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Articles

in Vol. 11 - March Issue - Year 2010
3rd PaintExpo, Leading International Trade Fair for Industrial Coating Technology from 13 through 16 April 2010 in Karlsruhe (Germany). Improved Economic Climate in Painting Sector as well

Whether the Ifo World Economic Climate Indicator or upwardly corrected growth forecasts are considered, there are many signs which suggest that the world economy is recovering. Manufacturers of industrial coating technology are feeling the effects of the upswing in the form of increasing numbers of project launches and orders. PaintExpo, leading international trade fair for industrial coating technology, is also experiencing great demand. More than 300 companies, among these are the market and technology leaders from nearly all exhibition areas, will be represented at the show from 13 to 16 April 2010 at the exhibition centre in Karlsruhe, Germany.

In particular during economically challenging times, a strong focus on the customers is especially important. Trade fairs with clearly delineated offerings are amongst the most effective instruments for maintaining existing business relations and gaining new customers. Its concentration on the process sequence for industrial painting technologies is one of the reasons that PaintExpo enjoys such great demand amongst suppliers and service providers from the painting industry. "As a result of its highly representative and comprehensive offerings, PaintExpo has great international appeal for the users. At the same time, as opposed to so-called surface finishing trade fairs, the exhibitors know that the expert visitors are interested exclusively in industrial coating technologies. And thus PaintExpo is highly efficient for both groups", explains Juergen Haussmann, managing director of show promoters FairFair GmbH.

Low-Point Now Lies in the Past

This is why nearly all of the market and technology leaders will participate at PaintExpo 2010, which will be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from the 13th through the 16th of April – good timing in light of the fact that the economic skies are beginning to brighten up. Amongst other things, this is evidenced by the Ifo World Economic Climate Indicator, which rose for the second time in a row during the third quarter of 2009. Other positive signs include constantly rising order receipts in sectors which are relevant for suppliers of industrial painting technology. "The automotive, steel and construction industries are amongst BASF Coatings’ most important customers. In particular in these sectors, the economic crisis has affected our business with vehicle and industrial paints. We’ve nevertheless been able to maintain our position within this generally declining market. We haven’t lost any market share during the crisis – on the contrary, we’ve even made gains in some areas. The low-point now lies in the past. Even though recovery is slow and unsteady at the moment, things are shaping up well for us on the whole", says Raimar Jahn, CEO at BASF Coatings AG.
The fact that business is picking up again all over the world is being noticed by manufacturers of systems and application technology as well, as Uwe A. Weidauer, Senior Vice President for Systems Sales at J. Wagner GmbH, elucidates: "Recently, the number of project RFQs has increased for us considerably and is currently approaching the levels experienced in the record breaking years of 2007 and 2008. Order receipts have also been continuously on the rise for several months now. And the orders aren’t just coming from Germany alone – more and more are being received from Eastern Europe, France, Greece and Turkey, as well as from Asia and North America." RFQs as well as orders are targeted on the one hand at honing the customer’s competitive edge by exploiting potential savings, for example where energy and material consumption is concerned. On the other hand, increased flexibility is also a central issue, because painting or coating for small manufacturing lots and the great variety of colours which is demanded nowadays usually can’t be managed economically with existing systems. This is confirmed by Dr. José Gamero, Marketing Manager at LacTec GmbH: "Flexibility and savings are the crux of the matter in the RFQs we’re receiving to an ever greater extent. Enquiries are coming from Europe, but there’s movement in the North and South American markets again as well. We’re expecting business to pick up on the Asian continent too, especially in India and China. We assume that order receipts will continue to increase during the first quarter of 2010 as well. This is corroborated by the seriousness of the RFQs, within the context of which we’re conducting in-house tests." At ILS GmbH too, more and more RFQs have been coming in during recent months. And as Michael Müller has noticed, they demonstrate that more importance is once again being placed upon quality where projects for both system optimisation and replacement are concerned.
As a result of the mood within the markets which is brightening up to an ever greater extent, the manufacturers assume that longer lead times will have to be reckoned with in the foreseeable future. "As is also the case with other companies, we’ve had to streamline our resources due to the economic crisis, and we’ve aligned ourselves to the industries which haven’t been hit too hard. Available capacities have been reduced as a result. If the investment volumes which are indicated by realistic RFQs actually materialise, this will lead to longer delivery times, and perhaps even higher prices", explains Uwe. A. Weidauer.

For Information:
Jürgen Haußmann, FairFair GmbH
Max-Eyth-Strasse 19
72644 Oberboihingen, Germany
Tel. +49.7022.6025510, Fax 6025577
E-mail: info@paintexpo.de
www.paintexpo.de