Colourful future for PAINT TECHNOLOGISTS

With the paint industry growing twice as fast as India's GDP and the automobile and construction industries on a roll, job opportunities for qualified paint technologists are multiplying

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With the infrastructure and construction industries belatedly gathering unprecedented momentum, India's booming paints manufacturing and service industry (annual sales: Rs.1 lakh crore) offers great career opportunities, particularly for paint technologists. Set to take off in a big way (India’s per capita consumption of paint is less than 5 kg against more than 25-30 kg in developed countries), the paint industry is expected to show at least twice the growth of India’s GDP in coming years.

Any surface — metallic or otherwise — needs a protective coating, referred to as ‘paint technology application’. This consists of a combination of processes: chemical treatment followed by a decorative layer (paint). Paint technology entails understanding the chemistry of each ingredient (including resin, polymers, and pigments) constituting paint. The job of paint technologists is to formulate paints for differing needs and requirements. For instance, paints used for aircraft vary from those used for motor cars and in domestic households.

Paint technologists formulate appropriately mixed paints and resin (a raw material) for the purpose of new product development, product upgradation, and new applications development.