When the doors open for the 4th PaintExpo at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre on 17 April 2012, roughly 400 exhibitors from 22 countries will be on hand. During the course of the 4-day event, they will present solutions for more efficient liquid painting, powder and coating coil coating on more than 105,000 square feet of net exhibition floor space. Offerings cover the entire process sequence from pre treatment right on up to quality control for practically all materials.

With roughly 400 exhibitors exclusively from the field of industrial coating technology, the fourth PaintExpo is experiencing significant growth amounting to more than 22% as opposed to the event in 2010. Approximately 25% of the exhibitors come from outside of Germany and a total of 22 countries are represented. With impressive increases in exhibitor numbers, internationalism and floor space, PaintExpo is further expanding its position as the leading international trade fair for industrial coating technology, and is providing visitors from companies with in-house painting operations and job-shop coaters with multi-sector offerings for a comprehensive range of materials which are unavailable anywhere else to this extent. The portfolio encompasses equipment and application technology, paints, drying and cross-linking systems, conveyor systems, automation solutions and painting robots, measuring and test equipment, quality control, environmental engineering, accessories, consumable materials and services, as well as printing, identification and packaging.

Numerous exhibiting companies take advantage of PaintExpo to present newly developed and enhanced solutions. These are laid out to conserve resources and reduce energy consumption, and at the same time to increase process reliability, quality, flexibility and ecology. Various exhibitors will present new processes and products based on nano-ceramics for more efficient and ecological pretreatment of metallic surfaces. And there's news with regard to blasting, grinding and ionising the surfaces of metals, plastics and wooden materials before they're sent to painting. System concepts which reduce energy consumption for powder coating, as well as for liquid and electrophoretic dip painting, and at the same time increase flexibility with regard to processes, manufacturing lot quantities and expandability, will also meet with great interest on the part of the visitors. In the field of application technology, new and enhanced paint guns and atomisers with increased transfer efficiency are allowing for cost reductions and quality improvements. A world's first in the field of paint feed based on a compact, high pressure, double diaphragm pump with gear ratios of 7:1 and 16:1 will also be presented. This innovation allows for large delivery rates of 2.6 or 1.25 litres per minute, and at the same a small number of double strokes, minimal shear effect in the fluid and extremely low-noise operation.

Beyond this, up to 30% energy savings are made possible by the drive design with zero dead space as compared with the paint circulating pumps which are commonly used today. The exhibitors at this year's PaintExpo will also showcase lots of new products in the areas of liquid and UV paint systems, as well as powdered enamel systems. Where liquid paint is concerned, attention is still being focused on reducing VOC emissions through the use of so-called very high solid and ultra-high solid paints, as well as improved corrosion protection. UV paints which offer a broad range of applications for painting both plastic and metal surfaces will also be presented. In addition to developments involving increased corrosion protection, systems, which offer reduced baking temperatures, as well as the associated savings and higher throughput rates, are also a focal point where powdered enamels are concerned. Systems will be presented to this end for which it has been possible to reduce the baking temperature from 180 to between 140 and 160? with baking times of 10 to 15 minutes. Beyond this, one of the large paint manufacturers will unveil his new worldwide product brand for liquid paint and powdered enamel coating solutions in the fields of wind power, aviation, yachts and other maritime applications, as well as general industrial applications.

Other new developments deserve mention as well, for example painting robots, conveyor systems, test and inspection systems, accessories such as covering materials, painting hangers, filters and pumps, as well as paint stripping systems and agents.

PaintExpo will take place at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre from 17 through 20 April 2012, and will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm, and on Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.

Further information and the exhibitor list can be accessed at www.paintexpo.com