Three Coatings Industry Trends: Challenges and Strategies for Future Innovation

Trends drive innovation in today’s world. From pop culture to fashion and finance to manufacturing, nearly every industry is shaped by the latest and greatest trends. The titanium dioxide (TiO₂) market is no exception. The three biggest drivers of change in the TiO₂ coatings space are sustainability, supply chain unrest, and hybridization. Keep reading to learn about the business opportunities with each trend.

Real (Not Hyped) Sustainability:

Environmental sustainability is the responsibility to conserve natural resources and protect global ecosystems to support health and wellbeing for future generations. While this is not a new concept, it has increased momentum and is now a key driver for coatings design and applications. There are several real opportunities to be sustainable, including augmenting transparency in product information, leveraging the supply chain to support company and globally recognized sustainability goals, educating consumers versus relying on sustainability logos, and extending value through social partnerships.

When selecting a supplier, it’s important to consider their ability to produce and leverage fact-based sustainability claims and their capacity to answer key questions. The right supplier will share their knowledge of the impact of their product and the entire value chain it is developed through. They will have a commitment to develop, measure, and actively track sustainability goals. It’s essential to ensure there is consistent engagement across the value chain, so you can be best prepared and develop actions accordingly.

Continued Supply Chain Unrest:

Leading coatings manufacturers are uncovering new ways to translate supply chain disruptions into opportunities for strengthening their product portfolio and customer relationships. By maintaining a commitment to advancing innovation with operational efficiencies and sustainable product design and development, coatings players can stay ahead of the everchanging market. There is also an opportunity to leverage customer feedback and further tailor product and service offerings to meet needs in new ways. Coatings manufacturers can also work to secure supplier relationships that enable both stability and flexibility.

When selecting a supplier, some things to consider include a product portfolio range to meet specific application needs and empower formulation flexibility, technical capabilities, and application knowledge to support new product ideation, formulation development, and problem solving. It’s essential to have a supplier that not only has the capacity to manage multiple initiatives, but also the commitment to innovative projects during dynamic environments. Other considerations include product quality consistency, a track record for delivering on supply security, and a level and range of communications and commercial routes that meet your business needs.

Hybridization:

The last trend emerging in the coatings industry is hybridization, or the generation of self-standing innovations, products, and ideas that develop from seemingly, unrelated, or even polar, concepts. The hybridization effect is causing coatings to work harder than ever to meet customers’ increasing diverse demands. As a result, we see coatings playing a role by providing integrated functionality, durability for multi-use, efficient and simple home energy saving solutions, and healthy living solutions such as easy clean, low maintenance surfaces.

When considering a coatings supplier, it’s important to consider the availability of pigments designed for specific application needs, for example: opacity, durability, gloss, and coverage. The ability to simplify an application experience, regulatory compliance and foresight, and collaboration to unlock hidden value are all signs you have the right supplier.

Partnering for Your Future Success:

Chemours is one of the world's largest manufacturers of titanium dioxide using industry-leading processes, technology, and safety standards for almost a century. We’re committed to building a more colorful, cleaner, and capable world with Ti-Pure™ titanium dioxide, all while working towards bringing responsible chemistry to life. Through our 2030 Corporate Responsibility Commitment (CRC) goals, Chemours is striving to unite, inspire, and empower our workforce to meet the world’s growing demand for greater equity and safer, more sustainable products. It’s our commitment to our communities and the world we operate in.

In line with our 2030 goals, we’ve recently instituted a new, innovation center, The Chemours Discovery Hub, on the University of Delaware's Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. This facility is state-of-the-art, sustainable, houses more than 300 of our top researchers and scientists and is our investment in innovative young minds.

At Chemours, we prioritize our customers and their business needs. Our technical and marketing teams collaborate with our customers to enhance foresight and understanding of the latest industry trends, provide stability through uncertainty, and enhance flexibility to respond and prosper through evolving market dynamics. We believe knowledge is power, and we’re committed to sharing it all with you. Through our online eCommerce solution, the Ti-Pure™ Flex Portal, we’ll keep you up to date on supply and help answer your questions. With Flex, you can view market-based pricing with up to 6-month lead times, place and modify orders online, and review order history 24/7.