CEPE’s  Annual Conference and General Assembly was held September 27-29 at the Hotel Sheraton Milan Malpensa. Under the theme, “Reimaging the Coatings Industry for a Sustainable Future,” the conference featured ten presentations by industry thought leaders addressing the challenges the paint and coatings industry faces today. Speakers explored the current economic and geopolitical landscape.

The conference began with Welcome Remarks from Roald Johannsen, CEPE Chairman. Dr. Daniel Thorniley of DT Global Business Consulting gave the keynote address, “Economic and Political Outlook.”

“Trends and Forecast for the Chemicals and Paint Industry,” presented by Douglas Bohn of Orr & Boss gave valuable insights into the size and scope of the global paint and coatings industry. According to Orr & Boss’s research, Asia is by the far the largest region for paint and coatings consumption. North America is to be €34 million; with decorative remaining flat and industrial exhibiting some growth. Orr & Boss estimated the Mexico paint and coatings market to be €3.4 billion, comprising 25% of the Latin America market. Asia and the Middle East are the fastest growing markets, with India, Malaysia and Indonesia offering the best growth potential.

“The Italian Market in Figures” was presented by Gianni Martinetti of Avisa Federchima and Giovanni Marsili of Assvernici. The top EU chemical producers are Germany (1), France (2), the Netherlands (3) and Italy (4).

Regulatory Challenges

“EU Chemical-Related Regulatory Challenges” was presented by Didier Leroy and Trevor Fielding of CEPE.

“Non-Chemical Regulatory Challenges” was presented by Katarina Maaskant of Teneo. One of the primary issues is microplastics, which is being closely followed by CEPE and the World Coatings Council. According to her presentation, “the estimated need of global investments over the coming decades to address climate change is $100 trillion. Of that figure, only a portion of that will come from governments, hence the need to spur green private investments. On the subject of corporate sustainability rules, she said that EU rules to apply to both EU and non-EU companies and ESG reporting must be audited.

Other presentations included “Route to Decarbonizaton,” presented by Martin Weise of Hempel and “How an Ex-SME Became a Sustainable Chamption,” presented by Armodios Yannidis of Vitex.

Established in 1951, CEPE (the European Coucil of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists’ Colours Industry) is the sole trade association representing the interest of the coatings sector at the European level.