Pigments are also in the midst of changing times, which was why "Innovation in Color Technology," the Color Pigment Manufacturers Association's (CPMA) 2005 International Color Pigments Conference, was so essential, and ultimately was as successful as it was.
The conference, which was held April 20-22 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore - Inner Harbor and was held in association with Rodman Publishing, publishers of Ink World, Coatings World and HAPPI magazines, set records for attendance and exhibitors. Judging by the feedback, attendees felt they got the insight they were looking for.
Conference Opens
After the opening reception and exhibits held April 20 and sponsored by EMD Chemicals, the conference got into full swing April 21. The morning session featured opening remarks by conference co-chair Ed Faulkner, director, product management and communication, Sun Chemical. He was followed by Ray Will, senior consultant, SRI Consultants, who presented "Update on Organic and Inorganic Color Pigments."
Ivan Joyce of Ferro, foreground, talks with EMD Chemicals' Scott Aumann, while EMD Chemicals' Karen Carlson and Lisa Cano meet with DuPont's Bonnie Piro. |
Mr. Will said that the global pigment market is 6.4 million tons, with titanium dioxide and carbon black representing 61.8 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively. Of the rest, color pigments account for 26 percent, or 1.7 million tons. Color organic pigments make up 18.9 percent of that figure. Diarylide yellow, phthalo, azo and high performance/special effect pigments are each roughly a quarter of that segment.
Iron oxide represented 70 percent of all color pigments, and is used primarily in brick and concrete (56 percent) and paint and coatings (27 percent).
Among the other figures Mr. Will presented was that while ink represented 60 percent of the volume of color organic pigments, it only represented 45 percent of the value, being more cost sensitive. Paint and coatings, conversely, used 18 percent of these pigments, but represent 25 percent of sales. He also noted the increased interest in developing countries, primarily China and India, in producing pigments.
Mr. Will was followed by Nick Kernoghan, business manager, testing division, Pira International, Ltd., who discussed upcoming regulations during "Food Contact Legislation in Europe and How to Use It to Sell Colorants Legally."
The conference then focused on cosmetics, beginning with Phil Linz, senior cosmetic chemist, EMD Chemicals, who presented an overview of the cosmetics market in "New Substrates, New Vistas: Applications of Special Effect Pigments in Cosmetics and Personal Care."
Sunny Maffeo, creative director, Engelhard, focused on "Color Trends in the Cosmetics Industry for 2006." Ms. Maffeo discussed the four primary trends: clarity, naturalism, luxury and metamorphosis, or bizarre. She also noted the growth of cosmetics for men, and said that auto industry follows cosmetics trends, typically by a two-year lag.
The closing session featured, from left, conference co-chair Ed Faulkner of Sun Chemical; Jaime Gomez of Equitech; Paul Czornij of BASF; James Carroll of Engelhard; Frank Hauxwell of British Colour Makers Association; Chris Manning of Shepherd Color; and Bridget Murray of Q-Panel Lab Products. Wes Lucas of Sun Chemical is not pictured. |
The morning session closed with Alan Farer, vice president of R&D with Coty Cosmetics, who discussed "Cosmetic Colorant Surface Treatments - The Key to Delivering Enhanced Product Performance."
After the luncheon sponsored by Apollo Colors/Allegheny Color and CDR Pigments and Dispersions, the afternoon session featured seven talks. Dr. Austin H. Reid Jr., research fellow, DuPont, led off with "Titanium in the Pigment Industry - From Origins to Future Possibilities," a discussion of the past, present and future of TiO2, particularly the possibility of even greater color specialization.
Dr. Reid was followed by "Innovations in Color for Plastics," by Brian West, vice president, color technology, Techmer, PM, which manufactures blow molded containers, fibers, films and nonwovens.
"There are special needs for the plastics industry: heat stability to 600år, durability, solubility, stabilizer interaction, nucleation and volatility," Mr. West said. "The plastic market should be offered pigment grades optimized for plastics."
Dr. Lawrence Lerner, consultant with Dominion Colour, spoke on "Vat Pigments Revisited." He said that creating new pigments is "extremely difficult, and there is more rearranging of the old." Dr. Lerner said there are opportunities to be found among vat dye-based pigments such as PY 24, PY 108, PR 168, PR 123 and PR 177.
Next, Jim DeLisi, president, Fanwood Chemical, Inc., discussed "Temporary Duty Suspensions;" Dr. Gerhard Pfaff of Merck KGaA talked about "Special Effects Pigments - Innovative Technologies for New Color Approaches;" and "Grinding Pigments to Nano Particle Size" was presented by Harry Way, Netzsch Fine Particle Technology LLC. "Looking Ahead at the Year in Trade" by John Gilliand of Preston, Gates, Ellis, a look at the political and strategic implications of trade, particularly with China, ended the session, followed by a reception and exhibits, sponsored by EMD Chemicals and CPMA.
Closing Session
Wes Lucas, Sun Chemical's chairman, president and CEO, gave a talk on the ink industry and the crossroads it faces between becoming a commodity or a specialty. |
Following a breakfast sponsored by Sun Chemical Performance Pigments, April 22's closing session featured a number of major talks, highlighted by Wes Lucas, chairman, president and CEO of Sun Chemical, who offered his vision of the future of the ink industry in his talk, "The Ink Industry."
