Wood Coating Congress 2022 concluded responsibly

 Friday, December 2, 2022

12th edition of the Woodcoating Congress has been more responsible than ever. With the inspiring theme “sustainability” one of the most awaited shows, the Wood Coating Congress happened between November 8 and 9 in Amsterdam, once again attracted experts and companies from all over the world.

This edition was particularly awaited as the 2020 appointment had been canceled due to the pandemic. The inspiring theme of the 2022 edition of the Woodcoating Congress was “sustainability”. This subject was considered by different speakers with detailed technical analyses. Alongside this main subject, various other topics of general interest were presented which we briefly try to resume and summarize in this short article. Obviously, this is a very partial report and reference is made to the conference proceedings for further details.

The wood coatings market

The data presented during the congress show of a global demand of around 2.9 million tons of coating products. Solvent-based coatings and in particular two-component polyurethanes are still the leading products on the market with a percentage of around 46%. This is followed by water-based coatings (24%), then the “old” nitrocellulose coatings (12%), photo-curable or UV coatings (10%), acid-curing coatings (4.5%) and unsaturated polyesters (3.5%).

Sustainability in wood coatings

Recyclability: The thickness of a coatings film applied to a wooden substrate is generally very low (sometimes a few tens of microns) and therefore any possibility of recovery at the end of its life (for example the paint present on an old window or door) would become onerous and economically unsustainable. In the case of water-based coatings, the possibility of avoiding or in any case reducing the percentage of water present in the formulations, which is normally around 60%, was also presented.

Coating drying. The subject of sustainability involves also the coatings drying. The temperatures of the ovens and the permanence times of the painted pieces inside them depend significantly on how a coating material is formulated. New types of resins, developed with this new vision, therefore make it possible to reduce drying times and, consequently, the energy consumption involved.

Tags: Amsterdam, European coating, laminates and veneers, wood and panel, wood coating congress, wood finish, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking and processing, woodworking industry, woodworking UK