BCF’s essential coatings and inks campaign highlights industry involvement in fight against coronavirus

British Coatings Federation (BCF) has launched a new #essentialcoatings and #essentialinks campaign to highlight the critical role the coatings and printing inks sectors play in the UK economy and, in particular, as part of the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

At any given time, coatings have a vital role to play in a modern economy, however, above and beyond this, over the past few months the sector has played an increasing role in the nation’s response to coronavirus. BCF members have been playing their part supplying key coatings and inks used in products and components for items such as ventilators, hospital beds and trollies, sneeze guards for checkout counters, oxygen cylinders, hospital isolation units, and also in meeting the increased demand for food and pharmaceutical packaging.

In addition, BCF members have also demonstrated a strong communitarian role. They have been using their facilities to switch production to now much-needed products for the NHS and local communities, like hand-sanitiser and PPE, as well as helping out in their local areas more generally.

The new #essentialcoatings and #essentialinks campaign serves to showcase the essential functions of coatings and inks in the fight against the coronavirus with a dedicated webpage featuring BCF member case studies along with a social media campaign to promote the efforts. Visit www.coatings.org.uk/essential for more information.

Tom Bowtell, CEO of the British Coatings Federation said: "The coatings industry is playing its part in the ongoing fight against coronavirus, supplying the vital goods and components others in critical frontline sectors need. I am proud of the way in which our members have contributed and our #essentialcoatings and #essentialinks campaign helps make clear to a wider audience what they have been doing. However, while we are all rightly focussed on the response to coronavirus at the present time, we also want to make sure that the industry’s wider, historical and ongoing contribution to our economy gets the recognition it deserves. So our campaign will continue, over the course of the year, to highlight the diverse and important ways in which coatings and inks help UK industry and consumers day in, day out. From the health sector to defence and from automotive to any number of home and office applications, coatings and inks are essential products."