Consolidation in China’s burgeoning titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment industry is inevitable in the medium term according to leading analyst, Phil Murphy, managing director at TZ Minerals International (TZMI), Australia.
The country’s pigment plans have gone into overdrive in the last two years, a reaction to the rapidly emerging middle class appetite for white goods, automobiles and paint. A changing lifestyle in China is boosting its use for the white pigment, TiO2, with new production and plants are emerging as a result.
“There is no question companies are still planning new plants in China and several new TiO2 pigment lines have been commissioned recently,” said Murphy in an interview with IM.
“The top five to eight producers will dominate, accounting for a significant proportion of installed capacity, and a number of the smaller facilities will be closed.”
The TZMI Congress 2010: Asia in...