Torino, Italy, played host this September to two important European coatings events that were held simultaneously: EUROCOAT 2000 and the XXV FATIPEC Congress. Approximately 300 people were registered for the FATIPEC Congress; at press time, numbers were not yet available for the attendance at the Eurocoat show. Registration for the first show day exceeded 2,000 visitors and the total was expected to be about 8,000. I can vouch for the show floor being exceedingly busy. For most exhibitors (around 400) appointments were required due to the number of people. That’s a good sign at a time when business is competitive and time for show attendance is minimal.
The visitor profile was expected to be somewhat the same as last year with ~40% attendance from paint manufacturers; the remainder of attendees were from the ink and adhesive markets as well as raw material manufacturers. There are approximately 3,000 paint manufacturers in Western Europe. The majority (~75%) of these companies are small. Italy alone has nearly 700 paint producers and the vast majority are independent. Only 14% are subsidiaries.
This year’s event had “Innovation” as its theme, and it was clear from the show floor that exhibitors are focusing on environmentally safe solutions and materials. Regulations are rather severe within the European Union and have a significant impact on colorants and the paint industry in general. There was a definite focus on waterborne, powder and UV as well as software to help in these areas.