Effect pigments add sparkle to everyday life: Atsuko
Nishimagi works in research and development in
Onahama, Japan. Merck has several units there that
produce the successful range of aluminum oxide-based
Xirallic® pigments.
Good growth with mica-based pigments
Due to currency effects, total revenues of the Pigments subdivision increased nominally by 3.4% while organic growth was 7.6%. Pigments achieved substantial success with the strategy of focusing on technologically sophisticated, high-margin products. Growth was generated in all market segments. Core markets of Pigments are the cosmetics, coatings, printing and plastics industries, as well as security applications such as products for brand protection.
Excellent growth was generated by pigments based on the raw material mica, for example the Iriodin® product range for plastics, coatings and printing inks as well as the cosmetics industry. A new product family named Pyrisma™, also based on mica, attracted considerable attention during its debut at the leading European exhibition, the European Coatings Show 2007. These pigments, which were developed in close cooperation with our customers, offer very intense effects and cover an extremely wide color range.
Very strong growth was also achieved with pigments of the Xirallic® range, which are mainly used in automotive paints and were already highly successful in recent years. The range of glass flake pigments was expanded. With their smaller particle size, these pigments offer new application possibilities and new, brilliant color effects. The corresponding pigments for the cosmetics industry are marketed under the brand name Ronastar™. The Miraval® family of products is also based on the same raw material and is used in the industry and technology sector, for example for printing, plastic and coating applications.
New markets entered
Since gaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Candurin® pigments have been sparking considerable interest among customers as special-effect color coatings for foods and pharmaceuticals. The use of Candurin® in pharmaceuticals increases the safety for patients by making it easier for them to distinguish between different tablets and capsules.
With the new products Minatec® 60 CM and Minatec® 51 CM, Merck continued its strategy of continuously launching new developments in both decorative and functional pigments. These new products are used, for example, to prevent the static charging of plastic floor coverings.
Stong position in Europe and Asia
On a regional basis, Pigments recorded strong growth, particularly in Europe. In Asia, Pigments benefited from the boom in emerging industrial economies such as China and India. Brand manufacturers in the cosmetics and personal care sector as well as the food industry are attaching more and more importance worldwide to high-quality, special-effect packaging. This is a means of clearly differentiating themselves from the competiton at the point of sale, for example on supermarket shelves. Here pigments from Merck can help to positively influence consumer purchasing decisions.
