TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Coatings
An Interview with Marc Chan, Marketing Manager at Clariant for Industrial and Consumer Specialties
Clariant Coatings has realized a refocus in its portfolio to deliver value in performance, sustainability and innovation to the paints and coatings market. As the demand for improved effects and increase in green technology becomes more prevalent, Clariant has committed to a drive to lead the industry in carbon-negative solutions.
We have sat down with Marc Chan, Clariant’s North American Marketing Manager from the Industrial and Consumer Specialties business unit to discuss Clariant’s vision, strategy, and innovation as they position to be at the forefront of performance and sustainability.
#1 - For the past year, Clariant has been extremely visible in social media and trade journals with the Beyond Color campaign. What is behind Beyond Color?
Beyond Color began with the question, “
What will life after the divestment of our Pigments business unit look like?” To position ourselves as the legacy at Clariant in the coatings industry, it was critical that we broadly capture their attention. With that, we defined the performance aspects that the Coatings technology portfolio demonstrates within our industry.
Leveraging targeted social media and trade journal outreach we asked the industry to visualize performance Beyond Color.
- What are the drivers that enhance color strength?
- What are the materials that provide durability in your coatings?
- How stable are your paints?
Many aspects go into a coating’s formulation, Beyond Color was our platform to display Clariant’s capabilities to innovate sustainably and continue to provide performance.
#2 - What inspires Clariant to bring innovation and technology to the coatings market?
The challenge of the industry and consumer demands is what I feel drives our R&D professionals to bring technology forward. Understanding the complexities of the value chain, the needs of the consumer, the evolution of regulations to adhere to safer environmental standards are all factors that Clariant takes into consideration in product development. As a marketing professional, I take responsibility to offer these insights to our innovators so that
we can continue creating chemistries that are ahead of the emerging trends and demands.
#3 - What does Clariant Coatings have in store for 2022?
2022 will be an exciting year for technology at Clariant Coatings. At the American Coatings Show, we will showcase several advances in
wetting and
dispersing materials, as well reactive
emulsifiers to increase performance in waterborne coatings. Keep an eye out for our latest digital measures to improve your coatings formulations, I can’t divulge too much just yet, but do stop by Booth 2846 to discover more. As well Clariant has just launched our 100% bio-based, carbon-negative ethoxylated derivative VITA Range that will alter the path in formulating green materials in our industry.
#4 - How does Clariant address the sustainability demands of today’s market?
With the launch of the 100% Bio-Based VITA range of
surfactants,
polyethylene glycols and other EODs, we have impacted the means to reduce the RCI index of the industry’s formulations. As these materials are based on corn, and cane sugar and are processed in an isolated facility, they offer a clear reduction of CO
2 effect in the overall manufactured product. This allows companies to add to the bio-contribution of the material as well as reduce emissions for Scope 3 in the UN-GHG platform.
Clariant Coatings continues to innovate materials to meet our internal Ecotain® label. Ecotain attends to 36 dimensions of sustainability in social, environmental and economic bearing. These products exceed sustainability market standards and have the best-in-class performance to contribute to the sustainability efforts of Clariant and our customers.
#5 - What are some of the novel products that Clariant has in its portfolio that differentiate in today’s competitive landscape?
As I mentioned, the VITA range is not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative offers today’s industry a phenomenal means to drastically affect the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Their performance is equivalent to their petroleum-based counterparts and offers reassurance that global sustainability commitments can be exceeded. The range includes multiple EO grades of alcohol ethoxylates, polyethylene glycols, castor oil ethoxylates, and sorbitan esters.
Another product that I see as changing the game in pigment concentrates is
Dispersogen® PLF 100. Its ability to increase pigment load and minimally affect viscosity is an enormous advantage in simplifying formulations and minimizing modifiers. Additionally, PLF 100 offers significant foam reduction during processing, leading to improved output and less waste. The
storage stability and advanced effects on blocking and leaching add to the value of this product that is also very compatible with organic, inorganic, and carbon black pigment systems.
Clariant's Product Range
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About Marc Chan
Marc Chan has been a professional in the specialty chemical industry for 28 years, with the past 15 focused on the paints and coatings industry. Marc currently works for Clariant Coatings as the North American Marketing Manager focusing on the trends, and evolution of the industry and applying his experience to guide innovation and position Clariant’s portfolio to align with the market. Marc was recently chosen as a Board Member for the Eastern Coatings Show and is excited to engage with the coatings community in this new function as well.