Serina Trading

20/10/2025

What’s the Big Deal About Lead?

Lead is a heavy metal and is toxic to humans, especially children. We’ve all heard the warnings about lead in paint—don’t chew the windowsills, don’t sand old furniture without a mask, and don’t repaint your baby’s room with leftovers from the garage. So authorities have put legislation in place, and responsibility falls on paint manufacturers to comply.

Read the article for more information -

Wow – I can’t believe it’s July already. Where did half the year go? I hope you are keeping warm in this chilly weather.

13/10/2025

Have you ever found yourself staring at a mineral data sheet, feeling overwhelmed by the technical jargon and numbers? Don't worry – you're not alone!

In this article, we'll uncover some hidden gems of information that can help you make sense of these complex documents. Whether you're in the paint industry, working with fillers and extenders, or just curious about mineral properties, these insights should prove invaluable.

Have you ever found yourself staring at a mineral data sheet, feeling overwhelmed by the technical jargon and numbers? Don't worry – you're not alone! In this article, we'll uncover some hidden gems of information that can help you make sense of these complex documents. Whether you're in the paint...

17/12/2024

2024 has been another challenging year. It started quite well, then the SA election in May caused uncertainty, which slowed production in many industries. There has been little in terms of fireworks since then.

Some optimism is around, however, with lowering interest rates and more political stability, so I remain hopeful for better days in 2025.

Here at Serina we’ve continued our quest to make our customer’s lives easier by offering trustworthy products, good service and imparting useful technical information.

1️⃣ Our first Newsletter looked into how one measures the pH of a Mineral. If you missed it, you can read it again here -> https://lnkd.in/g7TnDGS

2️⃣ Then we explored the difference between a Hydrophobic and a Hydrophilic filler, which you can read again here -> https://lnkd.in/dinVuiMp

3️⃣ We also announced the creation of our new Youtube channel, where we’ve started adding videos with technical content. We hope this will grow into a useful resource. A place you can go to for technical info about fillers and extenders. You may also find it useful to use for staff training. https://lnkd.in/dW3rhQ_N

4️⃣ We have uploaded the following two presentations which were presented as OCCA Webinars this year:

➡️ Understanding data sheets
A new employee has often not been trained to understand data sheets. This presentation explains several of the important parameters on the data sheets of minerals and fillers. It explores how to unlock the following “secrets” that can be found in the data:

- How pure is it? Has the product been diluted to make it cheaper?
- Is this product calcined?
- Any upsizing opportunities?
- How white is it?
- How yellow is it?
- Will it give good scrub resistance?

➡️ TiO2 – a Comprehensive introduction
This video by Andy White of FP Pigments, gives a comprehensive introduction and overview of TiO2 in coatings, with a few comments at the end about where he thinks the TiO2 price is going in 2025.

I trust you will find these videos a useful technical resource for you and your team.

Wishing you Happy Holidays and a very good rest!
Warmest regards,

Jenny Jay - Managing Director
SERINA TRADING

05/12/2024

We often hear the word “hydrophobic” bandied around. Well surprise, surprise, it means just what you think it means – water-hating. Or to be more precise; “tending to repel or fail to mix with water”.

The opposite is a word used less often: hydrophylic. Something is hydrophilic if it mixes easily with water.

This has to do with how well the mineral “wets” in water. White mineral fillers are generally not soluble, so they do not dissolve. Rather, the particles disperse in the water. The solid particles separate from each other and are suspended in the water, sometimes with the aid of a dispersant.

Read more

One good thing about the quiet season is it gives us time to do those things we’ve left on the back burner, like doing product trials (or writing newsletters!)

24/06/2024

Why is the consistent quality of raw materials so important?
The short answer is it simply makes our lives easier, whether we are the customer, the distributor, or the producer.

Customer Point of view
Consistent quality of input raws means reliability and no headaches. It means that you get consistent, predictable results. This also means that there is less chance of any comebacks or complaints from customers.

Distributor Point of View
How does a distributor ensure reliability and consistency of their products?
As a trading company, we are keenly aware of how important this is. We're only as good as the products we sell. So choosing each supplier is critical. What we need is no comebacks. We need reliable quality and we need to trust the product and the supplier.

So these are the things we look for when choosing suppliers:

1. ISO-Accreditation. This means that they control all aspects of the process to produce the product. Every batch is measured and controlled, to make sure it is in specification. This ensures traceability.

