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The new European Coatings

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Like a crystal ball This is the picture which we would like you to have in mind while reading this issue of the European Coatings Journal. Together with leading companies of the paint and coatings industry, we take a look into the industry's future in our annual survey (page 23).

Source: Eckart

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A colourful outlook can be found in our focus on pigments. Read our exclusive pigments market review by ECJ editor Damir Gagro (page 12), accompanied by a short study about metallic effect pigments by consultant Alex MacLeod ( page 16). Moving to the technical side of this topic, Peter Wissling, Eckart GmbH, offers reflections on a sparkling business, reviewing centuries of manufacturing metallic pigments (page 27).

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Adopting a somewhat broader, industry-wide perspective, our annual review and forecast explains why coatings manufacturers may start to be more optimistic when contemplating about their future business performance (page 21). In addition, Dr Tobias Lewe and Michael Schmidt-Rost, A.T. Kearney provide pieces of advice on how to best ride the wave of recovery (page 18), even without having a crystal ball in your office.

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European Coatings J OURNAL

Market Watch Industry news Interview

 Powder coatings

Biobased coatings

“Further work necessary to substitute non-biosourced raw materials”

Tikkurila to sell its powder coatings business

Peter Collins, PRA Coatings Technology Centre Currently, biobased paints only serve a small niche market. These products bear not only long-term ecological but also economical benefits. Peter Collins, Technical Director at PRA Coatings Technology Centre, says the biggest challenge for the industry will be sourcing, converting and seperating biomass into useful raw materials. _Except for applying environmentally beneficial products on surfaces, what are further advantages of biobased coatings? Peter Collins: Apart from sustainability, it is diffictult to see additional direct benefits from biobased coatings, since the performance requirements of the coating are those needed by the downstream customers - applicators and end users which are independent of the raw material source. Often biobased raw materials will undergo a chemical transformation process, e.g. functionalization or polymerization, before they are used in the coating, which may further obscure their source. If the coatings are formulated correctly then ideally the end user should not see any performance deficits. _What are the challenges for biobased coatings? How do they perform compared to conventional coatings? Peter Collins: I think that the biggest challenge we face as an industry will

European Coatings Conference: : "Biobased Coatings II" Berlin/Germany 10-11 February 2011 www.europeancoatings.com/events/ ecc-biobased.cfm

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be sourcing, converting and separating biomass into useful raw materials, whilst simultaneously reducing our energy requirements. Sourcing needs to be done in a way that is complementary rather than competitive with increased demands for food production, e.g. utilising waste materials. The terms biobased and agriculturally sourced are often thought of synonymously and this may not necessarily be so. It may be possible to utilize biochemistry in conventional process equipment to produce hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide and water. Conversion needs to be accomplished with low energy input from non-fossil fuel sources. Separation always requires energy to overcome entropy and again this needs to be from non-fossil fuel sources. Since biobased materials are normally produced in waterbased environments, plants cells, they sometimes have a tendency to be hydrophilic which may need to be reduced, e.g. by functionalization and chemical transformation. _In which markets and segments do biobased products dominate currently? Where do you see growth? Peter Collins: I cannot think of any coatings significant sized market segments where totally biobased products currently dominate. Possibly one could consider long oil alkyds used in decorative architectural trim paints as having a substantial bio-content, mostly soyabean oil, however in the past these have normally been solventbased. The advent of waterbased alkyd emulsion polymers may change this significantly, lead to growth in biobased polymers being used for these applications; however these polymers currently usually contain substantial amounts of nonbiosourced chemical raw materials and further work will be necessary to substitute these. (gag)

Source: Tikkurila Oyj

Tikkurila Oyj’s Swedish subsidiary Dickursby Holding AB is to sell all the shares in OOO Tikkurila Powder Coatings, a Russian industrial coatings company, to Teknos Group Oy. With a production plant in St. Petersburg, the powder coatings site sells and markets its products in Russia. Erkki Järvinnen, President and CEO of Tikkurilla, spoke to ECJ and said: “This divestment was made, because the unit in Russia was the only factory left producing powder coatings within the Tikkurila Group. Powder coatings is not a core business. In Industrial Coatings we are concentrating on parts where we can best leverage our core competencies and on the other hand can stay geographically focused.” The transaction is subject to approval of the competition authorities. www.tikkurila.com

