“This show has more serious discussions and business transactions – customers come down with appointments to see technical, sales and marketing people, much more than any other
show in the world of coatings,” he said.
Shruti Singhal, director, global marketing and innovation
for Ashland, found that this year’s show was exceptional
for Ashland.
“For us it’s been terrific. This has truly turned into a global
show. I think the name European Coatings Show is a misnomer because while it’s in Europe, everything about this show is
international. We have customers here from Asia, Europe and
certainly a lot from North America. The attendance has been
fantastic so for us it was very successful. We have a much bigger
presence, and as a company we have grown, so we wanted to
project that at the ECS,” Singhal said.
Singhal said that Ashland’s initiative at the ECS this year was
to understand the needs of their customers and truly provide solutions for them. “We’re an additives supplier, and we are truly
the solution provider in the industry. Everyone talks about being the innovator and solution provider, but our message is we
are really trying to tie in very closely with our customer, understanding their problem and developing solutions to their needs,
or their unmet needs,” he said.
Myron Petruch, president, Performance Pigments and
Electronic Materials, Sun Chemical, found that this year was
especially good for them at the ECS as well.
“This show was great for us, particularly because last year
we purchased Benda-Lutz, so it was a new business for us. Just
integrating that into our booth has worked out well, and we’re
really impressed with how global this show is. It’s not only
European, but also people from America, Latin America and
Asia,” Petruch said.
“We find that at this particular show, people are really
here to do business, so the quality of the meetings is also
outstanding. There’s a social component, but in terms of
quality leads and conversations, every one is here, so it’s
been excellent,” Petruch added.
Petruch also explained that Sun Chemical’s presence, not
only global but also local, gives them an advantage.
“For any solution that you would need for coating, whether
it be automotive coating, industrial coating, deco coating, we’ve
got the global base for pigments and effects,” Petruch said. “We
have the global supply chain and the technical wherewithal to
meet the needs of the global customers. We also have the pres-
ence in Europe, and the innovative products and technology to
service the local needs of the individual countries and individual
smaller and medium-sized coatings, inks and adhesives manu-
facturers as well.”
Paul Cordfunke, market manager chemical industry, Purac,
said that although 2013 was Purac’s first year as exhibitors, it
was a very pleasant and interesting experience.
“What’s interesting for us is you hear the word sustainability
everywhere, and we’re a supplier of sustainable raw materials,
so that’s important and offers a lot of opportunities for us. It’s
an efficient way for us to meet a lot of people and get a lot of
new leads,” Cordfunke said.
34 | Coatings World
www.coatingsworld.com
April 2013
