by Sean Milmo
European Correspondent
milmocw@rodmanmedia.com
The short to medium outlook for wood coatings in Europe is looking bright at the moment as a result of a revival
in the construction industry in the European
Union and increased sales of wood products in
segments in which previously the material has
been little used.
In the longer term the biggest driver in the
sector is the widespread belief that wood offers
more opportunities than other materials for
combating climate change.
However, the expansion of the European
wood market presents challenges to producers
of wood coatings and related treatments like
stains and oils, which goes beyond product
innovation. The coatings industry has to be
able to demonstrate that the sustainability of its
products matches that of wood itself.
Currently growth in demand for timber has
not been uniform across Europe or even within
individual European countries. But analysts
reckon it has been averaging a rate well above
GDP growth in Western Europe of around 1-2
percent, which is about the level of expansion
of the whole of the region’s coatings market.
Hardwood output went up by 8 percent last
year but many hardwood sectors were still at
production levels below those before the 2008
recession, according to the European Timber
Trade Federation (ETTF).
Timber sales in Germany went up 4 percent in 2014, considerably above the country’s
GDP rise, reports GD Holz, the German timber trade association.
But this increase was offset by a 7-percent
drop in sales in the first four months of this
year with building product sales going down
Revival in Construction Leads to Bright
Outlook for Wood Coatings
The expansion
of the European
wood market
presents
challenges to
producers of
wood coatings
and related
treatments like
stains and oils,
which goes
beyond product
innovation. The
industry has to
demonstrate that
the sustainability
of its product
matches that of
the wood itself.
