[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Noroo Paint announced on Wednesday that it would cease sales of its automotive refinishing paint, Watercolor Plus, following discussions with the Ministry of Environment.


In December of last year, the Ministry of Environment requested Noroo Paint to recall all Watercolor Plus products based on a voluntary agreement established in 2022.


The move came after complaints from automotive refinishing paint manufacturers, including Kangnam Jevisco, Samhwa Paints, Axalta Coating Systems, Chokwang Paint, KCC, and PPG Korea, who argued that Noroo Paint’s Watercolor Plus was not water-based but essentially a solvent-based product.


In August 2022, the Ministry of Environment signed a voluntary agreement with nine paint manufacturers, including Noroo Paint, to promote the transition to water-based paints and eliminate the distribution of solvent-based products.


The agreement focuses on reducing the use of solvent-based automotive refinishing paints, which contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to ozone formation during summer, and replacing them with water-based paints with lower VOC content.


However, Noroo Paint stated that its own tests, conducted using the same methods as the Ministry’s, found no quality issues with Watercolor Plus.


The company reported that tests using standard water-based binders and dedicated thinners resulted in a color difference value of 0.68, affirming the product's compliance.


Moving forward, Noroo Paint plans to establish systems to strengthen distribution management.


The company will implement a distribution tracking system and completely halt the supply of industrial resin products to automotive refinishing dealerships.


Additionally, Noroo Paint will expand its water-based paint production capacity by building an automated smart factory production line at its Pyeongtaek plant and investing 3 billion KRW (approximately 30 million USD) to distribute water-based color chips and enhance digital color mixing systems.

 

 

 

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