Coating manufacturers and raw material suppliers have been adhering to regulations set by the EPA and have converted their customers from conventional formulations with high VOCs to high-solids formulations with significantly lower VOCs. The next step for companies that are being proactive and eliminating VOCs entirely is the conversion of their customers to powder coatings or solvent-free systems. One segment that is converting to high-solids and powder coatings is the high-temperature-resistant coatings market. Because of this, the segment has been growing at a rate greater than 10% every year over the last five years. The majority of the growth has been from liquid coating markets; however, significant growth has stemmed from new product applications and the ceramics market.
The customer transition from liquid to powder is complicated and several roadblocks must be addressed. The high-temperature-resistant market is no exception. The use of silicone polymers in this market posed an additional set of hurdles, which delayed the conversion from the late 1980s to the early ‘90s. Silicones by nature have a low softening point and are not compatible with organic polymers. The former would limit the quantity of silicone incorporated into an organic system and therefore limit the high temperature performance of the product. The problem with certain silicone resins and their compatibility limited their use and market acceptance. The re-engineering of silicone technology to increase the softening point and use the current composition enables formulators to develop technologies for the next generation.