Trends Commentary "Building Tomorrow 2025-26"
Discover the key trends shaping the industrial coatings industry in 2025-26
Key trends for industrial coatings in 2025-26
- 1Trends and opportunities shaping the industrial coatings industry in 2025-26
- 2Top formulation trends in industrial coatings for 2025-26
- 3Green & Circular: Key raw materials to watch in industrial coatings for 2025-26
- 4Healthy Future: Key raw materials to watch in industrial coatings for 2025-26
- 5Smart Functionality: Key raw materials to watch in industrial coatings for 2025-26
- 6Efficiency: Key raw materials to watch in industrial coatings for 2025-26
Discover the formulation trends shaping the future of the industrial coatings industry
According to our customers, these are the megatrends that will have the highest impact in 2025-26 based on different regions1
What formulation trends our customers think will be most important in 2025–261
- 72% of industrial coatings customers selected automatic application as an important formulation trend.
- 81% of industrial coatings customers chose reducing waste as an important formulation trend.
- 86% of industrial coatings customers agree that material savings will be an important formulation trend.
Our technical experts’ view on the formulation trends in industrial coatings
Q. Which key product groups will be essential in formulating for the upcoming trends?
A. When it comes to healthier, greener solutions, water-based products will be essential because of their low VOC emissions and strong regulatory support. Bio-based materials from renewable sources and recycled products will be helpful for replacing petrochemical materials, as well as reducing the carbon footprint and dependence on fossil fuels. Products dedicated to high-solid and 100% solid content coatings, such as powder and UV coatings, contribute with minimal waste.
Q. What opportunities and challenges do you anticipate?
A. The main opportunity is to meet the growing demand for sustainable, high-performance products. That means the main challenge is to fulfil all regulatory requirements and global societal expectations while maintaining performance and keeping costs reasonable. For example, water-based formulations are much more complex and sensitive, with a larger number of raw materials that create even more interactions, making them more demanding in terms of formulation. Achieving the same overall performance as traditional solvent-borne coatings with the same workload and cost remains challenging.
Q. What specific hurdles might arise in developing sustainable formulations?
A. Developing sustainable formulations requires balancing sustainability with performance, efficiency, and costs. The main challenge is using different materials that work together while achieving all expected functionalities without harming the environment. Industrial formulations are largely designed for existing production lines, so they have to be adjusted to equipment without compromising durability, performance, or sustainability goals.
- IMCD Coatings & Construction Global Customer Trends Survey 2025-2026, Industrial Coatings
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