Sustainability is Helping Drive the Production Equipment Market

The paint and coatings market continues to see growth worldwide, and new production equipment is in demand. Production equipment leaders report there is great interest in improving productivity and efficiency.

Sara Fulford, VP sales and marketing for Hockmeyer Equipment, observed that the paint and coatings industry is leaning towards high-volume, efficient and automated production methods as a long-term investment strategy to cope with lower staff numbers and minimize operator involvement.

“There has been a noticeable surge in interest in high-volume multi-shaft units, primarily for producing single and two-part industrial protective coatings,” Fulford added. “We have also seen exciting developments in the specialty coatings sector for applications such as synthetic leather and fabric coatings.”

Patrik Maeder, senior sales director, grinding & dispersing for Buhler Inc., reported that he saw more growth in coatings than paints.

“Buhler’s focus and solutions are more coatings (high-tech) focused then paints,” he added. “Growth in coatings is with automotive, marine, some specialty or high tech coatings.”

“We have continual interest from paint and coatings companies looking to optimize their processes on existing manufacturing milling machines as well as exploring new process technologies to increase productivity,” said Daniel Grskovic, president of WAB US Corp. “Our process technology and lab research continue to create more opportunities for paint and coatings performance and applications.”

Kevin Richardson, who is responsible for IPCO Italy S.r.l.’s sales in Europe, said that post-COVID, there has been increased interest towards efficiency improvements and smart small batch management.

“Accordingly, we have enjoyed a number of new powder production equipment installations,” Richardson added. “We remain, however, tentative in our optimism for the coming two years with the current political landscape, market saturation of aged fleets of equipment in many established companies, as well as a notable increase in levels of manufacturer consolidation with mergers and acquisitions, so expected growth is focused on proactive manufacturers looking to overcome inefficiencies, creating customized production and enhance small batch production.

“Having said this, powder coating continues as a growth market within the coating industry and there remains numerous expansion projects pending investment decisions that we remain confident in being successful with,” he added.

“Fortunately, in our favor is our ability to help clients get the fastest return on their investments.”

Dustin Thomas, lab manager/process support for Hockmeyer Equipment, said that interest in the Immersion Mill and NexGen continues to grow in the paints and coatings industry.

“The largest markets are aerosols and industrial coatings, with the continued goals of better coverage and increased life span of protective coatings,” said Thomas. “The protective coatings market is witnessing notable growth, with key areas of interest including intumescent, anti-fouling, corrosion-resistant and antimicrobial coatings.”

Greg Shrider, global key account manager for BYK-Gardner USA, said that BYK-Gardner is seeing interest in color, appearance, dispersion and physical properties instrumentation ranging from adhesion to viscosity.

“In the color and appearance space, there is interest to have the color2view 45/0 benchtop spectrophotometer that can utilize digital standards and share those standards with the spectro2guide hand-held spectrophotometer,” said Shrider.

“In dispersion technology there is a focus on equipment and software that allow formulations to scale from laboratory to pilot and production with a ratio of nearly one to one. In physical test, the testing of wet and dry properties is requiring more documentation to ensure compliance to global standards, therefore we are developing physical test instrumentation that can provide customers with the data documentation they need to be competitive globally,” added Shrider.

Sustainability in Manufacturing

In speaking with leading coatings production equipment manufacturers, sustainability in manufacturing is a key issue. Maeder noted that sustainability has become an important part in planning any process improvement customers are considering.

“Buhler has fully engineered sustainability concepts backed by dedicated sustainability and engineering teams to design and implement solutions, be it with a single equipment, system or plant, used/existing or brand new,” Maeder said.

“We help our customers achieve their desired particle sizes with paints and coatings made from natural or recycled materials and is free of harmful chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs),” said Grskovic. “It is also produced using environmentally responsible manufacturing processes that minimize waste and emission. We help our customers run more efficiently and reduce power consumption. It’s exciting to see development of eco-friendly alternatives by using new additives and material components derived from renewable sources, ensuring they are harmless to the environment.”

Richardson observed that the production of powder coatings may seem simple, and from a helicopter view it is, but it is a game of small margins with major consequences.

“In coatings, everything is about reducing the cost per kilogram or liter, ultimately assisting the end user receiving the lowest cost per square meter,” Richardson noted. “To achieve this, one needs to be efficient, increase throughput in each period, minimize wastage and, if unavoidable, have the capacity to rework the wastage back into a final product without loss in quality or a major impact to the efficiency and or throughput.

“With our design that seamlessly marries the inputted specific energy into the product with intensive temperature management, we can let our equipment run more freely with minimal compromise compared to others who need to rework material or significantly drop their throughput,” added Richardson.

“Ultimately the more homogeneous and fresher the product is produced at volume the lower the cost per unit,” Richardson concluded. “We are confident we can improve efficiencies or return on investments by 20% if not more – if that isn’t sustainable, I don’t know what else is – and this is all a result of listening and adapting to our client’s needs, something we take very seriously and look forward to taking this program further.”

“As manufacturers change their coatings to be more sustainable, they utilize a vast amount of our solutions to ensure that wet and dry properties of coatings are similar or improved,” Andreas Stummer, director of dispersion sales, BYK-Gardner USA, said. “Global manufacturers want to use the same instrumentation, procedures, specifications and documentation globally and rely on BYK-Gardner to help implement and maintain these solutions.”

