This issue of PCI features the 17th annual listing of the top coatings manufacturers in the world. With the constraints of a more compact magazine and the continued consolidation of the coatings industry, the editors decided this would be the year to cut the list down to the Top-10 global leaders and the Top-25 North American companies. We ranked both groups of companies according to their worldwide 2008 global coatings sales figures. All ranking numbers in red indicate a tie for that placement.

Because of the acquisitions of ICI by AkzoNobel and SigmaKalon by PPG, two spots opened up for the global Top-10 list. Those spots have been filled by Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., a Japanese company specializing in automotive and industrial paints, and Norway-based Jotun, a company specializing in decorative and powder coatings. The top 25 U.S. paint manufacturers have remained amazingly stable during the past year, with almost every company maintaining the position it held in 2008. Despite the global economic downturn, the coatings industry has managed to stay relatively stable. And while few companies posted gains, most companies’ sales figures showed the industry maintaining itself through these challenging economic times.

While the PCI staff made every effort to seek out the top companies in the industry, we may have inadvertently omitted some. Please contact Karen Parker at parkerpcimag@gmail.com if you have interest in being included next year.