New generation of wood coatings in a changing world

The world around human kind is changing continuously in different aspects, such as political, social and cultural life, education, work, health, aging, and many others. Special attention is currently given to the signs of global warming and climatic changes, which are under extreme debate. The sharp rise of the oil price to almost US$ 150 in July 2008 will be an extreme threat to the sustainable global economic growth and effects negatively many industrial sectors. Yet, all these topics impact significantly on the future concepts for wood coatings and their application technologies. According to several studies the Global Wood Coating Market will show steady growth over the next 5 to 8 years, with annual growth rates between 2 to 15 % varying strongly between continents. The market dynamics is much influenced by economic growth figures and other economic challenges present in specific regions but more and more to a larger extent by tight environmental legislation, customer's demands for superior products and consumer consciousness on health and quality issues. These aspects are serving as a strong engine to drive the innovation in wood coating development by investing and setting priorities in research and technology to create and launch new products and processes that meet the new specifications determined by future market demands. As one example the increasing number of regulatory standards concerning the release of VOCs, will force coatings manufacturers to reformulate existing product lines to meet these demands. Already in Europe customers of wood coatings manufacturers will need to comply with the new VOC regulation that came into force in January 2007. As one result of this an ongoing shift to radiation-curable, powder and waterborne coatings can be noticed almost in all regions with different states of maturity. The market demand for the New Generation of Wood Coatings will also be boosted by the greater use of coatings of higher value, featuring enhanced durability, greater ease of use, more functionality and easier cleanup. This paper will highlight on key market challenges and resulting Research & Development trends in key wood coating markets such as Asia, Europe, and the United States and reveal orientating results by presenting advanced and early-stage technical solutions provided by the scientific community both at academic and industrial level. Some examples include the introduction of nanotechnology to UV-curable parquet flooring for ultra-high scratch resistant systems, waterborne polyurethane furniture coatings, new UV-absorbers for transparent exterior wood coatings with extended durability, interior and exterior coating systems based on vegetable oils and sugars with environmental benefit and superior performance. An outlook for some up-coming Research & Development needs in the wood coating area, which are currently at an early research stage or not yet considered as priorities will conclude the key-note address.