World demand for dyes and organic pigments to touch $10.6 billion in 2008

According to a study on dyes & organic pigments, the worldwide market for organic colorants (dyes and organic pigments) is projected to increase to $10.6 billion in 2008 from 4.9 percent annually in 2003.

Generally, the dyestuff industry comprises three sub-segments: dyes, pigments, and intermediates. The dye intermediates are petroleum downstream products further processed into finished dyes and pigments. These are important sources in major industries like textiles, plastics, paints, paper and printing inks, leather, packaging, etc. Robot Tip.

Leading players in dyes

Textile dyes have been used since the Bronze Age. They also constitute a prototype 21st-century specialty chemicals market. Three large manufacturers, namely DyStar, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and Clariant are leaders in the dyes market. The biggest, DyStar, was established in a series of mergers of some of Europe’s leading textile dye businesses in the 1990s. Worldwide excess capacity and price burden, fueled by the immediate growth of Asian manufacturers, have shifted most dyestuff chemistries into commodities. Regulatory barriers have nearly stopped the progress of the opening of fundamentally new dyestuffs. Despite this, DyStar, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and Clariant have grown with innovative products over the past ten years. The unique chemistry is set to endure reactive and dispersant dyes and older dyestuffs like sulfur dyes.

In 2001, the biggest individual company market shares in colorant production were DyStar (23%), Ciba (14%), Clariant (7%), Yorkshire Group (5%), Japanese (5%), and other traditional groups (3%)., and various dyestuff manufacturers comprise the largest group at 43%.

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The only way to grow and to keep Asian bulk dyestuff manufacturers at bay, they say, comes straight out of specialty chemicals strategy to distinguish product offerings through collaborative work with customers and charge a premium price for particular products that gives a perfect solution. This is an effective method that these suppliers produce in China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, the U.S., and Europe. Most textile producers aim to maintain uniform quality and product performance worldwide.

Europe faces an overcapacity of 30 to 40 percent from Asia, especially China. However, experts believe that Asian manufacturers manufacture a limited number of low-cost, basic dyestuffs. Most experts in this field believe that growth lies in innovation and differentiation. Of the 180,000-ton-per-year worldwide market for dispersed dyes, specialty dyes consist only about 5,000 tons.

DyStar is a major manufacturer of reactive dyes developed 50 years ago at ICI. Platinum Equity recently purchased DyStar, which comprises the original ICI’s dyes business and those of Bayer, BASF, and Hoechst. DyStar has developed deep-shade dyes for polyesters. New chemistries are emerging for controlling staining from azo and anthraquinone dyes, including thiophene-based azo dyes. DyStar has also developed benzodifuranone dyes for heavy red shades. It modified azo dyes to keep up their performance when applied with the new detergents. The company also set up secrecy agreements with leading detergent producers to test unique detergent chemistry and proactively do the required dye reformulation. It has added several reactive groups in its fluoroaromatic Levafix CA reactive dyes. The company has also strengthened the dye’s chromophore or color component for improved lightfastness.

Recently, DyStar has made a new red dye for cellulosic fibers, Indanthrene Deep Red C-FR Plus, which is a unique specialty dye for medium to heavy shades of red and Bordeaux, suitable for the coloration of cellulosic on continuous and yarn dyeing units as well as cellulosic/polyamide blends. DyStar Textilfarben GmbH has also introduced the classic cold pad batch dyeing process (cpb). Key developments in mean pad batch technology were started in 1957 and are still ongoing:

Development of dosing pumps (Hoechst)

Introduction of sodium silicate as a fixing alkali (Hoechst)

Development of microwave and oven lab fixation method (Hoechst)

Mathematical determination of pad liquor stability under practical conditions (Hoechst) —
Optidye CR (DyStar)

Development of silicate-free alkali systems (DyStar)

The dyestuffs industry in China

In the first half of 2005, China gained 4 percent in dyes and 11 percent in organic pigment output. A report stated that China’s demand for paints and pigments is expected to increase by 12 percent annually by 2008, and production of dyes and pigments will rise by 13 percent annually by 2008.

According to statistics, in 2004, the production volume of dyeing stuff and pigments in China reached 598,300 tons and 143,600 tons, an increment of 10.4 percent and 13.3 percent over the previous year. The total imports and exports of dyeing stuff and pigments were projected to be 291,200 tons and 138,800 tons, an increase of 10.64 percent and 16.15 percent over the previous year. Hence, China has developed to be a large manufacturer, consumer, and dealer of dyeing materials, pigments, and auxiliaries.