Stricter environmental, clean air and waste management legislation continues to drive the architectural coatings market toward “green” chemistry and lower-VOC technologies. And the most stringent requirement is the one that sets the de facto minimum standard, whether at the local, state or federal level. Originators of such legislation include the North Eastern Ozone Transport Commission states (OTC), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).<p>
Editors’ note: The European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists‘ Colours Industry (CEPE) represents the interests of about 1,100 paint, 75 printing ink and over 20 artists’ colors companies at the European level. It has 23 member associations and four affiliated associations in 21 countries, 14 company members as well as affiliated paint manufacturers in Poland, Romania, Russia and Turkey. Since the coatings industry has become so global, the discussions and concerns voiced at CEPE are also relative to coating concerns in the Americas.
An increasing number of
manufacturers are making the switch to prepainted metal because of its
aesthetic, cost, performance and environmental benefits.
Due to the high chemical
stability, low price, excellent balance of physical properties, possible
recycling, etc., the amount of polypropylene (PP) and thermoplastic olefin
(TPO) consumed by automotive parts, household electrical appliances and the
molded general goods businesses continues to increase.
In
today’s world I think we are sometimes overwhelmed and taken over by the spin
and the buzz words – nano-anything, ‘smart’, sustainability, and of course
‘green’. I am not opposed to these terms – they are good – but I am opposed to
their inaccurate use, to the hype that is sometimes associated and not
warranted, and to their exploitive overuse.
The
last few years have also seen the introduction of “smart” technologies, ones
that have intelligent features – for example color-changing inks and coatings,
which are active rather than passive techniques.
A
couple of months ago, Ford announced that it was closing one of its Cleveland
casting plants and furloughing one of the two famous Cleveland engine plants
for a year.
RSS