CEPE held its Annual Conference and General Assembly in Vienna, Austria October 8-10, 2025. The conference opened with a welcome reception held at the Hilton Vienna Waterfront.

The conference commenced with opening remarks from David Beckford, CEPE’s newly appointed chairman. The day featured a variety of presentations related to three broader topics: Macro-economics, Current Challenges and the Role of Digitalization and AI in Today’s World.

Global Paint and Coatings Market

Highlights of the event included a comprehensive overview of the Global Paints and Coatings market by Dan Murad, CEO of The ChemQuest Group. According to Murad, the 2024 Global Paints and Coatings Market is estimated at $202 billion by value and 50 billion liters by volume, representing a 2.5% value and 0.4% volume increase vs. 2023. Decorative Architectural Coatings is the largest sector, constituting ~57% of total global coatings volume and 42% of global coatings market value.

1. At 30% volume share and 34% of the value, OEM Coatings represent the next-largest global coatings sector, with General Industrial Finishes, Powder Coatings, and Wood Finishes constituting the largest value and volume OEM Coatings segments.
   1. The high-value Special Purpose Coatings sector constitutes <15% of global coatings volume but 24% of coatings value.
   1. APAC, driven by China, leads all coatings sectors and almost all segments, in both value and volume.

Murad noted that sustainability and carbon neutrality goals are driving regulatory initiatives across the globe. “For the paints and coatings industry, these translate to more stringent VOC limits and restriction of VOC solvents.”

• • Other drivers of regulatory initiatives is the restriction and elimination of PFAS compounds, restrictions and limits on lead and other heavy metal content, the expanding list of substances of very high concern (SVHC) to phase out carcinogens, mutagens, persistent bio-accumulative toxic (PBT) compounds, and reproductive and endocrine toxins, and the restriction of biocides and microplastics (EU preliminarily defining all polymers as microplastics).
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• Austrian Coatings Market

Hubert Culik, president of the Austrian Coatings Federation and Klaus Schaubmayr, Ddirector of the Austrian Coatings Federation presented on the Austrian coatings market.

Current Challenges

Hayley Collins, sales excellence manager at Sherwin-Williams, presented “Demographics and Attracting Talent to Our Industry.” According to Collins as the paint and coatings industry evolves, this presents an opportunity for growth in a company. Employees may find themselves taking on different roles. In this new work environment collaboration is key. Companies must actively attract and provide incentives to retain capable employees.

Dirk Sieverding, CEO of Remmers, presented “Regulatory Challenges.” According to Sieverding, regulatory pressure will increase further as a result of potential REACh revisions, digital products passports as new and additional requirements and contradicting expectations.

Sieverding noted that regulation is the raison d’etre for politics. The incentives for the political sphere to increase regulation remain unchanged. Regulation of “dangerous chemicals” thus isn’t necessarily a mere “left wing” or “green” concern. “Global regulation will further diversify, resulting in higher bureaucratic burdens also in the EU.  Further increasing regulation will lead to further market consolidation. The price of regulation results in direct fee and consultant/IT costs, more complex product portfolios resulting in higher cost burden and rising prices throughout the supply chain.

Sieverding noted that the average direct cost burden for Remmers is currently in the mid-seven € amount.

In conclusion, Sieverding posited that regulation contributes to further reduced globalization. “The era of harmonizing markets seems to be over,” he noted. “Regulation restricts and protects market access in different world regions. In an increasingly muti-polar world with a simultaneous weakening of international institutions, global regulation will probably diversify. Only really big players will be able to afford product compliance in several world regions.”

Sieverding emphasized that focus is the answer. Companies need to focus on specific markets and product portfolios and EU politics needs to effectively focus on the further harmonization of EU internal market.

Other presentations included “How Digital Platforms Help Companies Manage Product Compliance and Other Regulatory Compliance” presented by Bojan Buinac, CEO, Chemius; “How to Protect Oneself Against Cyber Attacks,” by former CIA officer and diplomat, Guillermo Christensen, partner, K&L Gates; and “Delivering Growth with Inclusion – Unlocking Value Across People, Partners and Technology,” presented by Sofie Falcão, regional include and employee experience leader EMEA at Dow.