Welcome

Focus Sessions on:

- Sustainability in Decorative Coatings Sector
- Sustainability in Industrial Coatings Sector

Dear Reader,

The economic recovery in 2010 is failing to live up to the hopes and expectations of some areas of the European coatings industry.

Certainly, while this situation is not exactly ideal for making bold investments, it does illustrate how vital it is to explore and probe promising new approaches. This is why sustainability of products and processes is essential. One hallmark of our industry is that it addresses such future-critical issues promptly and vigorously. The CEPE Annual Conference 2010 in Istanbul features a programme of presentations designed specifically to study this topic from all angles. As it's not always easy to define the parameters and implications of specific relevance to the European paint and coatings industry, this year's participants will be comprehensively informed about the challenges and opportunities which "sustainability" will afford our industry in the years to come.

Many people associate "sustainability" with rising costs and declining performance. But what is more costly in the long run? To unswervingly invest in a sustainable future even in times of lower sales, or to keep putting the topic on the backburner? Come to Istanbul and discover how the long-term prosperity of your business hinges on the extent to which business performance is founded on sustainability. Perhaps you, too, are preoccupied with the question of how much, if at all, our customers are prepared to accept higher costs for using renewable raw materials in paints and coatings? When you are following debates ranging from carbon footprints to life-cycle analyses, do you find yourself wondering how to correctly quantify the sustainability of your products and processes? In Istanbul, top-class sustainability experts will be on hand to answer these questions using concrete examples. The conference itself will kick off with a joint session on sustainability, which will be probed in much greater depth in the ensuing parallel sessions on Decorative Coatings and Industrial Coatings.

This is an invaluable opportunity not to be missed! Join your European colleagues in the Ceylan International hotel in Istanbul on 22 to 24 September 2010 to define and discuss the current positioning and future strategy of our industry.

Yours sincerely,

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