Europe
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In automobile
coatings there
is the usual
emphasis on the
need to develop
new colors and
special effects.
But these have to
meet the needs
of an expanding
population of
car buyers who
are becoming
even more
individualistic in
their tastes.
PPG Highlights New Innovations for
OEM Coatings at European Technical Center
by Sean Milmo
European Correspondent
milmocw@rodmanmedia.com
Automobile coatings producers and their suppliers in Europe are having to be- come increasingly versatile innovators
in order to stay competitive in a fast expanding
world market.
The European market itself is only showing
moderate growth. But Europe still remains an
important source of innovation in the global
automobile sector.
In automobile coatings there is the usual
emphasis on the need to develop new colors
and special effects. But these have to meet the
needs of an expanding population of car buyers who are becoming even more individualistic in their tastes.
Also car manufacturers are wanting the
coatings makers to introduce technologies and
efficiencies which help reduce their produc-
tion costs. This includes creating systems for
collecting and analyzing data from their paint
shops which help to raise productivity.
At the same time the manufacturers are
looking for technological initiatives covering
a much broader range of needs in coatings –
such as greater functionality, reduced emissions, more regulatory compliance, reduced
energy consumption and lower maintenance
costs. In addition there are the requirements
of new types of vehicles and their components,
like electric vehicles and their hybrids and semi
and fully autonomous cars.
These trends were highlighted recently by
PPG Industries during a press visit to its main
European technical center for decorative OEM
coating at Ingersheim, near Stuttgart, in one of
Germany’s large car manufacturing clusters in
the southwest of the country.
