The local paint manufacturing industry is estimated to be a P30-billion industry and players continue to thrive despite the absence of government-approved standards and the threat of imports flooding the market as the full economic integration of ASEAN starts kicking in next year.

 

Enrico Cuisia, senior executive for export of the country's largest paint company Pacific Paints (Boysen) Philippines Inc., told reporters at the National Export Congress 2014 that local paint manufacturers, which number around 40 including those in the provinces, are still trying to craft their own standards together with government agencies and other private standards certifying agencies.

 

Cuisia said the lack of country standards for paints has prevented companies to push their exports to greater heights because they still have to seek permission from a country where they plan to export.

 

"Because we have no local standards, our products have to pass certain standards to qualify for exports. We have to send our products for testing abroad. Aside from being costly, the process is also very tedious," he said.

 

Other countries in ASEAN have already their own standards and with the region's economic integration all set to kick in next year, other ASEAN manufacturers could freely export into the country.

 

Compounding the standards issue is the government's implementation of an old law that put the paint manufacturing sector under the Food and Drugs Administration. Paint manufacturers are already complaining saying FDA is not the right agency to set the standards. At best, paints should be handled by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

 

Cuisia said that FDA, which has no technical expertise on paints, would like every color or code to be registered with them.

 

"How can they do that when they have no muscle? How can you register all color codes when color is infinite," he said.

 

EXPORTS

 

Pacific Paints, which carries its flagship brand Boysen, has been exporting to 16 countries in the US, Europe and Asia. It plans to expand its reach by breaking into the Middle East region to take advantage of product specifiers – the Filipino architects and engineers who work in huge construction projects undertaken by Filipino contractors there. Exports still account for one percent of the company's total sales.

 

But since most of their paints are already water-based, exporting paints would be costly. "It is like exporting water," he said.

 

So, the strategy has been to forge partnerships with local players in other countries where they will provide their technical expertise, Cuisia said.

 

The company was among the pioneers globally to come up with the cleaning agent paint called Boysen "KNOxOUT".

KNOxOUT contains CristalActiv photocatalytic technology, which is ultrafine titanium dioxide, (TiO2) that absorbs energy from light and transforms ordinary water vapor into hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals at the surface of the TiO2.

 

These free radicals, created in billionths of a second, become the reactive species that break down noxious air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) that come into contact with the surface. Harmful NOx gas is converted to nitric acid that is rapidly neutralized by alkaline calcium carbonate particle in the paint, producing harmless quantities of calcium nitrate and negligible amounts of carbon dioxide and water. Calcium nitrate is water soluble and easily removed from the film, leaving a fresh surface ready to engage the next pollutant to come into contact with the film.

 

A great advantage of this photocatalytic reaction is that the ultrafine TiO2 is not consumed in the reaction, but is merely a catalyst that continuously generates free radicals as long as there is sufficient light, air and moisture. This reaction gives the paint self-cleaning and anti-bacterial properties. Thus, KNOxOUT accounts for the bulk of its exports.

 

INDUSTRY

 

According to Cuisia, Pacific Paints accounts for 60-70 percent of the country's premium paint market. Total industry sales have been estimated at P30 billion.

 

"International players have a hard time competing against the local players because we have very good quality but with the ASEAN integration it will be a free for all market and that will test us," he said.

 

The company is also planning to make full use of the Dutch Boy paint plant, which they acquired in preparation for a bigger demand in the region. Dutch Boy, which is also an American brand, is more known in the region than Boysen, he said.

 

The Dutch Boy plant has been rehabilitated to double its capacity to prepare for the ASEAN market. With Dutch Boy, Pacific Paints has now a total of 7 manufacturing plants working on two shifts.

 

Cuisia further noted that the Philippines is the only premium paint market in Asia.

 

"This is because Filipinos learned construction the American way so the choice of products is also American style. You go to Vietnam and they still have the powder paint form which could last for six months only. In the Philippines, paints could last for 3 to five years. In the US, repainting is done in five to 10 years," he said.

 

Overall, Cuisia said the Philippine paint manufacturers will still have edge over foreign brands because they have been the trusted brands for a long time and are of better quality.

 

For Pacific Paints, Cuisia said they have been growing annually even during the Asian and global financial crisis.

 

"We have been steadily growing year on year, mostly at par with the GDP if not higher," he said. The company has not raised prices since 2008.