PaintExpo 2024: Greater visitor turnout, great atmosphere, and more international than ever before

Copyright: Leipziger Messe GmbH / Tom Schulze

A very high visitor turnout, a great, work-intensive atmosphere in the three exhibition halls, as well as a multitude of qualified technical discussions and new customer contacts – the ninth edition of PaintExpo from April 9 to 12, 2024, was a complete success. As part of the world’s leading trade fair for industrial coating technology in Karlsruhe, 431 exhibitors from 25 countries showcased new, groundbreaking technologies for the sustainable and energy-efficient coating processes of the future across an exhibition space of 31,500 square meters. 10,400 trade visitors were on site. The number of countries from which visitors came increased from 57 to 76 compared to the previous trade fair. This year, PaintExpo was more international than ever: the proportion of international exhibitors was 45 percent, and more than one in three visitors traveled from abroad. Exhibitors and visitors drew very positive conclusions from the fair.

PaintExpo has once again convinced exhibitors and visitors as the world's most important international industry platform for industrial coating technology. “We are very pleased with the large visitor turnout, which has increased significantly compared to the previous event. PaintExpo proved to be powerful and innovative – and more international than ever before. For four days, the heart of industrial coating technology was beating here. This underscores PaintExpo’s position as the world's most important impulse generator for the industry,” says Markus Geisenberger, Managing Director of Leipziger Messe.

The entire world of industrial coating technology in one place

The world’s leading trade fair for industrial coating technology reflected the international product and service offerings of the industrial coating industry across its entire spectrum along the value chain. The range extended from pretreatment through paints, equipment, and application technology to final inspection and packaging. Many world premieres, technological developments for more sustainable and energy-efficient coating processes, pragmatic solutions to improve quality, and digitalization of manufacturing processes were the focus.

The exhibitors drew a very positive conclusion about the fair. In the official survey, 94 percent of exhibitors stated that they would exhibit again at the next event. Nine out of ten respondents expect good post-fair business.

Michael Müller, CEO of WAGNER International, was very satisfied with the world’s leading trade fair for industrial coating technology: “Our exhibition stand was very busy from the very first minute of the event. Half of the visitors we greeted came from abroad. From Argentina to Japan – visitors from all over the world were present. For us as a globally active corporate group, this is of particular importance.”

Oliver Zanner, Head of Marketing at FreiLacke, also praised this year’s edition: “Even before the start of PaintExpo, we clearly sensed the great interest of visitors. It had a completely different, intense dynamic compared to the last fair. We were able to exchange ideas with many visitors and conduct very high-quality discussions. As a system coating specialist and manufacturer, we target our customers from various industries at PaintExpo. For us, PaintExpo is the most important industry meeting.”

Challenging times, but PaintExpo exudes optimism

The current framework conditions for the industry are challenging, but the atmosphere during the four days of PaintExpo was optimistic. “Last year posed considerable challenges for our industry! Numerous projects had to be postponed or completely abandoned. Since mid-Q1 2024, however, signs of recovery are emerging, and investments in sustainable technologies and innovative automation solutions are picking up speed again. I also observed this positive development at PaintExpo. Many interested parties and existing customers inquired about the latest developments in this field. I am convinced that many fascinating projects and state-of-the-art systems will emerge from these discussions, and I look forward to the rest of the year positively. We are already looking forward to the next PaintExpo and are determined to participate again,” explains Thomas Rippert, Managing Director of RIPPERT.

Great satisfaction and a high decision-maker ratio among visitors

Visitors also rated PaintExpo very highly: in the survey, nine out of ten respondents said they would recommend PaintExpo and attend the next event again. The number of top decision-makers or technical and management personnel was also very high. 83 percent of visitors have a significant influence on investment decisions in their companies.

Sergey Guskov, Sales and Service Manager Central and North Europe Industrial Coating Systems at Nordson Germany, emphasizes: “PaintExpo offers excellent opportunities to make new contacts and initiate business. Networking is highly valued here. Our participation in the fair was very successful. We are very glad to be back at PaintExpo.”

More than one in three visitors traveled from abroad

PaintExpo also offered a lot on the visitors’ side internationally: more than one in three visitors traveled from abroad. In addition to Germany, visitors mainly came from Switzerland, Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

Ulrich Tautz, Senior Manager Sales Industrial Products at Dürr Systems, was pleased that PaintExpo 2024 attracted a large number of international visitors: “We had an employee with 25 years of trade fair experience with us – and he said he had never experienced such a strong second day at PaintExpo. My colleagues from different countries regularly exchanged with visitors in their native languages during the fair. This clearly shows how international PaintExpo is.”

Work-intensive atmosphere in the halls, next trade fair date already set

“In the three exhibition halls, there was a great, work-intensive atmosphere, and a variety of languages could be heard. This makes it clear that providers and users from around the world are coming together in one place. At PaintExpo, groundbreaking innovations were presented, new business contacts made, and concrete projects discussed to shape the future of the industry. The success of PaintExpo 2024 confirms that we are on the right track together with our partners,” reports Project Director Mariella Riedel.

The next edition of PaintExpo will take place from April 14 to 17, 2026, in Karlsruhe. Rebooking has already started, and the first booth spaces for PaintExpo 2026 have already been allocated.

About PaintExpo

At PaintExpo 2024, 431 exhibitors from 25 countries showcased their range of services, and 10,400 trade visitors from 76 countries attended. The next edition of PaintExpo will take place from April 14 to 17, 2026, in Karlsruhe. The world’s leading trade fair for industrial coating technology is the showcase for innovations, applications, future technologies, and trends around coating. PaintExpo displays the international product and service offerings of the industrial coating industry across its entire spectrum along the value chain. This unique concentration of companies from the industry worldwide is the reason for its high appeal to users from contract coating and in-house coating companies around the globe.