Market trends for powder coatings

We catch up with Dami Babalola, Axalta's architectural colour expert in the UK, to see what architects want from powder coatings now and in the future

Dami Babalola

Dami Babalola

Axalta's Specification Leader United Kingdom

With durability a major concern for specifiers, it’s not surprising that Dami is experiencing more requests for hard-wearing powder coatings. “That’s definitely where I’m seeing a lot of demand,” she says. “In the UK, customers have traditionally opted for Qualicoat Class 1 coatings but many specifiers now ask for products certified to Class 2.”

Dami Babalola Green Targets

Green Targets

Dami attributes the shift partly to a move towards greener building practices: “Specifiers value high quality, and that ties into meeting sustainability targets. It makes sense to create buildings that last longer.”

Looking to the future, Dami believes climate adaptations might have a growing influence on specification decisions. “There are more requests for dark-coloured heat reflective powder coatings. Until now, these coatings have not had the same significance here in the UK as they do in some parts of the world, such as the Middle East,” she says. “Given that we’re starting to experience hotter summers in Europe, it’s likely that more specifiers will consider the sustainability benefits of passive cooling strategies.”

Warm Tones

Warm Tones

In terms of colour trends, there is still a lot of demand for warm tones inspired by the natural world: earthy shades plus stone hues and bronzes. “This has been a trend for the past few years,” Dami says. “When specifiers do go for brighter colours, they are often warm tones such as oranges and reds.”

Warm Tones

Future Innovation

Dami doesn’t think our preference for nature-inspired powder coatings will disappear any time soon and believes manufacturers will continue to innovate in colour and texture: “I can see a time when powder coatings that truly emulate materials from the natural world are available. We’ll be able to create surfaces that genuinely look and feel like stone or terracotta, for example.”

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LEED Seminar by axalta

Axalta developed a seminar exploring innovations in powder coatings and highlighting their relevance to architecture projects today and in the future. Featuring insights from coatings R&D experts, the session highlights how manufacturers are helping the construction industry to meet sustainability challenges and showcase creativity using powder coatings. There is also advice on specifying powder coatings.

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