 Resins Arkema acquires Total’s resins business French company Arkema has announced a project to acquire the coatings resins and photocure resins businesses of Total’s Specialty Chemicals activities for EUR 550 million. Fully in line with its strategy to bolster its specialty product activities, this project will strengthen the company’s position in the global coatings resins market. It would further increase the downstream integration of its acrylics chain, while offering major potential for growth and synergies. The businesses concerned by the project comprise the coatings resins in Europe, Asia, South Africa and the United States, as well as the photocure resins in Europe, the United States and Asia. These make up a coherent group of specialty products used in the high value-added paints and industrial coatings markets. www.arkema.com

www.european-coatings.com

Market Watch Industry news

 Pigments

Expansion Adhesives 

Henkel to invest in new production in Hungary To seize further growth opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Henkel plans to build up a new production facility and a logistics centre for its adhesives activities in Tatabánya, Hungary. The new site will play an important role in the company’s produc production network as it will serve its adhesives activities as a platform for growth in the Central and Eastern Europe region. The adhesives producer plans to invest EUR 14.7 million in the construction of the new facility which is expected to become fully operational by 2012 and will offer 80 job opportunities. To further support its investment, Henkel also plans to shift production activities from other sites to Tatabánya. www.henkel.com Printing inks 

Sun Chemical upgrades plant in the Netherlands Sun Chemical, a manufacturer of printing inks and pigments, has demonstrated its commitment to the publication gravure market, with the announcement that its upgraded plant in Etten, Netherlands, is now fully operational. This facility is serving as a dedicated production plant for all publication gravure inks and is located to supply customers throughout France, Benelux, Germany and Central Europe. The company invested EUR 8 million in the new site. www.sunchemical.com

Plasticers 

Eastman completes plasticizer expansion at Estonia site Eastman Chemical Company announced it has completed an expansion of its “Benzoflex” plasticizer line at its site in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia. The expansion increases the production capacity by 11,000 metric tons at the site. The benzoic acid derivative is a benzoate ester plasticizer used in adhesives, sealants and caulks. The chemical company acquired the plasticizer product line earlier this year by buying Genovique Specialties Corporation. www.eastman.com



 Decorative coatings

Emulsion polymers

Yule Gatto agrees to purchase PolymerLatex

AkzoNobel to close plant in Hungary

UK-based specialty company Yule Catto & Co plc has agreed to acquire Germany-based PolymerLatex from TowerBrook Capital Partners. The UK-based company is already the owner of the Synthomer polymers business. Synthomer and PolymerLatex are suppliers of emulsion polymers, which are used to manufacture a wide range of products including paints, coatings, adhesives and floor coverings. The transaction is expected to be completed during Q2, 2011. www.yulecatto.com

AkzoNobel is shutting down its plant in Hungary at the end of 2010. The paints and coatings company produces decorative paints in Tiszaújváros. The decision is part of plans of the company’s long-term global strategy which addresses the concentration of production capacity in Europe. There have been big changes in the sales structure of the paint market and demand has dropped, according to the company. Unfavorable changes have caused production efficiency to worsen. www.akzonobel.com

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BASF introduces styling show for industrial coatings

Source: BASF SE

For the first time BASF has introduced an “Industrial Styling Show“, designed for the industrial coatings segment. It was presented to an international audience in Heidelberg/Germany. In order to develop this styling show, BASF has monitored current trends in society and has compiled them into a colour-concept with a group of guiding themes, named “cross energy“, “urban zooms“, “inside inn”, “wilde wide web“, “/ kids“ und “east bites west“. In the past, BASF was rather known for its trend analyses in the automotive coatings segment. In the course of this project, existing colour shades were adapted to the different industrial coatings applications. www.basf.com

 Protective coatings Hempel opens new factory in China

Source: Hempel A/S Protective coatings supplier Hempel has officially opened a new manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China. With 56,000 square meters of space, the company’s newest and largest factory is expected to produce more than 42 million litres of coatings per year, with a maximum production capacity of 55 million litres. The new factory will help the protective coatings producer meet the increasing demand for coatings in the region. The factory also includes a new research and development centre which is the third largest R&D facility within the Hempel Group. The site was completed in 14 months at a cost of approximately EUR 22.5 million. www.hempel.com

www.european-coatings.com

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Market Watch Industry news

Expanding business in China AkzoNobel expects growth for its performance coatings business

AkzoNobel has defined its growth ambitions for the Chinese market. By 2015 the paints and coatings producer aims to double its sales in China, reaching USD 3 billion. The business unit performance coatings will contribute a significant share to achieve this ambitious goal in the years to come

I

n 2009, AkzoNobel globally generated about a third of its total sales in each business unit. In China the performance coatings business is strong. “Compared to decorative paints the share of our performance coatings business in this country is significantly higher. Currently it makes up to 65 % and we expect further double digit growth rates in this segment”, says Hans Wijers, CEO of AkzoNobel. However, the ratio between these two business units will not substantially change, as the company’s ambitious growth targets also apply for the decorative paints business, Wijers continues.

