ACS 2008 Review

The launch of the American Coatings Show and Conference, held June 2-5, 2008 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charolotte, NC, marked the beginning of a new era for the coatings industry in the U.S. The event was hosted and organized by the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA) and Hanover, Germany-based Vincentz Network, while the coordination of the trade show was overseen by NurnbergMesse North America based in Atlanta, a U.S. subsidiary of NurnbergMesse.

After much anticipation the event proved to live up to the hype. Approximately 5,600 visitors from roughly 48 countries were on hand to gather information from the 331 exhibitors who displayed a comprehensive range of products and services related to all aspects of paint and coatings formulation in 68,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Seventy-nine percent of the 5,600 visitors were from the U.S., while four percent came from Canada and the remaining 17% from other countries and regions, including Mexico, Brazil, Japan and India, as well the European Union, the Middle East and Australia.

In its closing report, the NPCA and Vincentz reported that nine out of every ten vi