Material costs drive up Hempel paint prices

Since January 2016, for example, the cost of copper has risen by 34% and the cost of zinc has gone up by approximately 78%.

“There may be regional differences in some raw material costs, but the overall trend is very clearly up,” said Lars Petersson, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

He added: “We have limited the impact to our customers by working proactively with our suppliers, our R&D and our manufacturing set-up, but, as the trend is continuing, we have no other option than to increase the prices of some of our products.”

Raw materials constitute a major part of the cost of manufacturing coatings for the protective, marine and decorative industries. While Hempel does everything possible to mitigate these cost increases, there is a limit to how much can be absorbed.