Official launch of World Paint and Coatings Week

Print Solutions

The inaugural World Paint and Coatings Week was officially launched at the European Coatings Show (ECS) on its opening day by Tom Bowtell, CEO of the British Coatings Federation (BCF) and president of the World Coatings Council (WCC). The campaign week has been organised through the WCC in cooperation and partnership with its various national coatings association members from around the globe.

World Paint and Coatings Week is focused on engaging with the public through social media, although other engagement events may also be organised in some countries. The week has been split into five themes, one for each day: essential coatings; sustainable coatings; innovative coatings; valuable coatings; and careers in coatings. National coatings associations have been posting about how coatings collectively contribute to these areas, while individual companies have shared case studies about how their own products help make the world a better place. It is intended to create a critical mass of activity to increase the reach of the key messages and ensure more people learn about the importance of coatings than individual organisations working on their own could achieve.

The launch backdrop of ECS 2025 – the largest show on record, with over 1200 exhibitors from over 60 countries and tens of thousands of delegates in attendance – served to demonstrate the strength of the coatings sector globally. But Tom Bowtell explained that the rationale of World Paint and Coatings Week was to reach out beyond the people attending the convention centre this week and explain to them – the general public and policy and decision makers – just how important coatings are to the global economy and society.

Tom said, ‘I am thrilled to be launching the first World Paint and Coatings Week here at the European Coatings Show in front of so many friends and colleagues. All of us who work in the industry know just how important coatings are to the economy and to everyday life. Almost every solid object will have a coating that is designed to make it look better, work better, or last longer – or a combination of all three. However, too often this crucial contribution is overlooked, or not understood, by the general public. World Paint and Coatings Week sets out to rectify that.’

BCF CEO and World Coatings Council president Tom Bowtell celebrating the launch of the inaugural World Paint and Coatings Week at the European Coatings Show in

Nuremberg, Germany.