Insights into the 2026 coatings market

By Emma Peterson. 

Ryan Knippel discusses industry trends and what a major brand integration means for SOPREMA this year.  

In a recent CoatingsTalk™, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Ryan Knippel, business development manager from SOPREMA, to talk about the state of the coatings industry and what SOPREMA has been up to so far in 2026.  

The state of the coatings industry 

In the last few years, coatings have steadily grown more popular as a preferred roofing solution. One of the biggest reasons for this rise in interest is the cost-effective nature of these products. Ryan explained, “There’s a lot of savings in coatings. Even for a full coating restoration, it’s way more cost effective than a full tear off. A lot of those savings come from material and labor costs, but you also get savings from avoiding landfill use and other smaller things that add up.”  

But these initial savings are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of working with a roof coating. A lot of coatings also offer long-term benefits such as easier maintenance with less inhabitant disruptions and better energy efficiency when working with cool coatings. Overall, as Ryan put it, “When you look at the big picture, coatings really are just a great offering.”  

SOPREMA’s role in the industry 

For contractors who want to either continue or start offering coatings and their many benefits to their customers, SOPREMA is a great resource. They have a broad portfolio of roofing products, including coatings. In fact, this year they made a huge leap in expanding their product line through a brand integration with Tropical Roofing Products (TRP). Ryan shared a bit about what this integration means for the brands and their products:   

You’ll see things like the flagship 924 coating, which comes from TRP, under the SOPREMA label now...To be clear, all the great numbers, performance and technology of 924 are still there, they’ve just gotten some new packaging and now have the great SOPREMA brand supporting them. 

Overall, this integration is a powerful move to support the growing interest and demand for roof coating systems across the market. Ryan shared, “This integration puts everything under one umbrella and gives TRP the stability, the strength and everything that comes with the brand recognition of SOPREMA.” Ultimately, TRP’s integration with SOPREMA gives more contractors access to the high-performance coatings they need to stay competitive with the rising coatings market.  

Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording to learn more about SOPREMA, their offerings and the state of the coatings industry.