Growing faster than GDP

Source: AkzoNobel

“Overall we believe that we will grow faster than Chinese GDP and we have an ambition to double our sales in China to $3 billion by 2015, suggesting double digit growth” said board member Leif Darner Darner, responsible for the performance coatings segment. Infrastructure investments and a growing local demand for coated materials have a positive impact on the developments in the performance coatings business. As for its decorative paints business, the paints and coatings producer expects further growth in the performance coatings business.

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AkzoNobel’s performance coatings business had total sales of EUR 4.1 billion in 2009, approximately 32 % of the company’s total annual revenue. The business unit is divided into different segments. Half of the revenues came from the segments marine & protective coatings (30 %) and car refinishes (20 %). The segments industrial coatings accounted for 18 %, wood coatings and adhesives for 17 % and powder coatings for 15 %. About 41 % of the total revenue of more than EUR 4 billion came from the European business. With some 25 % the Asia-Pacific region is ranked second, followed by North America (20 %).

Double digit growth expected With its marine & protective coatings, the company’s strongest segment in its performance coatings business unit, the paints and coatings producer nearly earned half of its EUR 1.27 billion annual sales in Asia-Pacific (45 %). Europe accounted for some 35 % and is ranked second. North and South America were responsible for 20 %. “We expect a global market volume of EUR 5.6 billion for protective coatings”, says JackJack son Chan, General Manager Protective Coatings at AkzoNobel’s production site in Suzhou. The fast and strong growth in China is also reflected in the development of the protective coatings business, which supports the paints and coatings producer’s optimistic outlook for the future. During the last decade, the Chinese market has grown tenfold. A decrease is not in sight. Chan expects the contrary. “In the next years the market for protective coatings will grow by more than 20 %. The site in Suzhou currently produces 18 million litres of coatings per year in two shifts. “The site has been designed for an annual produc production capacity of 30 million litres”, explained Chan to the editors of European Coatings Journal. Therefore, the company assumes to be wellequipped to handle a growing demand. Apart from the Chinese market, AkzoNobel additionally expects further growths in other regions. Emerging economies as such in India, Russia, Brazil, the Middle East and Africa show significant growth rates for protective coatings. However, the segment marine coatings cannot benefit that strong from the current market developments. “The market in this segment currently stagnates, therefore it is difficult to estimate at what point in time growth can be expected”, states Chan.

Infrastructure expansion in China supports growth The performance coatings market is generally speaking divided into two different parts, new build and maintenance. This also applies for the marine coatings business. “New construc construction output should peak in 2011. A significant pent-up demand from 2011 onward is expected in the maintenance and repair segment. We believe this trend begins to offset downturn in new construction”, says Colin Tan, AkzoNobel’s China Country Director. New build and maintenance have an impact on protective coatings as well. Various construction projects and the expansion of China’s infrastructure are growth drivers in the country and open up new potentials for AkzoNobel. Stricter legislation such as carbon footprint and low VOC enable further potentials to gain market shares from local competitors. “The manufacture and supply of lead chromate containing coatings is to be phased out globally with the expectation that all manufacture and supply will have ceased by the 31st December 2011”, explains Tan.

Expanding to the West The numbers of automobiles is steadily increasing in China, and hence, a growth driver for automotive coatings for both segments OEM or refinish. Therefore, AkzoNobel expects further growth for its car refinishes business. “The recently acquired business of Prime by Car Refinishes is giving us access to the mid market and making us the clear number 1 in China”, says Darner. Currently, the car refinish business is concentrated in the country’s east. “As for our decorative paints business, we are expanding to the West.” The expansion into the West does not apply for the powder coatings activities. AkzoNobel has recently opened a powder coatings facility in the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone. The Wuhan facility, which is the company’s sixth powder coatings site in China, has a production capacity is 4,000 tonnes per year and can be further expanded. “China has the fastest growth rate in the world in terms of powder coatings demand,” explained Rob Molenaar Molenaar, Managing Director of AkzoNobel Powder Coatings. The company expects further growth rates in this segment in Chinese market. (gag)

www.european-coatings.com

Market Watch Russia

Growth is slowing down The development of the Russian paint market in the first 9 months of 2010

Q3-figures lowered the results

Sergey Byrdin, Dr. Maria Polyakova, Dr. Vladimir Stokozenko* Many world economies have experienced a slowdown in their growth rates. Russia, too, has suffered. The Russian Federal State Statistics Service (FSSS) estimates that Russian GDP grew at 4.2 % in the first half of 2010, and then declined to 3.4% for the first 9 months. In comparison, GDP shrank by 10.2 % in the first half of 2009 and by 9.6% in the first three quarters.

