After an absence of two years, the Eurocolour International Technical Conference resumed its in-person format last month in Freiberg, Germany, June 27-29. The Conference was led by Eurocolour Board Chair Stefan Suetterlin and Executive Director Dr. Heike Liewald, and attended by 40 participants representing Europe, the United Kingdom, and United States.
The economic message coming from Europe was quite sobering. High inflation, persisting supply chain disruption, continued devaluation of the Euro, and raw materials shortages have all contributed to a flat economic outlook over the next 12 months. At the same time, EU pigments manufacturers and pigments processors have a long-term optimistic outlook, based on continued growth in customer demand. Global industry consolidations – Sun Chemical, Heubach, Vibrantz – also play a role in economic projections for the EU pigments industry.
Presentations and discussions during the Conference revolved around:
- Increased velocity of regulatory initiatives by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Commission, and individual Member States (i.e., France, Belgium, Germany).
- European companies, through participation in chemical consortiums, have been forced to expend millions of Euros to satisfy new toxicological data study demands from ECHA for continuing compliance for EU REACH chemicals dossiers.
- Millions of Euros have been invested by European pigments companies to generate additional toxicological data for ECHA.
- Conference attendees also emphasized another layer of regulatory requirements being developed as part of the EU Green Deal, impacting pigments, TiO2, Silica, and other substances.
- European regulators are also implementing new requirements and restrictions for nanomaterials under EU REACH.
- The EU definition for nanomaterials is in direct conflict with US EPA definition and reporting requirements.
CPMA Executive Director Dave Wawer presented at the conference, focusing on North American regulations and legislation impacting the color pigments value chain. His presentation topics included:
- Proposed nanomaterials regulations in Canada,
- US EPA risk management for C.I. Pigment Violet 29,
- North American supply chain disruptions,
- US EPA TSCA Inventory Correction Policy, and
- The CPMA Particle Size Study Project for C.I. Pigment Violet 29.
Finally, the good news from Europe, in what is otherwise considered a bleak outlook for chemical substances, is the European Chemicals Agency`s withdrawal of Substance Evaluation requirements for Pigment Violet 29 and Pigment Red 179.
