Development of Waterborne Coatings Urgently Needs Environmental Protection Policies

The appearance and use of water-based paints once again pushed the paint industry to the cusp of the building materials industry. Many people believe that waterborne coatings will become the dominant force in the development of the entire paint industry. However, it will take a long time for water-based coatings to occupy the dominant position in the paint industry in China. During this period of time, it also requires strong support from various environmental protection policies.

Although the performance indicators of waterborne coatings in China have reached the level of oil-based paints, the overall share of paint applications is less than 2%. Water-based paint manufacturers and downstream furniture companies call for relying solely on the strength of enterprises or the market itself to be able to escape the predicament. All levels of governments in China should formulate practical industrial policies, increase support for water-based paint production and application companies, and improve water-based coatings. Market competitiveness to speed up the transformation and upgrading of the paint industry.

With the advancement in the production technology of waterborne coatings and the improvement of coating processes and equipment, the application of waterborne coatings in the furniture industry has matured. It has been puzzled that there are gaps in the transparency, thickness, hardness, etc. of oil-based paints for furniture companies and oil paints. The problem has now been satisfactorily resolved. In addition, due to the special nature of the product, the time required for the waterborne paint to complete the primer is only half that of the oil paint, the shipment speed is faster, the fire risk level is lower, and the safety production and maintenance cost is also greatly reduced.

In recent years, the sales volume of waterborne wood coatings in China has increased from 11,000 tons to 22,000 tons, with an average annual growth rate of 22%. Even so, the market share of waterborne wood coatings, which represents the best level of water-based paint application, is also very low. Water-based coatings account for only 2% of China's sales of wood coatings.

In fact, in recent years, waterborne coatings are increasingly being recognized by European users with very stringent environmental requirements. In Europe, the rapid promotion of water-based paints, policy support from the government and conscious guidance and advocacy of the media play a key role. Enterprises engaged in the production and application of water-based paints require high equipment investment costs, technological innovation costs, and marketing costs, etc., and the product prices must also be higher than traditional oil paints. The level of awareness among consumers is low, and the government lacks policies. Against the background of slanting, waterborne paints and traditional oil paints are grabbing the market, and the cost pressures they face can be imagined. The healthy development of any emerging industry cannot be separated from the government's effective guidance and policy support.