European Coatings Show 2023: good to be back

It was not all that easy to reach the ECS venue last week, but it was definitely worthwhile making the journey. Despite a nationwide strike by transport workers on Monday 27 March that almost crippled public life in Germany, the halls in Nuremberg were packed with enthusiastic exhibitors and visitors from 42 countries. The excitement at finally being back after the hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was palpable across the show floor. 

Eight exhibition halls offered trade visitors from the industry information on all the global trends and innovations in coatings, printing inks, laboratory, production, testing or measuring technology, adhesives and construction chemicals. With its focus on sustainability, nanotechnology and green coatings, the show introduced developers, process engineers, quality managers and purchasing officers to innovation solutions covering the entire coatings market.

Well-attended conference

The high-calibre ECS conference taking place from 27 to 28 March was exceptionally well attended. The response from the 730 delegates was positive across the board. The total of 24 sessions were mostly organised by raw materials category or application area, and this made it easier to navigate the vast amount of information on offer. Architectural, automotive and wood coatings were complemented by radiation curing, design of experiment and modelling as well as testing and measuring and digitalisation. Important specialist topics, such as printing inks and construction chemicals, rounded off the agenda. Sustainability has been the number one topic on everyone’s lips for years and there was no sign during the ECS Conference of a different trend emerging. Several sessions reflected the hard work being done: from water-borne formulations and bio-based materials to advances in nanotechnology and protective coatings.

The European Coatings Show Conference Award was graciously received by Dr Hong Xu on behalf the entire team at Cardolite Corporation. Damir Gagro, Director Content at European Coatings, handed over the ECS Conference Award to Dr Xu during the plenary session that kicked off the ECS Conference on Monday, 27 March. The opening plenary session was completed by Wijnand Bruinsma of Akzo Nobel, who delivered an inspiring and holistic perspective on sustainability. He revealed how the carbon emissions of the full coatings value chain equal those of 70 million private households, roughly corresponding to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

160 product presentations

Back on the show floor, exhibitors shared their expertise in 160 product presentations split between three forums. Main themes included the use of their raw materials and the operation of laboratory, production, testing and measuring technology. The presentation stages in Halls 3, 3A and 5 became a focal point for numerous trade visitors seeking fast and concise information on the latest developments.

Fun fact: Waiving 19,850 square metres of carpet at the ECS will save approximately 282 tons of CO₂. This is equivalent to driving 1,382,000 kilometres in a mid-range car using gasoline.

For everyone who was excited to be back, there is good news ahead for both this year and next:

Save the date

The next ECS will be held on 25-27 March 2025. See you there!