Additives are the foundation of innovation, able to enhance the performance, functionality, and durability of coatings across a wide range of industries. From healthcare to consumer goods, leveraging additives allows manufacturers to improve a coating's adhesion strength, flexibility, UV resistance, and antimicrobial resistance. 

Whether used in construction, automotive, packaging, or healthcare applications, coatings must offer superior durability, adhesion, color stability, and environmental resistance while also addressing regulatory and sustainability concerns. To achieve these objectives, manufacturers may be interested in multifunctional additives, which optimize formulations by combining multiple benefits into a single solution.

How Do Additives Work in Coatings?

Additives play a crucial role in improving the properties of coatings, ensuring they adhere properly, maintain their appearance, and withstand environmental stressors. Traditional coatings often require multiple additives to achieve these characteristics, but advancements in material science have led to the development of multifunctional additives that address multiple formulation challenges simultaneously.

For example, modern additives can enhance:

• Adhesion: Ensuring coatings bond effectively to various substrates, preventing peeling or flaking
• Color Stability: Preventing fading or discoloration caused by UV exposure or chemical reactions
• Moisture Resistance: Protecting against humidity, condensation, and water exposure to extend product life span
• Abrasion Resistance: Reducing surface wear and tear, improving durability in high-traffic applications
• Antimicrobial Protection: Inhibiting microbial growth to prevent material degradation and maintain hygiene in sensitive environments

By integrating additives that offer multiple benefits, manufacturers can streamline formulations, reduce production complexity, and improve cost efficiency while enhancing overall product performance.

Why Should Companies Invest in Multifunctional Coatings?

Multifunctional coatings can be a key differentiator for manufacturers, offering a broad range of benefits that go beyond traditional protective layers. These coatings integrate multiple performance-enhancing properties into a single formulation, allowing manufacturers to tackle several challenges simultaneously.

For example, modern multifunctional coatings can provide excellent hardness and adhesion while also including antimicrobial protection that reduces up to 99.9% of bacteria and resists fungi growth on the coated surface. By combining these key attributes, manufacturers can streamline formulations, reducing the need for additional stabilizers, adhesion promoters, or other additives. This leads to cost savings, simplified production processes, and a more efficient use of raw materials.

Investing in multifunctional coatings also supports product longevity and enhanced performance, reducing the need for frequent reapplications or repairs. These coatings help manufacturers meet evolving customer expectations for durable, sustainable, and high-performance products while adhering to industry regulations.

What's Driving the Shift Toward Greener Coatings?

As industries increasingly prioritize sustainability, the demand for low-VOC and biobased additives in coatings is growing. Traditionally, antimicrobial additives have relied on heavy metals or synthetic chemicals, which raise concerns over toxicity, environmental persistence, and regulatory compliance. In response, formulators are adopting eco-conscious alternatives that provide effective microbial protection while minimizing environmental impact.

This shift includes:

• Biobased additives sourced from natural ingredients such as plant extracts and enzymes that offer a more sustainable approach to microbial control
• Low-VOC formulations that preserve antimicrobial effectiveness while minimizing harmful emissions, addressing consumer concerns such as indoor air quality
• Water-based coatings that incorporate antimicrobial properties while reducing chemical runoff and environmental impact

By integrating these advanced formulations, manufacturers can enhance product performance while aligning with sustainability initiatives. Many coatings are now designed for long-term protection, eliminating the need for frequent reapplication and reducing reliance on consumable chemical treatments. This not only lowers waste and environmental impact but also meets the growing demand for environmentally friendly, nontoxic materials.

How Are Multifunctional Coatings Shaping the Future of Manufacturing? 

Coatings provide versatility and functionality to substrates, and customers have been seeking multifunctional coatings for years to meet their evolving needs. Unlike traditional built-in applications, coatings allow virtually any surface to be treated with various properties. Industry leaders in antimicrobial technology, such as Microban International,¹ are developing advanced coatings solutions applicable to a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, building materials, and consumer goods. These innovations extend to materials and surfaces such as flooring, glass, and wood. Advanced antimicrobial coatings technologies can provide multifunctional formulations, including: 

• Starting point formulas that can be used as is or transformed into custom solutions 
• Ready-to-use formulas that require no additional formulation
• Liquid concentrates that require only the addition of water

Along with being easy to use, these types of coating technologies can be water-based or solvent-based solutions to meet a variety of manufacturing requirements. For example, a water-based coating can provide hardness, chemical resistance, and adhesion in one solution, while a solvent-based coating can provide water and oil repellency, UV stability, and antimicrobial protection in one solution. Since these technologies have antimicrobial properties, coating technologies also inhibit bacterial growth up to 99.99% while preventing mold and mildew growth on coated surfaces.  

What Opportunities Do Multifunctional Coatings Present for Manufacturers?

The growing demand for multifunctional coatings reflects their importance in modern manufacturing. By combining antimicrobial protection with benefits such as improved adhesion, color stability, UV stability, and durability, these advanced solutions help streamline formulations, reducing the need for multiple additives and lowering material costs. This efficiency not only simplifies manufacturing processes but also supports regulatory compliance, particularly in industries with strict safety and quality standards.

As customer demand for sustainable, high-performance products continues to rise, manufacturers who integrate eco-friendly, multifunctional coatings can differentiate themselves in the market. These solutions contribute to longer-lasting materials, reduced environmental impact and increased brand value by aligning with both industry regulations and sustainability goals.

Ultimately, multifunctional coatings represent an opportunity for manufacturers to optimize production, enhance product longevity, and meet evolving market demands — all while positioning themselves as leaders in innovation and sustainability. Those who invest in these advanced solutions today will be better equipped to navigate future challenges and drive long-term success.

Learn more about Microban International at www.microban.com. 

References: 

1. Microban’s AkoTech™ is an advanced coating technology platform that provides multifunctional coatings to enhance and protect a broad spectrum of products. These technologies are easy to use and customizable for various manufacturing processes and end-use applications. AkoTech’s multifunctional capabilities are proven to help glass, wood, metal and nonwoven materials stay cleaner and fresher and last longer.