interview
9
is expected to be completed shortly.
“Although it is a solid business, our non-stick
coatings operation does not have the scale for it to
become a true market leader globally,” explained Leif
Darner, AkzoNobel’s Board member responsible for
performance coatings. “In the hands of new owners,
however, it offers good growth opportunities and we are
convinced our employees are joining an ambitious and
successful company run by capable professionals who
we trust to take the business forward.”
Back in better-known territory, the company is
providing paint solutions for this season’s Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team. Its new MP4-24
coating has been finished with what the company
describes as a sophisticated, state-of-the-art system of
Sikkens products. This produces a highly-distinctive
chrome finish, which can be cured on new bodywork
parts in under half the time of conventional coatings.
Another new coating comes courtesy of Ciba. The
Fig. 3. IRGAZIN Solid Red is designed for automotive,
company used the recent European Coatings Show
industrial and decorative coatings.
2009 to introduce a new high-performance pigment.
Known as IRGAZIN Solid Red, this diketo-pyrrole-
LyondellBasell produces more than one million pyrrole pigment is designed for automotive, industrial
tonnes per year of Hostalen ACP resins at the and decorative coatings (see Fig. 3).
following wholly-owned and joint venture locations: “IRGAZIN Solid Red offers better saturation
320 000 t/y at Wesseling in Germany, 320 000 t/y in than other colour index pigment red 254 products,
Plock Poland (Fig. 2), 400 000 t/y in Al-Jubail Industrial together with high colour strength and hiding power,
City, Saudi Arabia and 250 000 t/y in and excellent durability, even in
Münchsmünster, Germany. the highly saturated yellow-shade
Just Jansz, president of red colour area,” said Andreas
LyondellBasell’s technology business, Türk, global dead of Ciba’s paints &
commented, “The market demands coatings business line.
high-performance HDPE, and our According to the company,
unique multi-modal technology additional properties of IRGAZIN
effectively meets these needs. At Solid Red include excellent flow
LyondellBasell, we have already and gloss, and high resistance to
converted all of our HDPE slurry chemicals, solvents and bleeding.
plants into the new Hostalen ACP Finally, DuPont’s latest offering is
process.” patented smart-fibre technology that
The multi-modal Hostalen ACP gives firefighters up to 20 per cent
technology addresses customer needs more thermal performance when they
that are beyond the limits of standard encounter emergency conditions.
bi-modal HDPE, producing resins Nomex On Demand is specifically
with an advanced toughness/stiffness engineered to react and expand when
balance, superior impact resistance, temperatures reach 120°C or higher.
higher stress crack resistance and In routine conditions, thermal liners
significantly improved processing Fig. 4. Nomex On Demand. made with the fibres remain thin and
advantages. The process enables flexible, providing excellent thermal
producers to create resins that meet demanding protection and good mobility.
requirements for major HDPE applications ranging from “We are committed to protecting firefighters and
thin-wall packaging to crack-resistant pipe. other emergency responders with innovative products
Meanwhile AkzoNobel has agreed to divest its non- that will help enable them to perform their jobs
stick coatings business to privately-owned, US-based as safely as possible,” said Thomas G Powell, vice
company Whitford Worldwide. Financial details have president and general manager DuPont Advanced Fibre
not been disclosed. Systems.
The deal involves AkzoNobel’s global cookware and The company also believes that Nomex on Demand
bakeware activities, which operate out of five sites in will find other applications in oil and gas operations,
the US, China, India, Brazil and Italy. The transaction auto racing and military operations. v
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