The market for high-performance pigments (HPPs) and specialty pigments (SPs) has become an increasingly globalized and competitive business environment. The boundary between high-performance and commodity pigments was indistinct in the past, but now as application requirements have become more demanding, the definition of HPPs has become more clear.
Producers of HPPs are increasingly striving to produce products with excellent durability, high color strength and excellent dispersibility in a range of resin systems, chemical stability and low solubility. Such performance commands a premium price, as shown by exclusive research from Smithers Rapra. The company’s new market report, The Future of High-Performance Pigments to 2023, shows that the market for HPPs and SPs will reach $6.73 billion in 2018 (Figure 1).