The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things including the way we work. Lockdown saw many people move into home offices as work-from-home became the new normal.
Now despite the worst of the pandemic being over, many employers have adopted a hybrid work arrangement with office space being flexible and shared. In an article published in Coatings World, Maria Lamorey, PPG Commercial Strategy Manager, Industrial Coatings explains how this has created a challenge for the paints and coatings industry.
According to Lamorey:
“With a growing number of workers heading back to their offices in some capacity, commercial workspaces are being reimagined to accommodate today’s blend of in-person and virtual work with evolving floor plans and spaces designed for collaboration and flexibility.
Office furniture like desks, chairs, cabinets and privacy panels need to withstand heavy use as shared and multi-purpose workspaces are becoming more common.
The coatings that protect them need to be durable but also enhance the space with uniform colour and finishes that appeal to today’s office design trends.
A growing number of manufacturers in this industry are changing their paint lines from traditional liquid or solvent-based coating to powder coatings because of enhanced durability and resistance to abrasions, mars and scratches.
But beyond aesthetics, powder coatings offer other valuable advantages. The most notable includes batch-after-batch colour consistency and a broader range of on-trend finishes like bonded metallics, ultra-smooth surfaces, multi-colour textures and the ever-popular matte finishes.
Manufacturers are also taking note of powder’s sustainability benefits, including their low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content and the ability to reclaim and reuse overspray. Additionally, certain powder formulations can reduce waste with first-pass transfer efficiency rates of up to 85% and others are formulated with post-industrial plastic (rPET). New powder innovations are also helping manufacturers expand their offerings of products that help to create safer and more sanitary office spaces. Since the days of ancient Rome, silver has been prized for its antimicrobial properties. Today, coatings manufacturers are formulating coatings with silver ionic technology to help inhibit the growth of microbes on coated surfaces in commercial spaces. Silver also defends against bacteria that can lead to discoloration, odour and corrosion.”
[First published: Coatings World]
Chemgrit Coatings supplies a variety of ingredients and pigments to the paints and coatings industry. For more information contact Chemgrit Coatings on www.chemgritsa.co.za or nade@chemgritsa.co.za.