Fulford reported that Hockmeyer Equipment’s state-of-the-art equipment offers exceptional efficiency, considerably shortening process times and requiring less manual operation than traditional mixing and milling machines.

“This advanced technology provides several benefits, including minimized energy consumption, reduced processing time, better particle size control, enhanced raw material utilization, and comprehensive data collection for informed decision-making on process improvements,” said Fulford. “It significantly improves operations and helps clients achieve their goals more effectively.

“Also, our CMX tank washer meets many sustainability objectives: lower solvent use, less solvent exposure, less hazmat waste, and faster cleanup. It ticks so many boxes, yet it is an often-overlooked sustainability and profit center gem,” added Fulford. “It can improve profits by lessening waste and increasing productivity while helping reach goals from the EHS perspective.”

Growth Markets

In terms of growth markets in the paint and coatings segment, Grskovic observed that housing and construction are projected to increase over the next five years and the current U.S. government administration has poured a lot of money into infrastructure.

“We believe the expected trends in decorative (architectural) paints will follow this trend,” added Grskovic. “Powder coatings is an interesting sub-category in the industrial category since they do not contain solvents – something everyone in the industry (similar to cosmetics) is trying to reduce as well as benefitting from low VOC emissions. I’ve recently read there’s a growing trend in high-tech coatings to protect metals against corrosion and high-performance ceramic coatings. Finally, there’s a growing demand for PU resin coatings.”

“We receive requests for new equipment from all markets,” Richardson said. “We do not see any major statistical differences, but the Asian market is probably the one with the strongest growth. Europe remains an established hub, with a high focus on technological advancements setting the benchmarks on cost efficiencies’, quality, environmental impact, and safety.”

“We are experiencing increased activity in the global industrial market largely due to the increased need to meet OEM and manufacturers specifications,” said Rae Roby, regional sales manager, BYK-Gardner USA. “We also see an increase in the refinish market as paint companies move away from traditional color tools to multi-angle spectrophotometers with flake characterization and software.”

Key Priorities from Coatings Companies

When it comes to the paint and coatings manufacturers he speaks with, Grskovic said that the priority is always quality.

“Only by means of precise control of the particle size distribution in the paints, varnishes and coatings production can product performance be improved – specifically precision, accuracy, durability, and consistency of the paint and coating results are improved; this enables the interaction with different materials such as plastics, ceramics or metals,” added Grskovic. “This is where our technology enables us to help our customers become market leaders in their respective categories.”

Maeder noted that paint and coatings companies are looking for productivity increases through process modernization with the same footprint, sustainability, automation of processes, general safety improvements, cost reduction, and quality improvements.

Richardson said that efficiency and user friendliness related to faster batch change over, optimized throughputs and waste management are important to paint and coatings manufacturers.

“Fortunately, our equipment is uniquely tailored to meet these needs, providing solutions for single batch passes, high throughput on all finishes including dark high gloss TGIC-free requirements as well as recycling fines, all the while remaining operator friendly,” Richardson said.

“Efficiency, safety, cleanability, sustainability, and ease of operation are the main factors we are asked to consider when designing a single machine, system, or process—a careful alignment of achieving maximum output while safeguarding people and the environment,” Thomas said.

“We have seen an increase in demand for automated systems due to a decrease in available labor and the need to minimize operator error,” added Zach O’Kelley, process and service support for Hockmeyer Equipment.
Stummer said that coatings manufacturers are looking for the most efficient way to maintain or exceed customer expectations.

“Reliability and repeatability of instrumentation are of upmost importance to them with the ability to be certified globally,” Stummer said. “Customers require training and support for instrumentation and software, otherwise a plug and play solution is preferred. For all solutions maintenance, calibration, certification, documentation, CE compliance, and universal power supplies are warranted.”

Outlook for the Coming Year

Production equipment manufacturers see bright times ahead for the paint and coatings field.

“We expect the current trend of CAPEX increases to continue and a higher demand for higher efficiency technologies to replace current equipment in the industry,” Grskovic said. “There are very clear financial and environmental benefits moving to equipment purchased before 2010 into our current technology that will save customers a great deal of money and lower cost. We’ve been increasing our messaging to reflect this reality and we’re investing in ourselves to prepare for this anticipated growth in 2024.”

Richardson said he is optimistic, adding that IPCO is also conscious of strains placed on industry with the sensitive global political landscape and the latent impact of COVID. “We trust our strength, health, diverse adaptable approach and reach offers a satisfactory level of confidence,” Richardson added.

Shrider said that outlook for this year is encouraging.

“With the combination of Gardco and the newly acquired PELT (high resolution multilayer film thickness) instrumentation, BYK-Gardner is in a unique position to supply, support and service the paint and coatings industry globally,” he said. “We feel that the instrumentation market will grow at a faster rate than the paint and coatings market in the following year.”

“Growth is poised in part due to positive economic indicators and IRA benefits,” Maeder noted. “However, being an election year, certain national or international political instabilities may stall some projects until next year.”

Fulford said that Hockmeyer Equipment is confident that business will maintain its upward growth trajectory, delivering exceptional service to new and existing clients with solutions tailored to their needs.

“Our factory addition, just completed, includes an enhanced lab testing area, a state-of-the-art electrical department, an expanded machine shop, and new assembly and storage areas,” Fulford added. “This expansion will enable us to keep creating, innovating, and offering our clients the level of service they have come to expect from Hockmeyer.”