The smoggy Shanghai skyline was the perfect backdrop for the first LANXESS Pigments Symposium under the topic “Sustainable Technology for a Clean Environment,” which was held November 22, 2013, in conjunction with the ChinaCoat show. China has become the world’s largest consumer and biggest production base for the coatings industry, as well as the single largest market for iron oxide pigments. It also releases the largest quantity of CO2 emissions in the world. The urbanization megatrend in China will continue to propel the coatings market to grow at a double-digit rate, according to industry experts.
More than 140 participants, including customers and distributors from the industry as well as representatives from academia, government, associations and media gathered together with LANXESS executives and experts, sharing trends and outlooks for the inorganic pigments industry with a special focus on sustainability both globally and in China. I was honored to have been asked to speak at the symposium, on the topic of the importance of sustainability in our industry. Additional speakers included: Joerg Hellwig, Head of the LANXESS Inorganic Pigments business unit; Chien Ming Cheng, CEO of LANXESS Greater China; Kong Zhiyuan, Head of Architectural Coatings Laboratory of CNOOC Changzhou Paint and Coatings Industry Research Institute; Paul Sasada, Spend Area Director Colored Pigment and Colorants, Akzo Nobel Sourcing; Xu Shufan, Vice Inspector of Science and Technology Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection; Dr. Karsten Eller, Chief Operating Officer of Beckers Group; Dr. Wolfgang Oehlert, Head of Technical Operations at LANXESS Inorganic Pigments and Natalie Chen, Head of LANXESS Specialty Chemicals Co. Ltd.; Dr. Waldemar Czaplik, Head of R&D Penniman Technology at LANXESS Inorganic Pigments; Dr. Volker Schneider, Head of Global Competence Center Paints at LANXESS Inorganic Pigments; and Bryn Irvine, President of Palmer Holland Inc. The program also included panel discussions by LANXESS customers and distributors.