InterviewGreen coatings regs can have upside

Dow Coatings Solutions was created in March.

Continuing and expanding regulatory requirements on the coatings industry, combined with customer desire for environmentally-friendly products means that both industry suppliers and producers must constantly innovate their offerings in order to succeed, added Hamilton.

For example, Dow believes that new volatile organic compounds (VOC) content limitations for flat exterior architectural coatings, to be adopted in July by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), will be quickly adopted in other markets, said Hamilton.

SCAQMD is the smog control board for Los Angeles, California, and some surrounding counties. The new regulations will limit the VOC content of these coatings to 50 grams/litre, Hamilton said.

“Dow Coating Solutions has been helping paint formulators meet those regulations for months now, making sure they can stay ahead of these and other major changes in the industry,” said Hamilton.

Coatings suppliers with a broad technology base and strong application know-how will be best positioned to provide solutions to coatings producers as part of their continuing effort to maintain compliant formulations, said Hamilton.

“There will be a continued strong focus on cost-effective and environmentally benign raw materials and coatings formulations.”

The impact of green trends on the coatings business has been to drive research and development for high-performance, sustainable solutions, he said.

However, the industry will not adopt green solutions if it means compromising performance or quality or if it means significantly increasing prices.

“For that reason, we are concentrating on new technologies that reduce environmental impact while continuing to offer comparable or improved product performance,” said Hamilton.

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Bookmark Doris de Guzman’s Green Chemicals Blog for some independent thinking on green solutions

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