Communication and Flexibility: Top Offerings by Color and Appearance Equipment Manufacturers

By Cynthia Challener

The lackluster economy has affected the coatings market as it has most sectors of the chemical industry. To maintain a competitive position in the marketplace, coatings producers must find a means of differentiating their products. Color and appearance are two characteristics that coatings manufacturers can use to do so.

Globalization and consolidation within the coatings industry have forced coatings manufacturers to manage with widely varying color and appearance measurement systems. Demands for more specific data management by suppliers have also placed additional stress on the systems used by coatings producers for tracking color and appearance.

Equipment manufacturers have jumped on the opportunity to help coatings manufacturers address these issues by introducing several new systems to the market. Other companies have launched portable devices that enable coatings manufacturers to evaluate color and appearance wherever it is needed. Some companies have also developed devices that help purchasers of coatings measure color and appearance.