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he index of industrial production is put at 10.2 % for the first half-year, and 6.4 % for Q3. The population’s real income rose by an estimated 5.1 % in the first half-year of 2010 and by 4.2 % in Q3. Freight turnover in the first half-year was up 12.3 %, and by 1.5 % in Q3. More specifically, railway freight grew by 12.9 % in the first halfyear and by 9.0 % over the first 9 months of 2010.

Table 1: Russian paint market in Q3 2009 and 2010 Index Production - Exports + Imports

Q3 2010, (1,000 t)

263.4

292.1 (+ 10.9 %)

21.4

9.2 (- 57.0 %)

53.3

60.7 (+13.9 %)

295.3

343.6 (+ 16.4 %)

242.0 (82.0% of total paints)

282.9 (+16.9 %) (82.3% of total paints)

Domestic consumption Volume of domestic paints market

Q3 2009, (1,000 t)

The situation in the Russian paint market in Q3 2010 is as follows (see Table 1) [1]. As Table 1 shows, Q3 saw continued growth in production, imports, and domestic consumption of paints and surface coatings, as well as in the volume of the domestic paints market, albeit at a lower rate than in Q1 and Q2 2010 [2-3]. After growing in Q1 (+ 29.6 %) and Q2 (+ 13.7 %), paint exports declined by 57.0 % in Q3. The Q3 figures lower the results for the first 9 months of 2009 and 2010 (see Table 2).

Foreign trade up 35.1 % Russian foreign trade (as determined by the Russian Central Bank) in the first 9 months of 2010 was worth USD 458.5 billion (+ 35.1 % on the prior year figure). Exports had a total value of USD 286.5 billion (+ 37.9 %), while the corresponding figure for imports was USD 172.0 billion (+ 30.8 %). Thanks to increases in physical supplies and variations in prices, production by the chemical industry boosted the value of exports of basic chemical goods to 36.0 %. Imports of chemical products and rubber from January to August 2010 rose by 43 % in value, accounting for 17.4% of all imports. Foreign sales of Russian paints and surface coating materials in the first 9 months of 2010 amounted to USD 629.2 million (+ 18.0 % on the prior-year figure). Of this amount, exports of paints and surface coatings accounted for USD 65.8 million (- 12.3 %), while paint imports made up USD 563.4 million (+ 23.0 %).

References [1] Koftjuk V., Polyakova M., Bublik L., Listova O., Stokozenko V., Lakokra-

Table 2: Russian paint market in Q1-Q3 of 2009 and 2010 Index

Q1-Q3 2009, (1,000 t)

Production

Q1-Q3 2010, (1,000 t)

660.0

788.7 (+ 19.5 %)

- Exports

50.4

43.3 (- 14.1 %)

+ Imports

126.3

158.7 (+ 25.7 %)

Domestic consumption

735.9

904.1 (+ 22.9 %)

609.6 (82.8% of total paints)

745.4 (+ 22.3 %) (82.4 % of total paints)

Volume of domestic paints market

www.european-coatings.com

sochnye materialy I ikh primenenie, number 11, p. 8, 10-11, November 2010-11-10 [2] Polyakova M., Listova O., Stokozenko V., European Coatings Journal number 7-8, p. 9-11, August 2010-11-10 [3] Byrdin S., Polyakova M., Stokozenko V., European Coatings Journal number 11, p. 10-11, November 2010

Contact: Dr. Vladimir Stokozenko* JSC “NPF “Spektr LK” Tel. +7 495 457-1081 [email protected]

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Market Watch

Adam Radosavljevic - Fotolia.com

Pigments

Particles for effect and colour Pigment producers expect a positive market development

Damir Gagro Pigments: they are needed in all applications. Therefore, the industry segments paints, coatings, printing inks and plastics are growth markets for pigments. The editorial staff of European Coatings Journal has asked pigment producers to describe the current situation and to share their expectations for the future regarding pigments. However, the predominantly used pigment type in Europe’s coatings industry is titanium dioxide. More and more producers make use of colours and visual effects for their packaging and promotional products. New developments allow for unique properties and competitive advantages: corrosion protection, pearlescent or metal effects, magnetic, transparent or luminescent pigments.

