Read the latest issue of the magazine dedicated to surface treatments and organic and inorganic finishes: special issue on PaintExpo 2026!
Finding the right balance in uncertain times.
This is the subtitle of the OECD’s interim economic outlook report released last September. In the first half of 2025, global growth showed greater resilience than expected, particularly in many emerging economies. According to projections, global GDP growth will decline from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025 and 2.9% in 2026, as tariffs and still-high policy uncertainties continue to dampen investment and trade.
In 2025, GDP growth in the Eurozone was modest and structurally low, at around +0.8%; forecasts for 2026 are slightly more optimistic, at +1%. China and the United States are also showing signals of a slowdown compared to the 2024-2025 period.
The manufacturing sector accounts for a large portion of GDP in both Europe and China, 15% and 25%, respectively. At the same time, European companies are strongly export-oriented and diversified, which increases their resilience. In the US, manufacturing contributes a lower share, around 9-10% of total GDP.
The surface treatment sector is a specialised niche within the manufacturing industry: in 2024, its global market was estimated to be worth over $105 billion, highlighting growing demand for applications in the automotive (especially the high-end and electric mobility segments), aerospace, electronics, medical, energy, and defence industries. North America holds a significant share of the market (with the US leading the way). Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region. Europe maintains critical but relatively declining shares in the global chemical/manufacturing sector – you will find this topic explored in depth in the opening article of this issue.
Now, in light of this analysis, does it still make sense to be dynamic entrepreneurs who are willing to invest, take business risks, and pursue development and commercial expansion?
Yes, it does. But not in the same way as it did ten or fifteen years ago.
Slow economic growth does not necessarily equate to a lack of opportunities. On the contrary, in this context, the greatest risk is immobility, the tendency to take a romantic view of entrepreneurship based on ‘feelings’ and optimistic forecasts rather than on know-how, analyses, and skills.
Today, dynamic (and successful) entrepreneurs are well-prepared, selective, clear-headed, and adaptable. They are able to identify the technical needs of the market, presenting themselves as partners rather than suppliers and assisting clients in critical workflow stages with reliable solutions, repeatable processes, and certified quality. They also know it makes sense to invest in digitalisation to reduce errors, in applied R&D, and in flexible automation – in short, in technological risk, to avoid being left without options for survival in five years.
The surface treatment sector offers extraordinary opportunities for growth because its processes are critical to the functionality of products, affecting their quality, durability, and reliability. By investing in surface treatments, companies can enter new value chains, becoming partners that are more difficult to replace.
The event to discuss all these issues is PaintExpo 2026, to be held in Karlsruhe (Germany) in April. The pages of this ipcm® issue, which will be distributed at our stand at the trade fair, already include many examples of what it means to be an entrepreneur today.
Because now is the time for above-average thinkers to rise up.
READ THE MAGAZINE!