The Indian Paint and Coating Association (IPCA) is all set to organize its biennial conference in New Delhi on September 16-18, 2022. Themed as UNCAP-IT, the ‘IPCA Biennial Conference 2022’ will be one of the first major conferences for the paints and coatings fraternity after the devastating Covid pandemic.

The technical sessions focused on various topics related to the painting industry on 17th September will be inaugurated by ICPA President, Sagar Goel.  Ranging from sustainability to green technologies, and new product innovations to addressing common challenges, the conference will host a total of 19 technical sessions.

Among the companies that will feature in the sessions include Tipco Engineering India, 20 Microns, Jesons Industries, DIC South Asia, Cardolite Specialty Chemicals India, KLJ Resources, Perstorp Chemicals India, Kusumoto Chemicals, Synco Industries, Soujanya Colors, Anuvi Chemicals, Allnex Resins India, Sakarani Plaster, Covestro India, Sakshi Chem Sciences, BYK India, Ecosmob Technologies, Dow Chemical International, and Arkema Chemicals India.

The conference is happening in the backdrop of many new challenges being faced by the industry. Over the last several years, common issues facing the paint and coating industries have increased significantly. While it is always a constant challenge for each individual association to manage the myriad of domestic regulations, it has become increasingly difficult to interpret the potential impact of foreign issues.

With a strength of around 1650 members and growing, IPCA has often acted as a bridge between the academia, manufacturers, and corporates to impart knowledge through training sessions and problem solving. This kind of core technical input from an industry body has catapulted IPCA into a different league altogether.

 As per ICPA, its biennial conferences have always enjoyed the patronage of members and corporates dealing in this field. Sharing the agenda behind the event, ICPA management says, “It is time for the industry to come together and share our learnings and design a common agenda without any restrictions of imaginations, predictions and assumptions. MSMEs have been each other’s’ inspiration and we must use this biennial conference as a stimulus to assimilate uncapped ideas and suggestions. Hence, the theme of our conference, UNCAP-IT.”

“The two significances reflected in this triumvirate are that we must use IT and innovative technologies to excel our businesses, and CAP also signifies the first IPCA Biennial Conference taking place at the Capital of India, New Delhi. As the hosts of this conference, we assure you of a very well planned, graceful and informative business conference,” it added. 

The Indian Paint and Coating Association was formed in 2003 with a mission to improve communication and to coordinate industry policy on matters of national and international concern.  It is an amalgam of paint, ink and powder coating manufacturers, raw material manufacturers and traders, machinery manufacturers and allied industries.

One of the young and dynamic associations, it represents both the organized and unorganized sector in the paint and coating industry.  The association has a pan- India presence with active regions in New Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Western UP - Ghaziabad, Eastern UP - Agra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana Andhra Pradesh, Central UP - Lucknow-Kanpur and Kerala.

Along with other technical seminars and residential conferences, IPCA has also conducted certificate courses in coating technology with the likes of Colour Society, Mumbai; IIT-Delhi; IICT, Hyderabad; Skill India, and MSME Ministry, Government of India. 

In the past, the Mega Biennials have taken place at locations such as Agra, Kathmandu, Jaipur, Bangkok, Amritsar, Goa, Jaipur and Chandigarh. Another popular format - Knowledge Sharing Seminars, or KSS, are regularly organized by the Association at all the major regions wherein topics are chosen on the basis of feedback received from regional organisers, or a perception of the audiences’ need, or to discuss any important and relevant breakthrough technologies.