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Titanium dioxide market to grow The European paint and coatings industry consumed about 1.04 million tonnes of pigments in 2009. White pigment titanium dioxide accounted for about 73 % of the total consumption (762,000 tonnes). These figures were released by the market research company Information Research Limited (IRL). TiO2 is the most used white pigment. The global production in 2009 was at approximately 4 million tonnes. Round about 35 % of the total volume is produced in Western Europe. Stefan Schaap, Managing Director of pigment producing company Crenox, forecasts the market to reach a production volume of 5 million tonnes in 2010. Approximately 60 to 65 % of the produced TiO2 volume is processed by the paints and coatings industry.

www.european-coatings.com

Market Watch Pigments “In the next two to three years we expect a global growth of the titanium dioxide market at 5 %”, Schaap explains. However, there will be regional differences. For instance, mature markets as Western Europe or the United States will grow by 2 or 3 % and fall short of the global average. “We expect the strongest increase in the emerging markets of India and China. In these regions the per capita consumption is only at 10 % of the consumption in Europe or the United States. So, there are remarkable potentials to grow disproportionately high“, continues Schaap. Especially the recovering automotive industry is contributing as a driver for further growth.

Prices slowly to decrease The TiO2 pigment industry is more buoyant than at any other time in the last 10 years. “Supported by strong pigment market pricing and relatively stable input costs, the TiO2 pigment industry has come out of the Global Financial Crisis in a much healthier position than it entered the downturn, despite some casualties in the form of plant closures”, says Machiel Keegel, Senior Consultant at TZ Minerals International Pty Ltd. Global inventories have remained below sustainable levels in 2010, as available capacity is matched closely to current demand. Rather than building inventories through the 2009 yearend as normally occurs, pigment producers were faced with strong demand as supply-chains restocked. Entering the 2010 “painting season” with global weighted inventories well below seasonal norms, pigment producers were able to announce and achieve pricing increases, as is demonstrated in (Fig. 1). As prices increased, demand from customers also elevated, possibly to secure inventory at a lower cost than expected with future purchases, continues the consultant. As prices between leading global producers and emerging producers diverge, there will continue to be a trend

towards lower quality sulfate pigments from emerging producers. Customers in Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Central & South America are more likely to make a permanent sourcing change. Chinese producers are currently seeing the immediate export volume upswing due to this changing trend. The current supply-shock is expected to continue through 2011 and 2012. TZMI forecasts price increases throughout 2011 but slowly decreasing in rate towards the end of the year.

Positive development for carbon black Carbon black is the second-largest single pigment type, with consumption at 77,500 tonnes in Europe in 2009, according to IRL. Additionally, it is the most used black pigment in the paints and coatings industry. In summer Notch Consulting published its 2010 edition of the “Carbon Black World Book”, which states global carbon black demand was down 19 % during the first half of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, or 29 % if China is excluded from the data. Notch is currently forecasting that carbon black demand in the EU 27 countries will rise 15 % to 1.4 million tonnes in 2010, after declining by 25% in 2009. The European carbon black industry is operating at or very close to its capacity, a reflection of both stronger domestic demand as well as the 340 KT of capacity that was removed in 2008-2010 (in France, the Netherlands, and the UK). However, only 5 to 10 % of the global volume is used in paints, coatings and printing inks. As for instance the segment printing inks currently stagnates, the growth expectations of 15 % for the coatings industry is most likely not transferable. Realistic calculations expect a single digit growth for the carbon black market, though it still shows a positive development for the black pigment consumption.

Prices for titanium dioxide have drastically increased Source: Company Announcements/TZMI

www.european-coatings.com

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Market Watch

Source: IRL

Urbanisation supports growth Carbon black consumption is just slightly less than the combined use of other inorganic, organic and special effect pigments. These types accounted for 79,500 tonnes of the European consumption in 2009. Functional pigments represent a market of 116,000 tonnes. A number of driving forces continue to shape the market for pigments as far as the coatings industry is concerned. These include the elimination of heavy metals and heavy metal salts on the one hand and the greater ingress of competitively-priced high-performance pigments from the Far East on the other. According to IRL, inorganic pigments, although losing some appeal due to cadmium, chromium or barium content, will in general continue to be the preferred types where heat, light and chemical resistance is required. Organic pigments represent an area of modest growth. “For the global pigment business we expect a positive development, especially in the segment paints and coatings. From our point of view this reasons in a basically increased demand for iron oxide pigments of high quality”, says Jörg Hellwig Head of the Inorganic Pigments Business Unit at Lanxess. Lanxess sees increased growth rates as well in the architectural paints. Furthermore, an increasing demand for paste systems is apparent, which have to meet special quality requirements regarding pigments. “Last but not least, the positive development is supported by urbanization trends, especially in the BRIC countries”, Hellwig explains further. “But for the mature markets in North America and Europe we expect significant growth potentials in the years to come.” Similar expectations shares Fabiana Requeijo, Nubiolas Global Market Manager – Coatings. The pigment producer experienced a strong increase in the demand for iron oxide and ultramarine pigments. However, Nubiola’s Market Manager expects this upward trend to smoothen in the following months. “Areas with the strongest potential are Latin America and the Asian-Pacific region”. Also the radical change of the pigment industry in China regarding its consolidation is a growth driver as Hellwig points out. “Beyond that we noticed an increased demand for ecofriendly and sustainable products.”

