europe. "The quality is the same but the price is slightly higher," says H M Bharuka, managing director, Kansai Nerolac.

The cuts in production by the auto majors will also hit the paints company's revenues. "Our top line will be lower by 2 to 3%," adds Bharuka. Analysts point out that in situations where costs climb up, manufacturers may well decide to pass on the increase to the customer.

Whitford Opens Its Ninth Factory (in Bangalore, India) as Worldwide Growth Surges
20 April 2011, Bangalore, India. Whitford, maker of the world's largest, most compete line of fluoropolymer coatings, continues to grow with its recently opened (and ninth) factory in Bangalore, one of India's fastest-growing and most dynamic cities. Witnessing the opening ceremonies were many customers, suppliers, government officials, and members of Whitford senior management from around the ...<more>

Shalimar Paints Owners To Divest Partly, Raise Funds
MUMBAI (Mint) -- The promoters of Shalimar Paints, a Mumbai-based paint manufacturing company, are looking to divest a part of their stake, according to two people familiar with the development.

The company has appointed investment bank Avendus Capital Pvt. Ltd. to scout for suitable buyers.

"The talks are still in preliminary stages," said the person with direct knowledge of the development. "They are looking for either a strategic player or a private equity firm. The company needs money for capacity expansion and business development."

An e-mail questionnaire sent to Shalimar Paints on Monday went unanswered. Sandeep Sarda, executive director and chief executive officer of Shalimar Paints, when contacted over the phone, said: "We do not comment on such things."

The promoters of the paint company are the Ratan Jindal Group and the Jhunjhunwala Group, a Hong-Kong based non-resident Indian group with interests in real estate and hospitality. At the end of March 2010, the promoters held a 62.8% stake in the company.

India's paint industry is estimated to be 190 billion rupees ($4.23 billion), with expected volume growth of 13% to 15%, the fastest in Asia-Pacific, according to a Standard Chartered Securities (India) Ltd. report in January.<more>


ICI’s Board okays separation of paint business
KARACHI: The board of directors of ICI Pakistan Limited Wednesday decided that ICI Pakistan should be divided into two entities, both of which will be listed on the Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad stock exchanges. One such entity will be Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited (comprising the Paints Business) and the other will be ICI Pakistan Limited (retaining all other businesses of ICI Pakistan). The board of directors has also decided that the separation of the paints business should be achieved through a demerger—sanctioned by the Court—and this should be on the basis of the financial statements of the company as at 30 June 2011. staff report <more>

I color application at Nippon Paints
At Nippon Paint, we believe everyone can become an expert in paint. We will do our part by furnishing our customers with the finest products that suit your . 
Features
Generate colour schemes from photos
Browse thousands of colours in our library
Calculate how much paint you need for your project
Locate Nippon Paint Singapore stores on the go
Play fun memory games with Nippon Paint Sumo
Share your ideas with friends via email and Facebook
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Epoxy Powder Coating as a High-Dielectric Insulator
Using the proper application method, virtually any configuration can be uniformly coated, ensuring a consistent insulation barrier.<more>


Titanium dioxide: China largest producer and consumer in 2010
China has become the largest producer and consumer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in the world.

According to the latest research data from China Chemicals Market (CCM), a Chinese consulting company based in Guangzhou, China, the total capacity of China’s titanium dioxide (TiO2) represents approximately 30% of world capacity.

In 2010, the total capacity of China’s TiO2 reached 2,000,000 tonnes, and annual production reached 1,470,000 tonnes. In 2010, the consumption of TiO2 in China exceeded 1,400,000 tonnes. Due to the supply shortage in the European market, the export volume of China’s TiO2 increased rapidly, making the first favorable balance of trade in May 2010.

Driven by growth of the macro economy, the demand for China’s TiO2 is growing rapidly, providing opportunities for TiO2 and downstream industries such as coatings, rubber and plastic. Demand forTiO2 is expected to grow at about 10% annually in the coming years.<more>


First Permanent Anti-Fog Coating Developed
ScienceDaily (Mar. 16, 2011) — Researchers under the supervision of Université Laval professor Gaétan Laroche have developed the very first permanent anti-fog coating. Dr. Laroche and his colleagues present in the online edition of Applied Materials and Interfaces the details of this innovation which could eliminate, once and for all, the fog on eyeglasses, windshields, goggles, camera lenses, and on any transparent glass or plastic surface.<more>



DuPont to expand TiO2 capabilities
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) announced a comprehensive titanium dioxide expansion plan that will add about 350,000 metric tons (m.t.) of global capacity and strengthen the company’s capability to meet the increasing demand from its customers. The expansion includes new production facilities at the company’s Altamira (Mexico) site, as well as additional investments to improve the productivity at its other titanium dioxide sites around the world.

The new line at the Altamira site is scheduled for completion by year-end 2014 and will provide approximately 200,000 m.t./yr of new capacity. Facility upgrades underway at DuPont’s five titanium dioxide manufacturing sites will continue over the next three years, yielding an additional 150,000 m.t. of capacity.

