Press release - Inaugural World Paint and Coatings Week to be held 24th – 28th March 2025

The first ever World Paint and Coatings Week will take place over 24th-28th March 2025. This new initiative – launched by the World Coatings Council and its members - will allow an annual celebration of the value and benefits the coatings industry brings to its customers, societies, and economies all over the world. 

The British Coatings Federation, together with its individual company members, will all be taking part in this exciting global initiative in various ways and through different channels. From sharing information about the essentiality and sustainability of coatings, to highlighting the industry’s economic contributions and diverse career offerings. By sharing case studies and stories over the same week, it is hoped to create a critical mass of visibility to help raise the profile of the coatings industry – with governments, thought leaders, and the general public - in a way not achieved before.

The week will focus on five key themes, with a new one highlighted each day. The themes are: essential coatings, sustainable coatings, innovative coatings, valuable coatings, and careers in coatings.

You can keep up to date with the activities online by following the hashtag #WorldPaintAndCoatingsWeek. 

The week also coincides with the 2025 European Coatings Show (ECS) in Nuremberg, Germany, where it will be promoted and with a dedicated campaign launch activity taking place. More information about campaign activities at ECS will follow in due course. 

Commenting on the initiative, BCF CEO Tom Bowtell – who is also President of the World Coatings Council, said:

‘I am delighted the World Coatings Council has decided to inaugurate a World Paint and Coatings Week. We have so much to shout about as an industry, with paints, coatings and printing inks such an essential part of everyday life. Coatings companies around the world help make products safer, more effective, and better looking. They create wonderful spaces, help us communicate and express ourselves, as well as delivering functional gains such as protecting and prolonging the life of goods, foodstuffs and critical infrastructure.

‘Coatings are worth some £4 billion a year to the UK economy, employing 14,000 in their manufacture, and the UK is a net exporter of coatings. Moreover, some 300,000 people use or apply coatings in their jobs every day in downstream sectors such as construction, automotive or aerospace worth a collective £300 billion to UK GDP. Coatings are essential to the UK economy.

‘I look forward to seeing the whole coatings industry, from right across the world, join us in a celebration of all we offer. I hope this new initiative means many more people will learn about just how important coatings are to the world, and maybe even inspire the next generation of talent to take the first step towards a rewarding career in coatings.’

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The first World Paint and Coatings Week will run from Monday 24th March to Friday 28th March 2025. 

Please follow social media posts which use the hashtag #WorldPaintandCoatingsWeek.

Learn more about World Paint and Coatings Week and where to follow the World Coatings Council and its members at https://worldcoatingscouncil.org/world-paint-coatings-week/.

The BCF has a dedicated landing page on their website here: https://coatings.org.uk/page/WorldPaintAndCoatingsWeek

About World Coatings Council: 

The World Coatings Council is comprised of members representing associations from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Secretariat for the World Coatings Council is the American Coatings Association.

The council provides a forum for information exchange and cooperation on the major issues and priorities facing the paint and coatings industries worldwide. For information about the World Coatings Council and the activities it is involved in on behalf of the global paint and coatings industry, visit www.worldcoatingscouncil.org.