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Trend towards waterbased systems Waterbased systems are another trend for pigments. Even if this trend for anticorrosive pigments is not a fast process, it is still there, says Michael Klinar Klinar, Sales Manager – Coatings and Ceramics at Kärntner Montanindustrie. The company could grow in this segment by 10 %. “We expect the market will further show modest growth. Fortunately, demand in Germany and the United States has increased. Also for metallic pigments the trend towards waterbased systems is visible. Currently metal pigments are used in the traditionally strong segments such as automotive, consumer electronics and the furniture industry as well as in coil coatings and powder coatings. “After a strong recovery in 2010, we expect the market to remain stable at a relatively high level”, explains Michael Bauer Bauer, Head of Marketing at pigment producer Carl Schlenk. Countries with a growing automotive industry, as for instance China and India, are important drivers for the positive development, according to Bauer. “But, technology is as important – certainly waterbased systems will be more and more in use in countries such as China and India. Therefore, demand for compliant special pigments will increase in the future. Regarding the printing inks industry similar thoughts are applicable, says Bauer. “We see the trend toward eco-friendly systems as for instance UV or water, especially due to immensely increased and stricter regulations regarding packaging printing. Source: Lancess AG

Organic pigment consumption in the European paint industry in 2009

Sustainable recovery of the market is subject to risks despite the positive economic development, explains Stefan Sütterlin, Vice President, Business Management Pigments Europe at BASF. “Necessary global budget consolidations as well as the end of economic stimulus programmes by governments have an influence on demand”. However, he expects that Asia, especially China, is the driver for further growth. “For Europe we expect modest growth and it will take longer time until we reach pre-crisis levels.” Sütterlin forecast disproportionally high growth rates for high performance pigments, pigment preparations and effect pigments. Following the year of the crisis 2009, demand for pigments and special effects did increase strongly. “We expect to see a continued rise in demand in 2011, as well, though possibly slightly lessened, since most of the accumulated back log from the crisis has been covered in 2010 already”, states Dr Klaus Himmel Himmel, Senior Technical Manager - PC-PLT Technical Service Coatings at Merck KGaA. “Not surprisingly, we expect the highest rate of growth in Asia and there in China and India in particular.” In all coatings markets the trend towards more colour and individuality is unbroken and will continue. Accordingly, effects are sought which will catch the eye of the observer by their high colour saturation, with their intensive sparkle, or with an unexpected colour change when looked at from a different perspective, Himmel continues.

www.european-coatings.com

Market Watch

Sources: Silberline Europe Limited

Pigments

Metallic effect pigments Can they weather the storm of global metal commodity prices?

Contact: Alex Macleod Independent Market Researcher T +44 20 3239 8160 [email protected]

Alex MacLeod In a short survey of some of the key Global metallic effect pigment producers, Alex MacLeod, a Freelance Coatings Market Research specialist, talked to key executives to understand the current and future price pressures facing these speciality pigments.

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he key pigments covered in this study were goldbronze and aluminium, both of which have been significantly impacted by the price movements of metals used in their manufacture for several years. Of the main metallic effect pigments affected by commodity metal prices, goldbronze are by far the most sensitive, due to their high dependence on copper. Since 2006 most of the manufacturers have been implement-

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ing a metal surcharge that reflects the movements in price of copper globally. Aluminium based pigments have tended not to have a surcharge applied, although they also are impacted by global price changes. Based on our survey, average prices for metallic effect pigments over the last five years have been increasing at rate of 4-8 % per year. Hannes Loichtl Loichtl, Marketing & Sales Manager at Benda Lutz provided some further insights into the background of these price increases, "The main cost drivers are the metal prices, but energy and the cost for REACH also play a part." This was supported by Elmar Boeke, Managing Director of Eckart, "Price increases are also needed to compensate for increases in energy, labour, packaging, transportation and other non-metal related costs." So the overall increases seen whilst mainly due to metal prices,

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Market Watch Pigments implemented as a surcharge, also contain other inflationary costs which are seen more generally in the coatings market as well.

