PaintExpo responds to the popular trend towards greater profitability,

Some seven months before the gates are due to open for the third time on PaintExpo at the exhibition centre in Karlsruhe, 208 companies have already booked their exhibition space. Among these are market and technological leaders in virtually every sector. Today, it is therefore already foreseeable that the leading international trade fair will have the most comprehensive offering on show for industrial coating technology in the world.

By focussing solely on the industrial coating technology, PaintExpo is able to impress even in challenging economic times. The fact that virtually every market and technological leader has already booked exhibition space at the 3^rd leading international trade fair for industrial coating pays testament to this. Those exhibiting also include various companies from the coatings sector, such as BASF Coatings, Relius Coatings and Tiger Coatings, who have not taken part in previous shows.

The exhibition, due to be held at the Karlsruhe exhibition centre between 13 and 16 April 2010, will present the broadest and most in-depth offering in every aspect of wet painting, powder coating and coil coating. The leading trade fair’s portfolio for industrial coating technology comprises systems and applications technology, coatings, transport systems, automation solutions and paint robots, consumables and services for the organic coating process, ranging from pre-treatment through to final inspection.

Solutions for optimised paint and coating processes

Whether they are companies with an in-house coating facility or a subcontracted coating operation, the demand is for improved efficiency with higher quality, greater environmental awareness and flexibility. One solution that ensures reduced investment and operating costs, particularly in the automotive sector, leads to material savings and an improved productivity, energy and eco-balance is the so-called "Integrated Concept II". Here, the function of the primer is integrated into a single or dual-component water-based paint system. By substituting the primer it is possible to dispense with the entire filler application or area of equipment, including the materials used as well as the before and after-treatment. The coating facility and time are accordingly reduced. The system can be integrated into existing coating facilities and reduces VOC emissions.

On the one hand, using very high solid or ultra-high solid coatings with a very high solid content reduces VOCs. In some cases, only slight adjustment is required to the existing coating facility. On the other, the application technology with paint guns and atomisers has a role to play, which enables a considerably more effective application and adjusts the spray jet formed to the geometry of the work piece. Exhibitors at PaintExpo will present solutions in this area that permit significant savings in the consumption of the coatings. A further approach for reducing material consumption lies in intelligent coating logistics with flexible coating supply systems. Pigging system technology enables unused coatings to be recovered from the pipe, or specific quantities of coating to be conveyed to the application system.

In the area of coating powders, developments at manufacturers are moving towards solutions that harden at lower stoving temperatures. Here, there are already systems available that harden at between 120 and 130° C. Alongside energy savings, they also enable productivity to be increased. In addition, plastic materials and composites can be powder coated at these low temperatures, which still had to be wet painted just a few years ago.

Where the recovery of overspray is the issue, innovative electrostatic separator systems not only achieve much higher levels of separation, they also considerably reduce the water and energy consumption.

Potential savings can further be exploited through increased automation. The use of paint robots therefore results in greater reproducibility of the coating result, a reduction in waste and better overall quality. New developments in paint robots and software that will be presented by the exhibitors at PaintExpo can be programmed quickly and easily, ensuring that the investment pays off, even for ranges of parts that change quickly or frequently.

Further information and a preliminary list of exhibitors at www.paintexpo.de.