TIGER Coatings

Their core work

TIGER Coatings is an Austrian industrial coatings manufacturer based in Wels, specializing in powder coatings and advanced surface materials. Within EU research, they contribute formulation expertise for functional inks, printable materials, and specialty coatings tailored to additive manufacturing processes. Their R&D involvement spans from nanoparticle-enhanced 3D printing materials to biocompatible inks for medical implant fabrication, positioning them as a materials supplier bridging industrial coating chemistry with next-generation manufacturing techniques.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TIGER Coatings entered H2020 in 2015 with DIMAP, focused on nanoparticle-enhanced digital materials for industrial 3D printing in robotics. By 2020-2021, their focus shifted decisively toward biomedical applications — INKplant brought them into biomaterials, ceramic additive manufacturing, and implant fabrication, while TINKER expanded into sensor integration. The trajectory shows a company moving from general-purpose 3D printing materials toward higher-value, application-specific formulations in healthcare and electronics.

TIGER Coatings is expanding from industrial coatings into biomedical-grade and electronics-grade printable materials, suggesting future interest in regulated, high-value additive manufacturing applications.

How they like to work

TIGER Coatings consistently joins as a participant, never leading consortia — a pattern typical of industrial materials suppliers contributing specific formulation expertise to research-driven projects. With 40 unique partners across 11 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~13 partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable as a specialized contributor within broad collaborative networks rather than seeking to drive project direction.

Across 3 projects, TIGER Coatings has collaborated with 40 distinct partners in 11 countries, indicating consistently large consortium participation with broad European reach. Their network likely spans universities, research institutes, and industrial partners across Western and Central Europe.

What sets them apart

TIGER Coatings brings industrial-scale coating and ink formulation capability to research consortia — they are not a lab, but a manufacturer who can take printable material concepts toward production readiness. Their rare combination of powder coating industrial heritage with biomedical materials R&D makes them a valuable bridge between material science research and manufacturability. For consortium builders, they offer the credibility of an established coatings company with demonstrated willingness to invest in frontier applications like implant fabrication.

Highlights from their portfolio

• INKplant
  Represents a significant pivot into biomedical territory — hybrid multi-material fabrication of next-generation dental and osteochondral implants, the highest-funded of their projects at EUR 436K.
• TINKER
  Their largest single EC contribution (EUR 560K), bridging digital and manufacturing sectors through additive manufacturing of sensor packages.
• DIMAP
  Their entry point into EU research, focused on nanoparticle-enhanced 3D printing materials with robotics applications — established their AM materials credentials.