The European Coatings Show (ECS) and Conference will soon open its doors to formulators and manufacturers of paints, coatings, varnishes, adhesives, sealants, construction chemicals and printing inks. Held every two years, the event will once again take place at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center in Germany from April 3-6.

According to organizer Vincentz Network GmbH & Co., the 2015 ECS featured 1,024 exhibitors from 42 countries and had 28,481 visitors from 107 countries. Current exhibition space exceeds the final stage of the 2015 ECS, and foreign companies account for more than half of the exhibitors. 

From April 4-6, exhibitors will offer a comprehensive market overview of raw materials and services, as well as testing, measurement, laboratory and production technology. Pre-show press announcements suggest that hot topics at this year’s show will include environmentally friendly technology, products that increase coating functionality, new pigments for automotive and industrial coatings, rheology modification, and resins for weather- and heat-resistant coatings.

As in the past, various exhibitors will offer short Product Presentations at designated areas throughout the show halls. These technical presentations offer a brief introduction to many of the latest developments in coatings technology. Also continuing this year will be a government-funded pavilion enabling young, start-up companies from Germany to present their solutions to the international coatings community under the theme, “Innovations Made in Germany”.

The two-day Conference begins April 3, with introductory pre-Conference tutorials on April 2. The Conference will feature 24 international sessions featuring the latest technology on current trends and challenges from a global perspective. Some of the session topics include Science Today, Coatings Tomorrow, Powder Coatings, Waterborne Coatings, Surface Active Agents, Production Technology, Functional Coatings, Façade Paints, 2K Industrial Coatings, Radiation Curing, Polyurethanes, Protective Coatings, Testing and Measuring, and Architectural Coatings.

The keynote in the plenary session will be given by Renaud Nicolaỹ from the École Supérieure de Physiques et de Chimie de Industriel de la Ville de Paris. His theme will be how covalent bonds can be used to realize new coating properties. Also during the plenary session, the European Coatings Show Award will be presented to the speaker with the best scientific and/or technical paper, as judged by an independent jury. Their decision is based on such criteria as relevance, scientific content and degree of innovation.

The PCI staff will be at the full event. Please stop by Booth 1-635 to meet with us. You can find the full Conference schedule, a list of exhibitors, exhibit hall floor plans, and live coverage from the Conference and the Show floor at www.pcimag.com/europeancoatingshow. You can also learn more about what some companies are exhibiting at the ECS throughout this issue and in our daily show eNewsletter, which will be deployed April 4, 5 and 6. I look forward to seeing many of you in Nuremberg!