• Ciba® XYMARA™ at the European Coatings Show
• Preview of the European Coatings Show

By Annette Bruns

Trade Fair Activity - European Coatings Show 2007 © NuernbergMesse

There’s a buzz in Nuremberg … for three days, every two years.

Actually, every time the paint industry meets for its regular “reunion” in Nuremberg the atmosphere in the city is unusually relaxed and positive. The ECS is certainly not the only major event to happen at the city’s modern exhibition center – but it’s definitely the most colorful.

This insider tip among coatings industry professionals brought more visitors this year than ever before to the Congress Centre Nuremberg. In just three days, as many as 22,792 visitors combed through the 50,000 m² exhibition halls in search of something new. And the chances are that they didn’t go away empty handed because innovation levels were particularly high this year.

“Liquid metal” was one of the buzz-words which generated a great deal of interest at a number of different stands. Recent developments in technology have made it possible to print and varnish metallic surfaces and application samples on display - among them some spectacular reflective chrome surfaces - had visitors staring in amazement and queuing up to request price quotes.

Ciba's stand at the ECS

Alongside revolutionarily new pigments in the purest orange part of the spectrum and the latest special-effect pigments with their prismatic reflections, presentations of new color trends and state-of-the-art ultra-scratch-resistant clear varnishes (plasma curing) were some of the highlights of Ciba’s presence.

Ciba's stand at the ECS

As is so often the case at the European Coatings Show, the day did not end when the lights were turned off in the exhibition hall. Unlike most fairs, this event is not only aimed at boosting turnover; its focus is also to be a meeting point and communication opportunity for everyone involved.

Which is why in the evening you will often see the same faces in the beer cellars of Nuremburg’s Old Town that were at the fair during the day. The conversations might get more light-hearted later on but the topic is mostly the same: color. Because people who are professionally involved with color are never in it only professionally. People who work intensively with color love color. This is what keeps the mood up at the ECS and gets business up too. And it gets people excited about the next ECS in March 2009 - in Nuremberg’s exhibition centre … and in the beer cellars of the Old Town.

Trade Fair Activity - European Coatings Show 2007 © NuernbergMesse