Focus Area

Industrial applications

From automotive parts to metal furniture, the industrial sector impacts almost every aspect of modern life. With decades of experience developing coatings for bulk industrial applications, and newer capabilities in emerging technologies, we help you serve this diverse market more sustainably.
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Challenge: Delivering profitable sustainability for a fragmented market

From automotive and transportation components to metal furniture, tools, and coil coatings – industrial applications are everywhere, and nearly always in need of protective or functional coatings.

In this fragmented market, coatings manufacturers face pressure to meet a wide range of performance needs, while staying close to their customers – be it on a local, regional or global level - and keeping the overall cost of coating operations low.

At the same time, they must comply with external regulations such as the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), as well as meeting internal safety and sustainability targets. Smart coating solutions that boost efficiency can support all these goals.

Key Drivers

  • Diverse market needs

    Diverse market needs

    With such a broad range of industrial applications, coatings manufacturers must offer solutions for a wide range of substrates and performance goals – while also meeting the unique needs of their markets.

  • Profitable sustainability

    Profitable sustainability

    External regulations like REACH, internal sustainability targets, and cost pressures are driving demand for industrial coatings that can be applied efficiently, to reduce both costs and CO₂ emissions.

  • From 2-layer to DTM solutions

    From 2-layer to DTM solutions

    One way for manufacturers to reduce the costs, material consumption, and emissions involved in their coating processes is to reduce the number of coating layers. A growing shift to direct-to-metal industrial coatings is helping to make this possible.

Status: A broad technology toolbox for more sustainable solutions

To help industrial coatings manufacturers address various customer needs, Covestro offers a broad range of technologies – from polyurethane solutions for heavy-duty agricultural equipment coatings to acrylics for domestic appliances or machine housings.

Demand for improved sustainability performance is driving the industrial coatings market’s ongoing transition from solventborne to waterborne technologies. Our waterborne resins can help customers meet their sustainability targets and reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) content, together with our high-solids solutions and CQ solutions with at least 25% alternative raw material content.

To enable more efficient coating application, emissions reductions, and cost savings, we also offer Pasquick®. This technology reduces VOC emissions and cures up to three times faster than conventional systems while delivering the same high-level protection. And within the Pasquick® system, Desmodur® ultra – containing <0.1% residual monomer content – can help manufacturers comply with the REACH diisocyanates restriction.

Facts & figures

  • A market expecting significant growth

    A market expecting significant growth

    The global direct-to-metal coatings market is predicted to increase from US$ 1506.2 million in 2024 to US$ 1984.1 million by 2030 ¹

  • Agriculture: A key element within ACE

    Agriculture: A key element within ACE

    Agriculture is the largest end-market for agricultural, construction, and earth-moving equipment (ACE) coatings, and is expected to remain so until 2030.²

  • REACH requires diisocyanates training

    REACH requires diisocyanates training

    Since August 2023, the EU’s REACH regulation has required training for people handling substances containing >0.1% diisocyanates – traditionally a key ingredient in many industrial coatings. ³

Next: Toward tailored solutions for ambitious future demands

As the industrial coatings market grows, there will be opportunities for coatings manufacturers to serve even more end-applications. At Covestro, we will support this by expanding our portfolio, combining our experience in bulk industrial PU solutions with an expansion in acrylic solutions.

Our range of direct-to-metal solutions that enable fewer coating layers is already growing, as we continue our transition from solventborne to waterborne resins with products such as NeoCryl® XK-117/1. And we continue to develop low-bake and fast-cure solutions to help our customers reduce energy consumption, emissions, and costs.

Ultimately, we aim to offer more tailored solutions to help customers meet the needs of their markets.

Hands-on solutions

Industrial Applications

  • Story

    Partly bio-based isocyanate hardeners for industrial coatings

    Discover Covestro’s partly bio-based isocyanates for the industrial coatings market. Create industrial coatings that support your carbon-footprint targets.

  • Story

    Partly bio-based coatings

    Desmodur® CQ BL 7175 partly bio-based hardener lowers environmental impact without compromising on performance

  • Story

    Pasquick® – process efficiency in industrial applications / Pasquick® boosts ACE and industrial metal coatings process efficiency

    Pasquick® binder technology helps to enhance process efficiency in ACE and other industrial applications through fast curing at ambient temperatures.

  • Story

    Planning straightforward by cross-linking. Why not?

    A new standard for industrial hygiene – without any compromise

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