The price of raw materials is soaring
The cost of components used in marine paints and resins used in shipyards has been increasing over the past two years. According to ICIS Pricing and Technon Orbichem, the cost of epoxy has increased by 20% in Europe and North America and by 58% in Asia and the Middle East. At the same time, the price of zinc has risen almost 15% on the London Metal Exchange. "There are regional differences, but prices are clearly rising globally," says Michael Hansen, vice president and sales manager of paint and coatings manufacturer Hempel.
Hempel raises prices
In a statement released on February 26, 2018, Michael Hansen announced a price increase for Hempel products. "We have done our best in recent months to absorb these price increases and limit the effect on our customers. We are working closely with our suppliers, our R&D and our production departments, but rising [raw material] prices are a reality and the trend clearly continues. We have no option but to increase prices on some of our products."
Soromap plays on productivity
For Gregory Florin, in charge of exports for the Charente-based paint producer Soromap, price variations can still be absorbed. "We have seen increases on some components. But it remains within an acceptable range. We have increased our prices by a few percent. It's up to us to figure it out and recover the margin through productivity gains. On the other hand, the cost of marketing authorizations, linked to the new European regulations on biocides, which can reach 400,000 euros over 3 years, has a real impact. Some may want to pass it on to raw materials."
Resoltech: "You can't change prices every month"
Jimmy Renaut, head of sales in France for Resoltech, a French producer of resins for the nautical industry, insists on the difficulty for professionals to have a long-term vision. "With the closure of 3 Chinese factories of epichlorohydrin, the main component of epoxy, world production has decreased by half. The increase in demand in Asia is pushing European producers to deliver to Asia at a higher price. Visibility is very difficult today. For the moment we are playing on our margin, but we will have to change our prices by about 10% in March. For all that, we can't afford to change prices every month!"
