Visions - Spring 2008 - 10

A Look at SCOA Automotive Related Businesses T H E J U I C E (Continued from page 4) Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) consume less gas than regular vehicles and are more environmentally friendly. In the U.S. alone, the percentages of HEV sales numbers grow higher each year. The 9,500 hybrid cars sold in the year 2000 increased into 88,000 sales by the year 2004. Jump to 2007, where sales increased to 345,000 hybrids, and 2008 looks like it will be another record breaking year. Out of all the hybrid car manufacturers, Toyota has emerged as the market leader; 76% of US hybrid sales were sales of Toyota’s hybrid cars. According to a marketing report by J.D. Power & Associates, predicted sales of hybrids will reach roughly 535,000 vehicles in two years; that means by the year 2010, three out of every one hundred cars on U.S roads will be hybrids. SCOA’s Non-ferrous Metals Unit has been providing battery materials for two types of hybrid vehicle batteries: the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery and the lithium iron (Li-Iron) battery. A majority of HEV batteries are NiMH batteries. This is a rechargeable battery similar to a nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery, but with a hydrogenabsorbing alloy for the anode instead of NiCd. A NiMH battery can have two to three times the capacity of an equivalent size NiCd, and the ability to hold the charge is not significantly affected. However, compared to the lithium iron battery, the volumetric energy density is lower, and self-discharge is higher. This battery is considered a very safe product in the overall marketplace, but keeping costs down is becoming difficult; the price of raw nickel has increased while this market segment has reached its maximization. The other battery option is the Li-Iron battery. Many portable consumer electronic devices use lithium rechargeable batteries, and they are employed widely as the standard battery within that industry. One of lithium rechargeable batteries’ benefits is that it doesn’t lose power due to lack of use. SCOA predicts that Li-Iron batteries will eventually be the main batteries for HEVs because of their reliability, but some automakers are postponing their switch to this technology until more research and development takes place. T H E C O L O R (Continued from page 5) Currently in North America, the color blue is the third most popular car color at 12 percent of the total automotive market. Blue continues to grow at a faster pace because of a shift in aesthetic trends to perceived “earth-friendly” car colors. In the current lexicon, blue continues to symbolize nature and peace, and is considered to be a psychologically soothing color. SCOA’s Performance Chemicals Unit continues to facilitate the process by which the color blue plays a part in the look of an automobile. In this process, SCOA acquires raw materials from Sanyo Color in Japan, and in turn supplies them to Sun Chemical. These raw materials are used to manufacture blue pigments, which are then sold to Dupont and PPG industries, companies that facilitate the final paint formulation sold to the automotive industry. These companies help build a color scheme for several major American car manufacturers through supplying exterior paint and interior design elements. Having a color selected for use on an automotive model usually means long-term business stability because the color continues to be a requirement for new models, and consequentially used in the automotive repair market when paint & body repair needs arise. SCOA’s Performance Chemicals Division has been supplying these products for over 10 years, with the business increases and decreases based on the current color fashion. Fortunately, statistics show an increase in the demand and interest in the color blue for car exteriors and interiors, resulting in nearly $2 million in 2007 sales for this pigment. 10 visions Spring | Summer 2008

Visions - Spring 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Visions - Spring 2008