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The introduction of new products becomes increasingly more expensive, and the newer the product the greater the risk. In the chemical industry generally, there appears to be no real incentive these days to take large risks. Indeed, several of the large chemical companies have indicated that they will not undertake dramatically new programmes in the foreseeable future. Rather they will concentrate on the products and lines of business with which they are familiar and will try to do a better job in product control, technical service, marketing, and distribution. The general feeling, in the coatings industry, is that there will be many variations on old themes but very few new paints.

The trend towards fewer new proprietary products commented on in previous Coatings Updates continues. As the cost of introducing new products as well as the cost of the development to formulate them increases, companies try more and more to capitalize on what they have. This is true today throughout the chemical industry generally. It is a natural consequence of two factors. One is inflation; the other is the increasing allocation of R & D funds to projects necessitated by government regulations. This trend can be expected to continue for some time, although it will be tempered by the inevitable creation of new opportunities in the marketplace and also by needs which arise in the marketplace because of changing environment and changing consumer demands. An obvious example of the latter is the need for pollution‐free coatings which in its own way is creating more than a minor revolution in the coatings industry.