Episode 43: Unpacking Paint Expo 2024

Recently Products Finishing traveled to Karlsruhe, Germany to attend Paint Expo 2024 and get a global perspective of trends in industrial coatings and to learn about the latest technologies. In this episode of On the Line, Gardner Business Media brand vice president for finishing and valve media Todd Luciano and PF editor in chief Scott Francis discuss some of the takeaways from the visit. Listen to the full episode below or check out an excerpt:

SF: So it’s been a few years since Products Finishing has made it to Germany for this show. Can you talk a little bit about what our goal was in attending Paint Expo this year?

TL: Yeah, I think the last time I attended Paint Expo was about six years ago, I believe because it's every other year show. And then of course with the pandemic, that through looping to everything, but either way, the goals for product stationery and travel halfway across the world to see a trade show like this is a couple things.

One is it’s always good from our perspective to continue building upon the relationship we have with our marketing partners or products finishing because it's such a global market. And we do have budgets and contacts overseas, that invest in their marketing here in the US. So it’s always good to sort of further deepen that relationship with our marketing partners, even if it’s contacts. And there's plenty of contacts that we met that I hadn’t met yet, but in going through our U.S. contacts, and helps me build that relationship, even with my U.S. contact, knowing we’re going the extra step to get to know their company, even deeper.

So really, for me, it’s a lot like any event we go to where it’s an opportunity to, to continue to build on relationships are built over the past 87 years with this industry. So that’s one big reason why another big reason, obviously, editorially, for you is because it’s a great opportunity to expose you to some of the trends are happening globally so that you can speak to that, and in some ways report back to the U.S. market, what you’re seeing, what’s going on out there. So that’s a great opportunity to just expose us to a more global perspective of what’s happening in the paint and powder coating industry. And I think the fact that you know, after two full days of being at the show, it was great. We fulfilled our goals.

SF: How do you feel it's different from some of the coating shows in the U.S.?

TL: It definitely was a bigger show than it was last time I went so it was three halls this year versus two halls last time I went so it’s definitely grown. And when you think of the industrial paint and powder coating market it’s by far the largest trade show in the world as far as I know I even in Asia, I don’t know if there’s one that’s just focused on industrial paint and powder applications that’s this big. So in comparison, any other event really doesn’t compare it. It stands alone as the biggest event out there for us. I mean, we do, obviously have the Finishing Pavilion at Fabtech, which is a really big event. But even Paint Expo far exceeds that in regards to not only the number of exhibitors, but the size sizes of the booths or, as you saw are really big. It’s pretty impressive. So it’s to me the biggest show out there for painting/powder coating type of applications.

SF: Because the booths are bigger, it seems like there, there’s a bit more just technology on display  — you kind of get a sense that some of the things that maybe are being shown for the year, are maybe being debuted there. I know we talked to a couple of difference. exhibitors that were talking about how they were showing this, something there in Germany, that they were later going to be showing it Fabtech. So it was just kind of interesting to see how things kind of roll out. And it was also interesting to just sort of talk with folks about like, some of the different trends that are shaping coatings and the things that are sort of, on their mind.

Walking around the show, like I feel like I saw a lot of things that are geared towards battery boxes or electrification solutions, things for dealing with like managing temperatures or kind of affording dielectric properties and things like that. So it seems like you know, some of the electrification type of things that are happening seem to be pretty pronounced at that show. It seemed like it was really at the forefront. 

What kind of trends did you notice that that seemed to be at the forefront of the event?

TL: There’s always been automation and robots and all that stuff at the events for a while now. But it was really felt like at this 24 edition, the Paint Expo that there was a lot of automation in the stands like that is a big push a big driver. And I’m not just talking robotics, which obviously that's a part of it. But just in some of the technologies.

Some of the suppliers are offering that automation continues to be a growth opportunity for paint and powder industry. I just because there’s still a lot of applications out there that don’t automate as much as they can possibly. And so that seems to be a big driver. And I think the driver behind that is the fact that you know, in talking to people based in Germany, that they’re dealing with similar issues that we’re dealing with in the U.S. when it comes to the labor issues and getting qualified employees basically that it’s not too much different. And with that, it’s forcing that automation to the forefront even further. Because these these facilities have have to look at this as an alternative. So I felt like that was sort of really in high gear at this event even versus going to Fabtech last year, and felt more so at Paint Expo. I don't know if you felt that way as well.

SF: I agree, the sheer amount of robots on the on the show floor was just pretty wild to see. So what do you think paint Expo says about the role of the coatings industry that it plays on the global manufacturing stage? And what do you think us coaters might want to pay attention to that's coming out of shows like this?

TL: I think it basically, you know, the finishing industry in general is always sort of the underdog in manufacturing. Because we’re that last touch point and many ways before it goes out into the consumer market or it gets installed and some piece of equipment or a car or whatever it may be. And so what we’re seeing ours what some of the trends that probably other manufacturing sectors have been experiencing heavily, it’s starting to filter its way to this last touch point in the fishing industry like automation, or IoT, which is a topic that we had discussed with a couple of the exhibitors there, which isn’t anything necessarily new out there. But for the fishing industry, it’s something that’s starting to come into gear and more. And what I think what U.S. coaters need to understand is that it’s increasingly more accessible.