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LITTLE FALLS,
NJ, November 19, 2007 – The recent announcement
by Medicare and Medicaid that they will no longer
reimburse expenses related to most hospital-acquired
infections has created opportunity for companies
in the paint and coatings industries to sell antimicrobial
coatings, according to analysts at Kline,
a worldwide consulting and research firm.
Coatings added to paint that kill molds and/or
bacteria are clearly advantageous for use in hospitals,
locker rooms, schools, and other public areas.
“About 5 to 10 percent of patients get an infection
while they are in the hospital, at an average
extra cost of $15,000 per patient,” says Nancy
Mills, FlashPoint project manager. “Antimicrobial
smart coatings on floors and walls will not completely
solve the problem, but they will go a long way
toward reducing it.”
Smart coatings––coatings that respond to external
stimuli in their environment––are the focus of
Smart Coatings and Smart Opportunities
in Antimicrobial,
Automotive,
and Construction Applications, a
new FlashPoint report from Kline. Many smart coatings
are complex integrations of traditional coatings
with nanotechnology. Smart coatings cover numerous
applications, but Kline’s report focuses on three
that are particularly interesting for companies
along the coatings and pigments value chain: antimicrobial
coatings, cool paint, and smart glass.
Whereas demand for antimicrobial smart coatings
is growing along with awareness of the problem,
legislation may drive the market for cool paint
for automobiles. On hot days, cool paint reflects
more heat so a car’s air conditioning system use
less energy for cooling, resulting in lower fuel
consumption and lower emissions. Cool paint is
likely to be mandated for use in new cars in California
by 2010, and the low cost of using cool paint
on new vehicles makes this smart coating application
a good choice for energy savings both nationally
and globally.
Kline’s FlashPoint series helps clients make
critical decisions about how to respond to market
opportunities and issues as they unfold. In the
smart coatings report, Kline states that opportunities
are present at different levels of the value chain
for each application, and participating companies
must carefully choose their strategy. For more
information about this report, visit www.klinegroup.com/reports/f0707.asp.
About Kline
Kline is a worldwide consulting and
research firm dedicated to providing the kind
of insight and knowledge that helps companies
find a clear path to success. The firm has served
the management consulting and market research
needs of organizations in the chemicals, materials,
energy, life sciences, and consumer products industries
for nearly 50 years. For more information, visit
www.KlineGroup.com.
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