With 1,024 exhibitors from 42 countries and around 28,500 trade visitors representing nearly 110 nationalities, the European Coatings Show closed with new record highs, despite strike-related train cancellations throughout Germany. Reportedly the world’s largest industry show for the coatings industry, the event occupied seven halls in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg and featured innovative products and knowledge transfer at the highest level.

With around 700 participants from 42 countries, the European Coatings Congress was also well attended. Some 144 presentations given by speakers from science and research focused on the production of high-quality coatings, sealants, construction chemicals, and adhesives.

In his keynote address at the congress, Rolf Mülhaupt, professor at the Freiburg Materials Research Centre FMF at the University of Freiburg, took a critical look at the term “sustainability.” Green in the sense of bio-based is not enough to label a product as sustainable, he said. It is far more important to closely examine the entire manufacturing process, beginning with the cultivation of the raw plant materials.

The growing demand for bio-based products will also always be in competition with the worldwide production of food products. According to Mülhaupt, when viewed as a whole, synthetic polymers could well be clearly superior to biopolymers.

For more information, visit www.international-pc.com.