2. Technical Data Sheets must be available for every product, which lays down its parameters and specifications.

3. A Certificate Of Analysis must be available for every batch. This is the evidence that each batch has been tested to make sure that it meets the specifications, and no out-of-spec batches leave the factory.

4. Traceability is so important to us that we prefer to have the supplier's name and details on the Certificate of Analysis and on the bags. This way the customer knows who produced it, what the batch number and production date was, which parameters were measured and what the results were.

Producer Point of View
So what sort of things does the manufacturer put in place to ensure a consistent and reliable product?
First of all, they must generate a technical data sheet with the parameters on it that are important for that industry. For example, particle size, whiteness, moisture content and chemical composition.
The producer needs to ensure that they have the equipment to measure the parameters, and that the equipment is calibrated and working efficiently. Then they need to measure every batch for the important parameters and ensure that they stay within the acceptable range, otherwise the batch is rejected. A Certificate of Analysis will then accompany every batch reflecting the test results, plus the batch number, production date, and expiry date.
The original manufacturer must remain aware that he is the one responsible for product quality and for product liability.

So when a supplier is meeting these requirements, you can be confident that the quality of the product supplied is consistent. This means no headaches, and you can get on with other tasks without worrying about your raw materials.

16/05/2024

We're thrilled to announce that Serina Trading will be at the Coatings for Africa exhibition in Johannesburg from June 19-21! 🎨✨
The Coatings Group

Come find us at stand D05!

We specialise in supplying top-notch fillers and extenders for the paint and coatings industry. Whether it’s talc, calcium carbonate, or kaolin, our products are designed to boost the performance, durability, and aesthetics of your coatings.

Why visit us? Because we’re passionate about what we do and eager to share how our sustainable, innovative materials can benefit your business. Plus, it’s always great to connect and chat in person!

Grab your free tickets through the link below and come say hi! We can’t wait to see you there! 🎟️👇

https://lnkd.in/dJCMpzuW

See you soon in Johannesburg! 🏙️

09/04/2024

April already, can you believe it - where have the weeks gone?

So, you get the data sheet from your filler supplier and you see a pH value reported on it. But how can a solid substance have a pH, and how is it measured? We know that we can measure the pH of an aqueous solution using a pH meter or litmus paper, but how do you measure the pH of a solid mineral such as kaolin?

Let's look at how to measure the pH of a mineral.

Check out the various kaolin grades we offer here https://kaolin.co.za/products/kaolin.html

24/10/2023

Is DUST getting up your nose?

Working with fine powders can literally mean a lot of dust up your nose. Do you sometimes feel this problem is getting out of hand?

Dust in the air usually means workers need to wear dust masks, which can cause discomfort and dissatisfaction. The number of worker complaints starts to rise and can even lead to a general strike, if the dust problem gets too bad.

There is also the more sinister threat of silicosis. This is a disease of the lungs that can result from lengthy exposure to breathing fine silica dust. Although a water-washed kaolin contains virtually no free silica, many other fillers do contain some free silica as an impurity, which workers could be inhaling when conditions are very dusty. The worst-case scenario for managers is the nasty threat of lawsuits if the situation degenerates. What can we do about dust, then?

Read article https://preview.mailerlite.com/p0f9g7v1n0

22/08/2023

A recent experience prompted a question: What truly characterizes outstanding service?

From timely responses to effective complaint handling, these aspects shape memorable customer experiences.

Read the full article https://preview.mailerlite.com/g4k6m7p9h1

Your thoughts are important. Let's discuss!

23/05/2023

Are abrasive fillers wearing your equipment away?

Whew, we thought that Loadshedding was our main challenge these days. Now we also have to worry about the weaker rand caused by the supplies-to-Russia scandal. Just another thing to test our resilience, I guess.

The other day a client complained that even though he had shopped around for a cheaper filler to save on costs, he never expected high wear on his machinery to eat a hole in his profits.

How can you tell if a filler is going to be abrasive or not? A good starting point is the Mohs hardness scale, which gives you an idea of the hardness of various minerals compared to each other. Diamond is the hardest mineral in the world, so of course, it sits at number 10 on the hardness scale. Pure talc is the softest mineral at number 1.

->> Check out the full article below to learn more about determining the abrasiveness of fillers and how it can impact your equipment's longevity and your bottom line.
https://preview.mailerlite.com/a5i7y4u1i4