The Chinese paint, coatings and ink markets continue to enjoy strong growth, and global suppliers are working hard to reach this ever-expanding market. It comes as no surprise that CHINACOAT (The China International Exhibition for Coatings, Printing Inks and Adhesives) 2012, which was held in Guangzhou, China from November 28-30, once again had huge increases in attendance and exhibitors.

Organized by Hong Kong-based Sinostar International Ltd., CHINACOAT has continuously expanded since it was formed in 1996. On even years, CHINACOAT is held in Guangzhou; in odd years, the show meets in Shanghai. The show is one of the largest global coatings shows, and Raymond Ho, director of Sinostar International Ltd., said that CHINACOAT 2012 far exceeded expectations.

“After three busy days, CHINACOAT 2012 was concluded with excellent results despite the financial crisis in Europe and global economic slowdown,” Ho said. “This outcome exceeded my expectation. Not only the exhibitors but also the trade visitors experienced a truly super show – with good visitor traffic, fantastic technology innovations, and interesting delivery for current market trends and future opportunities.”

Ho reported that 25,601 visitors attended this year’s CHINACOAT. By contrast, the 2010 Guangzhou show was attended by 20,367 visitors, which means that CHINACOAT 2012’s attendance grew 25.7%.

The number of exhibitors also showed dramatic growth. In 2010, 869 exhibitors displayed their capabilities at CHINACOAT. In 2102, 1,032 exhibitors were on hand at CHINACOAT 2012, an increase of 18.8%;  Ho added that this year’s show had the highest international participation.
“The show also got great support from VIP and delegates from local and international trade associations, such as delegations from Vietnam, India, Korea, etc.,” Mr. Ho added.
The rapid expansion of China’s coatings industry has been a major success story. Mr. Ho said that while the global economy has slowed somewhat, China and the Asia-Pacific are still enjoying expansion.

“Being the world’s largest coatings producer and consumer, China will continue to be the focal point of the global coatings industry,” Ho noted. “Although the growth rate of the country has been slowing down for the past two years, the recent financial uncertainty in Europe only had a minor impact on the China coatings market. The highest international participation of CHINACOAT 2012 has already verified that.

“Some manufacturers even recorded a double-digit growth in 2012,” Ho added. “Many of them were optimistic about the market outlook, particularly China’s. Some even expressed that the global market has already hit its bottom. Regarding product development, it will be emphasizing more on the diversity of formulation and variety of function. Architectural (or decorative) and automotive coatings will keep dominating the coatings market here in China.”

Outside of the exhibition hall, CHINACOAT also featured the successful 10th CHINACOAT Conference, which included 12 presentations on the theme of “High Grade Coatings • High Solids • High Build • High Tech.” Ho said that the conference was attended by nearly 100 delegates, who expanded their understanding and discussed industry challenges. While the majority of the audience came from mainland China (69%), there were delegates from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand, UK and the U.S.
“Regarding the Conference, many attendees commented that they benefited tremendously by acquiring helpful knowledge, developing network of contacts and meeting with experts,” Ho added.

Feedback from Attendees and Exhibitors
Attendees and exhibitors alike said they felt that CHINACOAT 2012 once again offered visitors the ability to see first-hand the opportunities that are available to the Chinese paint, coatings and ink markets.

Ho reported that the feedback that Sinostar received showed that attendees were largely satisfied with the opportunities they found at CHINACOAT 2012 to source new products and suppliers, network with peers and keep abreast of industry happenings.
According to the preliminary visitor findings which Sinostar collected during the show:
• 95% said CHINACOAT 2012 was successfully organized.
• 91% agreed the quality and mix of exhibitors were good.
• 85% would recommend others to visit.

“Many exhibitors said that CHINACOAT continued to grow every year,”  Ho added. “They were happy with both the visitor flow and quality. Some of them were pleasantly surprised to find the generated sales leads were even better than exhibiting at the Shanghai show. They would keep choosing CHINACOAT as one of their vital promotional campaigns and the stage to launch new products.”

Chuck Hoover Jr., president of Hoover Color, who attended the show, said that CHINACOAT is always worthwhile to see, and this year’s show appeared to draw more visitors from the U.S.
“CHINACOAT does a great job attracting global attendees, and because it did not fall on the American holiday of Thanksgiving, it seems to have enabled U.S. companies to more fully participate this year,” Hoover added.

Exhibitors said that CHINACOAT 2012 delivered on the promise of meeting with the industry leaders who are driving the growing paint, coatings and ink markets.
“The quality of the contacts has been very good,” said Joon Choo, vice president of Shamrock Technologies. “We met with a lot of customers on specific technical issues and requirements that they have for short- and medium-term projects.”

“As expected, CHINACOAT was a very busy event for us,” said Josh Preneta, global segment manager for coatings, Cabot Corporation. “The show was well attended by a wide range of industry participants throughout Asia. We also observed a strong contingent of visitors from Europe and the Americas. Cabot launched two new products at the show, Emperor 1200 and 1600, and we received a high level of interest in both products. Overall, it was a very successful show for us. Our booth was busy almost non-stop from opening to closing on all three days. We had a number of important customer meetings during the show. We also made a large number of new connections and started new relationships at our booth.”

In April 2012, KH Neochem changed its company name from Kyowa Hakko Chemical. Izumi Yuasa, sales and marketing for the Specialty Chemicals Division, Performance Materials at KH Neochem Co., Ltd., said that CHINACOAT 2012 was the ideal place to showcase the company’s new start.

“CHINACOAT 2012 met our expectations to have opportunities to see many of our important customers and to directly introduce our products to many potential and promising customers in the industry,” Yuasa said. “Furthermore, we believe that our new start under the new name became widely known in this show.

“It’s always impressive to see the scale of this massive coatings show,” Yuasa added. “The exhibition hall was filled with a large number of people from all over the world. The highlight of the show, we think, is the continuous expectation and attention to China from the global market, even during the economic slow-down this year.”

Next year’s CHINACOAT 2013 will be held Nov. 20-22, 2013 in Shanghai. For more information, check the web at www.chinacoat.net.