Goldbronze shows highest price increase The short answer is no. The average price increases do not tell the whole story, as the metal used and product type such as powder, paste or vacuum metalized also show significant variations. Goldbronze are at the higher end of the average with 6-8 % per year increases, aluminium shows about half the rate of increase at 3-4 % per year over the same period. Powders also appear to be more sensitive to metal price changes and labour costs than pastes. Pastes have however increased at a rate of 1-2 % per year more than powder in the last five years, mainly due to the changes in the product mix towards more stabilised pigments. Due to the low levels of metal (10-20 % w/w) in vacuum metalized pigments (VMP), these have remained relatively stable. As Loichtl, "There is a wide spread on pigment prices because of quality demands. You can imagine that the automotive and printing ink industry has other quality and service standards than industrial coatings. Some pigments have special coatings, for instance in waterborne systems, these treatments also drive the costs up." So pricing is much more complex than just the cost of the metal raw material, it reflects the end application, quality requirements, product form and treatments. All of which impact on the cost of a final product to the customer.

Modest price increases The increases expected over the next three years, based on our survey, are likely to be 3-5%/year on average. So less than we have seen in the last five years, but still a significant increase in the price across both goldbronze and aluminium pigments. Steve Kerr, Sales Manager at Silberline provided an interesting perspective on the future price situation, "As long as our customers see we are doing our best to reduce the impact of the costs to them in the long term, by being as efficient as we can, they are prepared to accept reasonable price increases".

Whilst the metallic effect pigments will remain sensitive to metal price fluctuations for the foreseeable future, the global producers remain confident that fashion and design will continue to drive the market and that price increases, whilst significant, should not reduce significantly demand.

MASKING SOLUTIONS

Price increases have only minor impact on demand From our survey of the main global pigment producers, the impact of prices is not seen as significant compared to other drivers of changes such as fashion and design. Major applications such as household goods (fridges, freezers) and the car industry which are influenced by fashion trends, are responsible for the greatest changes in use of metallic effect pigment demand. As Boeke stated "So far we have not seen any impact on demand from price increases. In many applications it is difficult to switch to other pigments or technology. But in some cases this might happen."

www.european-coatings.com

For further information, please contact: [email protected] www.global-mask.com

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Market Watch Analysis

Learning from the crisis to ride on the recovery Sustainability, agility and risk management create competitive edge

* Contact: Dr. Tobias Lewe A.T. Kearney Tel. +49 (0) 211 1377 2768 tobias.lewe@atkearney. com

Tobias Lewe Michael Schmidt-Rost One year ago the paint and coatings industry was suffering from the economic downturn, and it was far from clear where the economy was heading. Supplying cyclical customer industries, such as construction and automotive, coatings producers saw their volumes shrink and prices under significant pressure. Nonetheless, due to sound and forceful counteractions many companies managed to remain afloat and to position themselves to benefit from future growth.

T

oday, the global economy and the coatings industry are on a clear recovery path. However, current and future growth perspectives still vary significantly across regions and customer industries. Moreover, the crisis has caused changes on the supply and demand side, to which coatings players now have to adapt. For

players who understand these changes and the lessons from the crisis, the future has every chance of looking bright and colorful.

Flashback to 2009 After years of stable growth both in Europe and especially in emerging economies, coatings players were largely unprepared when they were hit by the economic crisis. They reacted mainly by taking action in three areas: Firstly, they aimed to restructure business systems and adapt existing structures to the new economic reality – particularly in markets with weak mid-term growth perspectives like Western Europe. Secondly, some of them benefited from realizing synergies from market consolidation/M&A, which had mostly been initiated before the economic crisis. Thirdly, some companies re-examined their product and service portfolio to readjust their regional footprint and align the portfolio to better realize mid-term growth perspectives. In most cases this implied a stronger pres-

Global economy and coatings market development Global GDP and coatings market (annual change) +5.1%

53.2

+5.2%

55.9

+3.2%

58.8

60.7

89

93

84

2005

2006

+4.2%

2007

+4.0%

17.1

2008

+3.1%

+1.1%

62.9

60.3

-8%

+6%

79

-0.6%

EU27 GDP and coatings market (annual change)

17.6

-4.1%

18.2

18.4

26

26

+1.0%

17.9

17.7

+7%

86

92

2009 2010e

+2%

25

25

2005

2006

-14%

+7%

22

2007

2008

24

2009 2010e

Year-on-year change in % GDP in 1.000 USD billion Coatings in USD billion Note: Growth estimates for 2010 vary widely. Our assessment is based on selected market reports and sales data of individual companies

In H1 2010 the global and European coatings industry have shown signs of recovery Source: IMF; GIA; Euromonitor; KNG, Orr & Boss; company reports, A.T. Kearney assessment A.T. Kearney 10/08.2010/40198d

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Market Watch Analysis Business agility – Complexity Management

