Phenalkamine curing agents, derived from the cashew nutshell liquid, provide outstanding anti-corrosion properties to epoxy coatings.
The only way for a western company to maintain or possibly gain some market share is to be innovative, through simplifying the application process, and to participate in a more stringent environmental friendly program while keeping quality high.
Quality can not be ignored, as it increasingly becomes a more important driver for the industry. New regulations on environmental issues1 and for safer ships2 will become increasingly stringent, thus requiring new technologies and skilled workers. Countries that lead in these new technologies will likely remain in the market and increase their market share.
The ship building industry has already moved to Asia. While South Korea and Japan still dominate the ship building market, China is getting involved and will be a major player in the future. The market share for U.S. and European shipyards has shrunk tremendously.