"The ink industry is at a crossroads between a commodity and a specialty," Mr. Lucas said, adding that pigments are at a similar crossroads. "Ink is a small part of a product's cost, but it is a big part of the product's value. The irony is that even though we create so much value, we get little in return."
Mr. Lucas talked about the success of divergent companies such as Nestle, Nalco and Alcoa, as opposed to the commoditization of computer hardware.
In packaging, the opportunity is there for new technologies, while publication must be focused on total cost of print, such as the ability to save paper and time.
"If we can help get the total cost of print down by 10 percent, we can capture some of the value that is created," Mr. Lucas said.
The second highlight was Paul Czornij, BASF's group leader, pigments and additives, automotive coatings, who discussed "Color Development for Automotive Coatings." While Mr. Czornij noted that silver and gray (37 percent of cars in 2002), black, blue and white make up approximately 80 percent of the worldwide market, blue and orange are among those that are growing in popularity, and that metallics are dominant.
Buhler Inc.'s Rene Eisenring and Chuck Hoover Sr. of Hoover Color talk about milling. |
"Of the colors designed for cars and light trucks, 95 percent are metallic," Mr. Czornij said.
He spoke of the need for high chroma transparent reds and blues and opaque reds, yellows or oranges, and the influence of effect pigments which can offer sparkle, a liquid metal look or change hue depending on viewing angle. Mr. Czornij also noted that automotive colors are decided upon three to five years in advance, and that high quality levels are most important.
"Recent Developments in High Performance Inorganic Pigments," by Dr. Chris Manning, marketing manager, The Shepherd Color Company, discussed very high performance (VHP) inorganic color pigments, a new classification, practically indestructible, high performing pigments that will continue to provide cornerstone technical solutions.
Other presentations included "Regulatory Developments in the European Union 2005-10," by Frank Hauxwell, secretary, British Colour Makers Association; "Fade Resistance of Lithographic Inks," by Bridget Murray, technical specialist for Q-Panel Lab Products; "Appearance Measurement of Effect Pigments," by James Carroll, manager, scientific services effect pigments R&D, Engelhard; and "In-Line Color Measurement of Liquid Paints During Production via a Fiber-Optics Spectrophotometer," by Dr. Jaime Gomez, executive vice president, Equitech. Conference co-chair Steve Camenisch, regulatory manager, Engelhard, closed the meeting.
Exhibitors
From left, Norman Pratt of Flint Ink, and Roger Slater and Jeff Norris of Noveon. From left, John Sneeringer of Premier Mill and Becker Underwood's Steve Loucks and Betsy Johnson. Jaime Gomez of Equitech, left, and Korkmaz Oz of Draiswerke. |
In addition to the talks, the conference featured 16 exhibitors: Aakash Chemicals and Dye-stuffs, Inc.; Agrofert USA; Buhler, Inc.; Ciba Expert Services; Draiswerke, Inc.; EMD Chemicals, Inc.; FlackTek, Inc.; Fluid Energy Equipment Co.; GTI Graphic Technology, Inc.; Hockmeyer Equipment; National Drying Machinery Co./Aeroglide Corp.; Netzsch Fine Particle Technology, LLC; Norstone, Inc.; Noveon, Inc.; Premier Mill; and Q-Panel Lab Products.
Exhibitors said they were pleased with the program.
"It far exceeded our expectations," said Kerstin Grosse, sales manager and industry specialist for Buhler, Inc. "We were able to make new contacts and see people we don't usually meet."
"Exhibiting at CPMA worked out very well," said Rick Glesias, technical marketing manager, printing technologies for EMD Chemicals. "Everybody is looking for something new."
Reactions to the Conference
All told, the conference was deemed a success by organizers and attendees alike.
"This was the best conference CPMA has ever had in terms of attendance," said Larry Robinson, CPMA president. "We had a good round of speakers which held attendees from beginning to end, and our exhibitors said the conference allowed them to make new contacts."
"It went very well," Mr. Faulkner said. "We had 145 registrants representing 72 organizations, and that is a record. We had a varied group of speakers and topics, and received a lot of good comments from attendees about the quality of the talks. We had quite a number of really good exhibits, and it's also a great networking opportunity."
"I have to give credit to the CPMA, who did a very good job of bringing speakers together, and a special thank you to Rodman Publishing and to all the speakers," Mr. Camenisch said. "There was a lot of interest. It has probably been our most successful conference ever."
Attendees said they found the conference to be effective.
"If you learn one thing that you can put in a product, it's been a worthwhile experience," said Dr. David Binder, senior chemist, new product innovation for Avon Products. "I have learned even more than that, either from the speakers or from other attendees."
"This conference is very useful for renewing contacts and to see where everybody else is going," said Norm Pratt, technical director for Flint Ink. "It also keeps us up-to-date on environmental pressures and also on the European system."
Following up on its successful 2005 conference, CPMA has announced that its 2006 conference will be held at the Hotel InterContinental in Chicago, April 18-20, 2006. For more information, check on the web at www.pigments.org.
Web Extras
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