“This expansion and upgrades of our facilities allow us to rapidly adapt to changes in the marketplace and consistently meet the ever-changing demands of our customer base,” says DuPont Titanium Technologies (DTT) president BC Chong. “Adding capacity at our Altamira site in Mexico, as well as improving our existing uptime and production rates at all sites, is a vital part of our strategy to help our customers succeed. By increasing capacity, we will ensure a sustainable supply for customers and partners to help secure their success in the marketplace.”<more>

Australia: PPG paint workers remain on strike as union pushes two-tier wage cut
After five weeks, more than 120 workers remain on strike at a Melbourne paint plant operated by the US-based transnational PPG Industries. They walked out on March 28 against the company’s demand for a new two-tier wage system, involving new hires receiving a 43 percent wage cut. PPG—a multi-billion dollar global manufacturer of chemicals, paint and glass, and a major supplier for Toyota, Ford, and General Motors Holden in Australia—is also attempting to undermine the overtime benefits and working conditions of the existing workforce, and has mounted an aggressive strike breaking operation to maintain production.

The important struggle being waged <more>

European Coatings Show 2011:closure report 
European Coatings Show 2011:
Excellent figures and top marks

· More exhibitors, space and visitors than ever before

· Another increase in internationality

· Successful congress with participants from all over the world

The European Coatings Show still has a few surprises in store twenty years after its launch. After a slight decline for the preceding edition due to the world economic crisis, the 2011 event in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg even beat the previous top marks of 2007.

887 exhibitors from 45 countries presented their product spectrum of high-quality coatings, paints, sealants, construction chemicals and adhesives on a record net display space of 30,000 m² from 29–31 March 2011. 25,955 trade visitors, 14 per cent more than the previous record of 2007, used the opportunity to update on the latest products and services during the three days of the exhibition. 63 per cent of them came to Nürnberg from abroad (2007: 59 per cent / 2009: 56 per cent). After Germany, the countries with the most visitors were Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Great Britain and France. The European Coatings Congress with 648 participants from 40 countries at its some 150 papers in 25 sessions also registered outstanding interest in the topical issues of this highly innovative sector.

The European Coatings Show and European Coatings Congress are the meeting place for the global coatings community every two years. With its large international share of about 60 per cent for both exhibitors and visitors, the event offers an ideal dialogue platform for experts from all over the world.

All the new developments and innovations are represented here, from raw materials for coatings, printing inks and adhesives to intermediates for construction chemicals, laboratory and production equipment, testing and measuring equipment, and application systems to safety at work and environmental protection. Besides a variety of product properties and competitiveness, the environmental compatibility aspect is increasing its importance in research and development, as shown, for example, by the rapidly growing share of water-based coatings and paints. Prof. Matthias Beller of Rostock University opened the European Coatings Congress with his keynote on Monday, 28 March 2011. The winner of the 1st Sustainable Chemistry Award showed that sustainability in chemical production is a key technology of the 21st century. Sustainability was also the central issue of the second keynote lecture by Dr. Erik Risberg of Jotun, Norway.

European Coatings Award 2011

The European Coatings Award for the best Conference Paper was also presented on the first day of the European Coatings Congress to Dr. Marc Entenmann’s team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation. The paper entitled “Corrosion protection with nanoscale anticorrosive pigments in coatings” describes the effects of reducing the particle size of corrosion protection pigments. The jury based its decision on the outstanding way in which the paper shows an approach to solving one of the industry’s biggest and most cost-intensive problems: the corrosion of steel.

Exhibitors and visitors give top marks

Exhibitors and visitors again gave top marks for the range of products at the European Coatings Show in 2011 and for the success of the event. Well over 90 per cent were satisfied with the complete package. A look at the details shows why: 99 per cent of the exhibitors said they had made new business connections with their most important target groups during the three days of the exhibition. 35 per cent received direct orders during the European CoatingsShow, and nine out of ten companies also expect follow-up business. For 93 per cent of the exhibitors, the European Coatings Show is an important to extremely important part of their marketing and sales activities.

The visitors accordingly expected a real fireworks of interesting products and services again at the European Coatings Show 2011: more than 80 per cent of the exhibitors had brought new products and innovations from their portfolio. 95 per cent of the visitors were satisfied with the
information and contact opportunities on the stands. 58 per cent said the European Coatings Show is the only exhibition they visit in this field. One of the decisive factors for the success of the exhibition is the high professional and decision-making qualities of the visitors. The largest groups of visitors were formulators of paints and coatings (37 per cent), raw material suppliers (29 per cent), formulators of adhesives and sealants (14 per cent), construction chemicals (10 per cent), printing inks (7 per cent) and industrial applicators of coatings and paints (7 per cent). Well over 90 per cent of the visitors are involved in purchasing and procurement decisions in their company