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39 AutoData | August 2018 noticed that the path leads to a cycle of increases”. He mentions some technologies that haven’t reached our cars yet, but for a matter of time – and costs, of course. One of them is iGloss, varnish resistant to scra- tches that prevent stains and fading. There are also pigments that reflect li- ght better and thus repel heat, preventing the body from heating up, which in turn leads to an economy in air conditioning and greater internal comfort. “About the style, we have innovations in effect pigments, which bring a brighter and deeper look. They are silica or alu- minummicroparticles, which bring a very beautiful aspect.” According to the Basf executive part of them is not available in markets of South America: “Special pigments are sold to high-end cars in Europe and are gradu- ally being extended to smaller cars. The varnish is already available, but it makes the final cost a little more expensive”. The recovery of the market is also on PPG’s planning, which supplies paints for BMW, FCA, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen, as Rafael Torezan, general automotive OEM manager says: “The forecast is to grow in two digits this year”. One of the ways to walk through this path is to seek innovations in products and processes. Torezan highlights the Dura- bed coating, supplied to the VWAmarok pickup truck nowadays, which promises greater resistance to scratches inside the trunk. “It is a sophisticated aesthetic tre- atment, which has received good accep- tance. “We have prospects of extending business to other models.” For FCA, PPG supplies the newAudio- guard acoustic coating technology, which cushions and stiffens the body panels and absorbs vibrations. For automakers, the product reduces weight, increases pro- ductivity because of its robotic application and reduces the number of parts. Axalta, another OEM, keeps optimis- Disclousure/Basf tic, affirms its president in Brazil, Mateus Aquino: “We hope that the market heat remains still. This is essential for the he- althy business development in the whole chain”. Among the trends, he observes a new and growing demand for a superior an- ticorrosive development on the edge of metal parts. For this, Axalta developed the AquaEC 2600EP system, “also eco- logically correct, water-based and free of heavy metals”. AkzoNobel acts in the OEM with the supply of plastic parts. This market has been recovering. According to Sérgio Munhoz, the automotive repainting bu- siness manager for South America, “the repainting segment has grown at a slower pace in recent years because it follows the current circulating fleet, which has slowed down since 2015”. The company highlights two new Te- chnologies. The first is the Primer Estru- tural, through its brand Sikkens Autocoat BT, dedicated to the commercial vehicles painting market. It is a primer anticorro- sive epoxy with properties of adherence and chemical resistance, indicated for bus structures painting and commercial vehicles repainting: “It is the first product in the segment that has a lead-free and chromate-free formula and can keep excellent resis- tance when exposed to rigorous heavy rain tests”. Another novelty is the Primer Branco Condutivo (White Conductive Primer) for electrostatic painting of plastics, which offers the possibility of reducing the white, yellow and red basecoats layers, with appearance improvement and color sta- bility. The economic reality of Brazil has made vehicle manufacturers search for more economic solutions over the last years, recalls Cássia Galvão, marketing director at Sherwin-Williams Automoti- ve Finishes: “We expect this scenario to change from next year”.