Clariant is an International Fine Chemical Group Corporation, which has 28,000 employees and 9.8 billion Francs annual sales value. It has 5 departments, fabric leather and paper chemicals, pigments and additives, color particles, functional chemicals and life sciences and electrochemistry. Clariant is one of the largest organic pigments producers in the world and has a 22% market share, which is significant to the world pigments. On Nov. 19th, 2002, Clariant affiliated pigments and additives department held a technical report meeting in Changzhou Joyou International Hotel. The journalist from the National Paint & Coatings Industrial Information Center Listened to the report and interviewed the manager Chen Zhiwen and assistant sales manager Zhuang Lei:

Pay more attention to R & D, and consummate the product series continuously

The organic pigments can be classified into 4 series: Hostaperm, Novoperm, Permanent and Hansa, widely used in printing ink, coating, plastic, stationery, cosmetic, special colorant used in laser printing ink, thermal printing and aluminum dye. After purchasing the biggest copper phthalicyanine producer in Korea, Clariant forms a complete chromatogram pigments series.

After purchasing Hoechst Fine Chemicals Corporation in summer of 1997 and purchasing the British Fine Chemical Merchant BTP in 2000, Clariant became the leader producer of organic pigments and the mesogen and active components of pharmacy and agricultural industry.

In the last years, Asian economics develops steadily and stimulates the rapid increase of need of organic pigments. In order to satisfy the Asian market, Clariant not only consummates its products series, but also enlarges the production, from 2000t/a to 5000t/a this year. Besides, it has set up several technical service centers in Asia. In R & D, Clariant adjusts the strategy to suit the need of various popular colors. Take the automotive coating market as an example. At present, 70% automotives in American, Japan and Europe adopt metallic pigmented paint, which need better transparent pigments. Clariant adopts advanced process and designs equipment itself, and then develops a series of new product, improving the pureness and transparency of products. In high solid coatings, because the dispersion is improved, the fluidity of pigments is improved, the viscosity is reduced and the coverage is improved.

Develop the environmental protective products, and acclimate the times tide

One source of environmental pollution in coatings industry is the air pollution caused by VOC, and another is the water pollution by applying raw materials containing lead or chrome. In order to eliminate the environmental pollution, the pollution origins should be controlled. For pigment industry, most yellow pigments were cheap inorganic yellow chrome pigments, but these pigments are limited since the environmental principles become more strictly. In German, the proportion of yellow chrome has decreased from 12% ten years ago to present 2.6%. Due to the lack of non-toxic yellow pigment, the color match has become a big problem. The detrusion of Clariant non-toxic yellow organic pigments shows the strength of the corporation, whose Yellow H3G, Yellow H4G and R.Y.138 could replace yellow chrome successfully in solvent coatings. In order to settle the bleeding problem in aqueous paint, it detruded Yellow H5G, which saved 25% pigments while the cost rose 25%. Besides, Clariant is always popularizing the series 70 to replace lead-contained inorganic pigment and receives good reflection.

Along with the increasing share of aqueous coatings, Clariant develops a series of various colored aqueous products in correspondence to solvent coatings, settling the color migration problem of pigment in aqueous paint. Recently, Clariant detrudes the aqueous paste Clanyl 500 that doesn’t contain organic solvent at all, which could control the VOC contents in coatings.

Clariant is the member of ETAD. ETAD is an international organization founded in 1974, and is the environment of dye and organic pigments producers and toxicology association. At present it includes 44 corporations from 11 countries, 4 continents, and the aim of this organization is to reduce any negative influence to health and environment from organic pigments.

Coatings corporations are facing challenge, and Clariant has top service

The rapid development of global coatings industry stimulates the market need, but it also induces fierce competition. By right of the specialty in organic pigments and the cognition of challenge, Clareant helps customers get excellent settlement based on the mutual reliance and cooperation. Clariant has more than 100 sales spots, 16 pigments factories and many technical service centers, which builds dense nets of sales and technical service to adapt to market development and the separated customers’ requirement. Because Clariant has unified standard, anywhere in the world could get the same high quality products according to the same standard. However, Clariant would also develop special products according to important customers or local demand. The top grade and the top service make the stead growing of its sales achievements.

The sales value increases 10% annually, and 2001 increased by 15% than 2000. Since entering Chinese market, the sales value in Asia grows up greatly. The present market share has been 22%, and it will increase greatly in future.