‘No Mix’ the perfect match from Concept Paints

Concept Paints will be using the AAAA’s Collision Repair Expo in Melbourne next May to launch a low VOC basecoat it says will help the auto refinish industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

When looking for a more sustainable approach to running a paint shop, St Marys paint manufacturer Concept Paints believes it has the product to deliver the goods, without having to go waterborne.

Concept Paints produces the No Mix Low VOC system, which helps painters achieve a more environmentally friendly approach to their work.

While all the industry talk has been pointing to government intervention that will see the use of waterborne paints become law, Concept Paints international sales manager Tony Phipps and marketing manager Tony Di Matteo believe that will not be the case.

Phipps believes governments will mandate VOC levels, but they will not mandate technology. “Water is not the only way to address VOCs,” he said.

And they should know. The company is presently exporting its low VOC paint technology into the US, including California, and meeting that state’s stringent requirements for environmental protection.

The pair described breaking into the US market as a milestone for the Australian manufacturer.

“We are sending technology to the US and was doing the job there,” Di Matteo said.
Concept Paints is placing its products into North America through a joint venture with US paint company Transtar. This includes the US, Canada and parts of South America and the joint venture already has more than 250 distributors in the US alone.

The Americas are not the only markets Concept Paints has made inroads into, with the products selling well in New Zealand, Asia and the South Pacific, and other markets are being actively pursued.

Di Matteo said the system was developed in Australia, from the ground up, including the bottle and handle, to produce a system that does not require agitating.

From a casual conversation about development of new products, Concept Paints owner Joseph Kaltoum, a chemist, took four years to develop a system that provided an alternative to the mix system.

The result was Kaltoum’s technology that stops the components of the paint from settling.
The No Mix system was launched in Australia in October 2004 and today the technology is performing brilliantly, making its way into new markets globally. It has been showcased at SEMA and NACE in the US.

The product was then introduced to the US market through Transtar, and has met all expectations, the company said.

However, as laws and regulations change, the team at Concept Paints realised a need for a low VOC product in the No Mix range to meet future VOC reduction targets.
This was especially true for the Californian market, where lawmakers were bringing in environmental laws that would affect the industry.

However, these laws recognised some exempt solvents, and set limitation on how much VOC is acceptable.

According to Tony Phipps, this decision was taken after the Californian legislators looked at what had happened in Europe.

The effect of the introduction of waterborne paint in European resulted in a huge shift in the industry, which saw some businesses deciding the time was right  for certain shops to exit the industry entirely.

Phipps said the Californians were keen to address a more sustainable approach for the auto refinishing industry and seemed to have taking a different approach to that of the Europeans, which would see their legislation as being more sustainable.

Under the Californian laws, low VOC solvent paints are acceptable if they produce 3.5 pounds per gallon, equal to 420 grams per litre or less, of VOCs. Concept Paints’ No Mix Low VOC product has averaged 2.6 pounds per gallon, well under the Californian law.

The best thing that the No Mix Low VOC paint system gives users, according to Phipps and Di Matteo, is that paint shops do not have to adjust or alter their existing operating system. Converting to waterborne paints means having to modify booths and install additional equipment, and increased operating costs.

“There’s no need for blowers and no need for a new booth,” Di Matteo said.
Concept Paints is now actively involved in introducing the low VOC system in Australia and says it has the complete system to comply with low VOC outputs, including primers and clears, and is the only company to have the low VOC, non-agitation system.

“People are coming to Concept Paints because they like the concept of something fast and efficient, all designed to help body shops become more profitable in this day an age,” Phipps said.

“We want people to visit us at the AAAA show, and discover what products we have available and the value we bring to the market place these days,” Di Matteo said.
The AAAA display will feature live demonstrations of the product.