As of 2025, the global paints and coatings market continues to expand, with projections reaching over $290 billion this year and a CAGR of 8.5%1. Growth is fueled by booming construction, rising automotive production, and increasing demand for sustainable materials—especially in Asia, the world’s largest consumer.
Eco-friendly formulations are reshaping the industry, with water-based and powder coatings gaining ground thanks to stricter environmental regulations and technological advances. Among the common types of industrial coatings are epoxy, polyurethane, and acrylic coatings, each playing a crucial role in protecting assets from corrosion and environmental damage while extending the lifespan of structures and reducing maintenance costs. As manufacturers adapt, efficient and hygienic bulk material handling—like AZO’s solutions—plays a vital role in supporting scalable, compliant production.
Leveraging Potential
Environmental compatibility, creative design options, nuanced color variations, and optimal surface finishes for various substrates—the list of requirements for paints and coatings is extensive and growing. Correspondingly, the diversity of raw materials used in production also expands. These factors elevate the demands on plant engineering and process control, presenting substantial potential for optimizing production processes, particularly in automated raw material handling.
To achieve the best results, it is essential to customize coating solutions to meet the specific requirements of each unique project.
Right Time, Right Place
Whether handling bulk solids, small quantities, or liquid components, AZO’s automated feeding systems, combined with innovative process control technology, deliver raw materials precisely and promptly to the dissolving process. This automation simplifies raw material preparation and significantly reduces labor-intensive, health-critical manual feeding from bags, thereby markedly improving formula consistency. Intelligent process control also enables reliable and rapid production monitoring, substantially improving final product quality. An efficient production line is essential to ensure consistent quality, speed, and cost-effectiveness in coating production.
Types of Coatings
The world of coatings is diverse, with each type offering unique characteristics tailored to specific needs and industries. Among the most widely used are epoxy coatings, powder coating, and urethane coatings. Epoxy coatings are renowned for their exceptional corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity, making them a top choice for protecting industrial equipment and supporting manufacturing services where durability and performance are critical. Powder coating, on the other hand, is favored for its robust protective layer and long-lasting finish, especially in outdoor applications and across various industries where exposure to the elements is a concern. Urethane coatings stand out for their flexibility and superior mechanical properties, making them ideal for certain applications that demand a high level of protection and resilience.
Selecting the right coating materials depends on several factors, including the substrate’s surface, the intended use of the finished product, and the desired properties such as corrosion protection and resistance to UV radiation. Each coating type brings its own set of advantages, ensuring that the final product meets the specific requirements of the application, whether it’s for industrial manufacturing, outdoor structures, or specialized equipment.
Diverse Solutions for Liquid Coating Production
The broad and diverse raw material spectrum presents unique challenges in automation solutions for coating production. Automating raw material handling is particularly critical to ease operator workload. Transparency and safety in raw material storage, including the safe handling and storage of chemicals used in coating production, precise reproducibility of extensive product ranges, and safe handling of liquid components are essential requirements.
Coating Methods
A variety of coating processes are employed to achieve optimal results, each offering distinct benefits and suited to specific applications. Among the most common coating processes are dip coating, spray coating, and electrostatic coating. Dip coating involves immersing the substrate into a coating material, ensuring a consistent and uniform layer across the entire surface. Spray coating utilizes a spray gun to apply the coating, providing greater control over the application process and allowing for precise coverage, especially on complex shapes. Electrostatic coating takes advantage of an electrostatic charge to attract the coating material to the substrate, resulting in an efficient and even coating with minimal waste.
The choice of coating method is influenced by the substrate, the type of coating material, and the desired thickness and properties of the final product. Many coating services combine these methods to achieve the best possible outcome, emphasizing the importance of precise control and rigorous quality control throughout the application process. This ensures that each layer meets the required standards and delivers the intended performance.
Secure Handling of Liquid Components
Depending on the application, volumetric flow meters are used for dosing large liquid components, or liquids are filled directly into a weighing mixer tank. Medium components are dosed and weighed using scales. Two distinct systems are used depending on viscosity: precise negative-weighing techniques for highly viscous liquids and positive-weighing techniques for freely flowing liquids. Chemical solutions are often employed in surface preparation or pretreatment processes before coating, ensuring optimal adhesion and coating performance.
AZO’s cyclone screening machines for liquids have proven effective in securely screening and removing agglomerates in coating production, known for their easy maintenance, simple operation, robust construction, and cost-efficiency.
Application and Quality
Achieving a flawless coating requires meticulous attention to every step of the application process. Quality control is a cornerstone of all coating processes, as it helps prevent contamination and ensures that the final product meets stringent standards for performance and appearance. The manufacturing process typically begins with thorough preparation of the substrate’s surface, followed by the careful application of the chosen coating, and concludes with a detailed inspection of the final product.
Different types of coatings demand specific conditions for successful application, such as controlled temperature, precise pH levels, and appropriate drying times. These factors must be carefully managed to achieve the desired properties, whether it’s corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity, or enhanced mechanical properties. Coating formulations can be customized to address unique requirements, demonstrating the versatility and adaptability of modern coating systems in delivering high-quality, reliable results.
Continuous Coating: Sustainable Production with Measurable Results
Continuous coating production is gaining popularity due to its environmental advantages and compact system footprints. Multiple process steps—powder introduction, wetting, pre-mixing, and homogenization—are performed by a single machine, reducing time, investment, and labor requirements. AZO’s DOSITAINER® system optimally supports continuous dosing, facilitating efficient product changes and handling challenging materials. In continuous coating production, precise formulation adjustments are essential to ensure consistent quality across different substrates and environmental conditions.
Industry Challenges
The coating industry is constantly evolving, facing challenges that drive the development of new technologies and innovative solutions. Improving efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and enhancing the performance of coatings are ongoing priorities. One significant challenge is preventing contamination during the coating process, as even minor impurities can compromise the quality and durability of the final product.
Outdoor applications introduce additional complexities, with coatings needing to withstand UV radiation, moisture, and extreme temperatures. This demands advanced coating materials and formulations that offer superior protective properties. In the medical field, coatings must meet strict requirements for biocompatibility and sterilization, necessitating specialized processes and materials.
To address these challenges, the industry invests heavily in research and development, continually seeking new coating materials, methods, and equipment. This commitment ensures that coating services remain at the forefront of innovation, delivering solutions that meet the evolving needs of various industries and applications.
Investment Goals:
- Strict formula adherence within tight tolerance ranges
- Optimal product quality through homogeneous mixing
- Maximum equipment availability
- High flexibility regarding material variety and precise dosing of small quantities
- Innovative conveying technologies, even for raw materials with challenging discharge behaviors, such as titanium dioxide
- Safe explosion protection, particularly compliance with ATEX directives
- Permanent batch traceability
- Minimization of risk, including reducing the risk of contamination, equipment failure, and safety hazards during coating production
Discovery How AZO Can Optimize Your Coating Production
Automating coating production processes with AZO equipment enhances flexibility, efficiency, and quality while minimizing cleaning and simplifying production adjustments. Industrial coatings play a crucial role in protecting various substrates, including concrete, from environmental and chemical damage. AZO provides integrated systems ensuring environmentally friendly production, extensive know-how, and reliable handling of even the most challenging materials.
Sources:
1. The Business Research Company
