Harris Paints has become the first paint company in the world to offer decorative paint tinted with advanced dry pigment pearls using a single-base colour system, marking a major breakthrough in the global paint industry.

The new technology was unveiled at a launch event this week, bolstering the impact that Harris Paints and Barbados have been making on the global paint industry since the launch of their Quantum i12 colour system, four years prior.

The Quantum i12 system was a first in Caribbean innovation, allowing a single base to be used to make cleaner, clearer colours that are more accurate and consistent. That technology has since been spun off into The Quantum Corporation, a subsidiary company working on continuous innovation that has added a proprietary AI-driven colour matching engine and now licenses the technology to other paint companies around the world. As a result, paints made with innovation originating in Barbados are now being sold as far away as Italy and Bangladesh, with many more countries coming on board.

The latest extension of the Quantum i12 technology platform is the brand-new Quantum Dry system, which uses innovative solid pigment pearls from global advanced materials and colour solutions experts Vibrantz Technologies, to colour their single-base paint. In contrast to traditional architectural paints that are tinted-to-order with liquid colourants, the Quantum Dry system further enhances accuracy, repeatability and sustainability to the process.

“The beauty of dry tinting is its simplicity,” explains Angelo Vincenzi, co-CEO of The Quantum Corporation. “There are actually a lot of very technical factors required to control liquid colourants precisely to ensure they perform as expected.  Vibrantz Technologies has developed a specialized process that encapsulates pure pigment – without water – into a dry pearl. This makes the Quantum Dry tint system cleaner, simpler and very robust.  We see it as having a lot of future potential”

Dry pigment tinting using pearls has been gaining traction globally in recent years, particularly in Europe, where environmental regulations are becoming increasingly stringent. However, until now, the pearls dry technology has not yet entered the Caribbean and has only been available in traditional multi-base systems.

“Dry tinting is an important direction for the industry,” added Antonio Vasconcellos, co-CEO Quantum Corporation . “Quantum Dry is a more sustainable approach to tinting. By reducing additives, introducing more easily recyclable packaging, and limiting the carbon footprint, the system significantly reduces environmental impact without sacrificing performance. In fact, the pearls allow for even more accurate and repeatable colours due to their specialized dispensing process, which is an excellent build on the already unique Quantum i12 single base approach”.

Colour Delivery Manager at Harris Paints, Don Gooding offered his experience. “The Quantum i12 system has been a game changer allowing us to offer paint retailers substantial operational advantages and improved efficiency such as reduced inventory and storage demand and simpler stock management as well as excellent colour performance standards.  It has simplified and streamlined the colour production process and is delivering better than ever results in colour consistency and colour matching. We are thrilled to be the first paint supplier in the world to partner with Quantum and Vibrantz to access this new dry technology for single base tint systems and look forward to seeing how it will best fit into our infrastructure and footprint going forward.”

Harris Paints will debut dry pigment tinting in its most environmental paint line, Ulttima Pure Zero VOC Interior Flat Emulsion, which will be the first product available tinted with the Quantum Dry system. The system will initially only be available at the company’s Wildey retail location in Barbados.

“We see this as a historic first step and we will be working on a phased roll out to support continued long-term performance, consistency and scalability.  Within the next year we expect to expand our offering to include more paint lines as well as strategically introducing Quantum Dry across our markets” said Luke Ticknor, Senior VP Sales and Marketing at Harris Paints. “This technology is yet another first-to-market innovation for Harris and exemplifies the growing global reach of Harris thanks to Quantum innovation. With Quantum Dry, we are not simply launching a new colour system, but we are helping to shape the future of sustainable paint technology.”

For more information regarding Harris Paints, Quantum i12 technology or the Quantum Dry system, please contact:

Tracy Johnson
‍tracy.johnson@harrispaintsonline.com
+ 1 (284) 262-6527

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