HotCoating is melted in a pre-melting unit and applied with a heated roller system using reversing rollers or roller bar nozzles. A liquid varnish – usually a UV-curing, acryl-functional varnish – is then applied on top, as either a base or topcoat. Mr Kampwerth reported on some notable


HotCoating projects among key customers. “We are seeing an increasing number of global customers investing in their second HotCoating line,” he said. “It’s nice to see as it means the business model is working, the value-adding is amazing, some customers say it’s their best investment ever.” HotCoating, he added, had opened up an increased number of export markets for some of our customers, who are exporting themselves now to their international customers, compared to about half that previously. “HotCoating is the best technology to


create adhesion on melamine. When you are sending a container of products to another country you need to be absolutely sure of the surface adhesion and scratch resistance to be sure everything goes well in transit. “Some important customers in Europe, India or South Africa upgraded the first line with an Excimer to run supermatte finish and invested in a second new line for High Gloss. The volume of some customer demands causes line operations of 24/7, delivering to their markets. “India is a growth market with a huge demand of panel products. We already are present in this region and there are potential projects in the pipeline. “In all, about 75 HotCoating lines are operating globally, also covering regions such as North America, South America and Europe.” LIGNA saw some further innovative


updates for HotCoating. Kleiberit unveiled another innovation: a world-first roll-to-roll system capable of coating sheet materials with thicknesses up to 12mm. This high- performance industrial machine, with a working width of up to 1600mm, achieves processing speeds of up to 60 meters per minute. Live at the exhibition, visitors saw the


coating of flooring materials produced by Swiss HotCoating user LICO, using recycled leather scraps from industrial waste streams. The resulting sustainable flooring product consists of approximately 55% leather fibers, 25% natural rubber as a binder, 10% water, and 10% plant-based oils. The same 1600 mm HotCoating system can also be used for paper or thermoplastic films, opening new possibilities for cladding large-format, three- dimensional elements such as door panels. Kleiberit also showed visitors HotCoating dualcure, combining the benefits of moisture-curing coatings with photochemical curing – in milliseconds, giving advantages in


Above left: Kleiberit managing director Dr Helmut Meffert Above right: Exterior decking is an exciting application for HotCoating


stacking. “We are not riding waves, we are making


waves,” said Mr Fandrey. He said the Roll-to-Roll system demonstrated at LIGNA helped visualise and demonstrate trends of using soft, warm recyclable materials. “Our goal was to demonstrate the whole package - the coating, the core material, and the chemistry.”


The flooring industry, added Mr Fandrey, was increasingly looking at HotCoating technology.


“Flooring manufacturers have had such


a volume reduction that they have to do something different. The birthplace of HotCoating was in the flooring sector, but it was two-layer parquet, then we focused on the furniture industry with the melamine adhesion in supermatte, high gloss and adding value. “Now it seems we have a revival of the flooring sector, with the trends of modern flooring which is to be modern and soft.” Mr Fandrey said laminate flooring manufacturers had been particularly hit in recent years, with big falls in demand and sales. Companies needed to have new solutions against alternative material based SPC and LVT products. “We do have projects now with big flooring companies to provide alternatives to SPC and LVT, but using renewable substrate materials, like HDF. So, they can get the attributes and characteristics of LVT – deep texture, good optics, and a natural appearance which people like. - but without the plastic. The HotCoating can be used with or without digital printing in the solution.” Mr Fandrey explained that the solution is a premium product but costs less than LVT or foil lamination.


Applications for exterior products with


HotCoating are a growing market, creating a lot of interest among suppliers and architects. At LIGNA 2023 the company demonstrated exterior decking using HotCoating. “This whole topic is gaining importance,”


said Mr Fandrey. “People do not want just four colours of decking - grey, green, black and brown. The architect ideal is one floor from internal to exterior, that is their dream.” The decking producer supplying the product is still in the stage of rolling out the product, but it believes the solution has big potential.


Such applications showcase the durability


of HotCoating. Indeed, at Kleiberit’s own production facility, the decking product is used in an external area used daily by hundreds of staff. After three years, it still looks “perfect”, says Mr Fandrey. Mr Kampwerth said the market


background of reduced housing and construction, flooring producers shutting down laminating lines and generally reduced capacities had meant customers were looking for new solutions for the market. “They are all now willing to listen. Laminate producers are interested because of what their customers are saying.” The whole trend towards Bio-based and


recycled products and away from plastic is another important trend feature which benefits an HDF-based solution with HotCoating solution.


A further application for HotCoating is for flooring for commercial vehicles as an alternative to film-faced plywood. HotCoating gives the possibility for a solid colour top coating for a truck floor, with high levels of durability. Some applications have been completed in Eastern Europe. Building facades are also a very important application because of the unique properties of HotCoating. Meanwhile, some HPL customers in Europe


and Asia are producing HPL Compact with a HotCoating instead of using laminated acrylic sheets for several reasons, including cost-effectiveness and scratch-resistance. In summary, the HotCoating technology is expanding its base of applications, and we can expect to see its use in an ever- widening field of products in the future, with flooring manufacturers increasingly seeing opportunities at the moment. ●


www.wbpionline.com | December 2025/January 2026 | WBPI


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