Read the latest issue of the magazine dedicated to surface treatments and organic and inorganic finishes – Special edition on ACE and off-road vehicles + Industrial Cleaning Technologies.
Water-soluble coatings’ technological performance has been consolidating since the 2000s, undermining the reign of solvent-based products in many industrial sectors. In those early years, using them was a bold decision: their application called for much more care in terms of technical requirements and operating conditions (humidity, temperature, booth air quality, suction) and their performance degree still seemed unable to match that of solvent-based coatings.
Water-based paints were thus a green but brave choice, an option that forward-thinking companies took into consideration wherever possible to reduce the environmental impact of their finishing operations and avoid investing in air purification equipment. Heterogeneous environmental regulations (from country to country and even from region to region) also resulted in the uneven adoption of these environmentally friendly technologies: where regulations were more restrictive, companies were more inclined to transition to water-based coatings, whereas elsewhere many firms preferred to stick to solvent-based products. Sustainability was not yet a competitive market factor as it is today, nor was it a concept embraced by the industry at all levels.
Over the years, however, with the development of increasingly high-performance paint products and of application equipment specially developed to enhance the performance of water-based paints and foster the required mindset change, these coatings have conquered numerous markets – first and foremost, that of agricultural, earth-moving, and construction machinery and off-road vehicles in general, to which this issue of ipcm® is devoted.
What has happened during these twenty years?
In this sector, which we will call ACE for the sake of brevity, water-based paints are now a well-established technological choice: they are reliable and long-lasting and guarantee glossy finishes with excellent film distension and mechanical, chemical, and corrosion resistance properties. Their adoption by numerous European companies has also brought with it a renewal of the coating systems employed and breathed life into the equipment and plant sector, which has responded by developing new generations of energy-saving, efficient, digitised products. That is the ideal combination for sustainable, quality production. This is also proven by the reports we have written by visiting numerous companies throughout Europe that have chosen water-based coatings for their commercial success.
R&D in the field of water-based paint is now especially focussing on fast-drying and energy-efficient systems made highly versatile by the possibility of modulating their performance level according to requirements. You will find an extensive analysis of this topic in the central pages of this magazine.
At the same time, of course, the ACE sector is also seeing a progressively wider adoption of powder coatings, thanks to the development of corrosion protection primers that are ideal for mixed systems and for any company looking to reduce further the environmental impact of its coating activities. You will also find ample proof of this on the following pages.
Finally, as usual, this issue of ipcm® also contains much more interesting and appealing information for the eye and mind of anyone dealing with coating: what better time than the holiday season to enjoy it to the fullest? Season’s greetings to all of you from ipcm®!
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