"Below the Skin" (BTS) – invisible to customer –

"Above the Skin" (ATS) – visible to customer –

• Transparency to streamline recipes and ingredients across regions • Operational efficiency and process standardization • Common Standards and Best Practices

• Strong market focus and addressing of long-term market trends

Synchronization

• Customer centric approach to ensure satisfying customer needs • Regional growth in a multitude of different market segments/ applications

• … Cost

• …

Standardized

Value

Simple

Customized Complex

Effective complexity management maintains balance of customer proximity and standards invisible to the customer Source: A.T. Kearney Source: A.T. Kearney

A.T. Kearney 10/08.2010/40198d

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on the combination of greater operational efficiency and recovering demand, leading producers have seen clear improvements in their EBIT, reaching 94 % of their H1 2008 level in H1 2010. However, even with demand in many markets on a clear path to – or even beyond – pre-crisis levels, the situation is not simply back to normal. Throughout 2010, increasing raw material prices and raw material shortages for resins and other key ingredients put coatings producers under pressure. Root causes of these difficulties are radical restructuring measures by resin producers and continuously strong demand in Asia. On the demand side, in turn, producers are confronted with significant changes in customer behavior. Price sensitivity has increased, and many customers now prefer to maintain lower inventory levels and order smaller quantities with reduced lead times. This way – despite encouraging growth rates – the economic environment has become tougher for coatings producers.

Lessons from the crisis Commodity risk management process Consider probable market developments

Ensure market intelligence

Set risk agenda

Analyze supply & sales markets

Assess risk: Plan scenarios

Optimize company response to market developments

Develop strategy

Communicate Manage operations and residual risk

Execute strategy

Ensure supply and minimize residual risks according to policies

Change the supply and demand equation

A systematic end-to-end risk management process is required for managing volatility Source: A.T. Kearney Source: A.T. Kearney

A.T. Kearney 10/08.2010/40198d

3

ence in Asian markets. AkzoNobel and PPG very recently provided further examples for this trend.

Recovery and future prospects In 2010 coatings have recovered hand-in-hand with the global economy and are expected to grow by 5-7 % over the year. On an industry sector basis, recovery has been in inverse proportion to the preceding decline: Sectors that were hit by the crisis early and severely, such as the automotive industry, experienced a proportionally strong rebound. The upswing has further been supported by value chain inventory restocking: Many companies had driven their inventories down to secure liquidity and reduce cost of too high stock levels during the crisis. From a regional perspective, demand soared along with the continued boom in Asia and stagnated along with the construction sector in the US. Nonetheless, based

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In order to capitalize on current growth opportunities, coatings producers have to address lessons learned from the crisis to adjust to the new environment. A.T. Kearney’s most recent Chemical Customer Connectivity Index (C3X), an industry survey which is regularly conducted among 100 to 150 executives from chemical companies and their key customer industries, reveals three key focus areas: sustainability, business agility and risk management. For successful companies sustainability is much more than a pure marketing vehicle. Instead, it encompasses sound economic, ecological and social decision making, which together build the foundation for a company’s long-term success. As indicated by the survey, specific focus areas of sustainability management vary between chemical manufacturers and their customers. While manufacturers concentrate on operational efficiency, customers are looking for “green” products, such as water-based coatings or coatings with non-toxic pigments. Equally important for gaining – and retaining – a competitive edge is to become more “agile”. This means that coatings companies need to be able to react quickly to changing demand levels and customer requirements. Moreover, they need to remain focused on those activities, which truly create added value for their customers. A key lever to reaching this goal lies in value chain-spanning complexity management. The challenge for coatings companies is to standardize and tighten those activities whose value-add is not truly perceived (and paid for) by their customers – without losing proximity to them. The third – and most obvious – lesson learned by executives is that enduring success requires sound risk management that accounts for both the supply and the demand side and is based on thorough scenario planning. In sum, the economic recovery has made the paint and coatings market an attractive place for producers once more. However, in order to truly benefit from current and future opportunities, market players not only have to continuously align their business to demand, they also need to back up their strategic actions with targeted performance optimization measures, focusing on aspects which are really perceived and valued by customers.

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Primer and Forecast Review

Source: Mark Huls - Fotolia.com; Eyewave - Fotolia.com (left)

Annual balance

Cautiously optimistic Europe’s coatings industry set for growth

Damir Gagro At the beginning of a new year European Coatings Journal traditionally surveys leaders of the European coatings industry on how they have performed last year and what do they expect for the coming year. Even though results in 2010 were satisfactory and higher than expected, the prognosis for 2011 remains cautiously optimistic. After a sharp market drop demand for paints and coatings increased last year. In 2010 the coatings industry has recovered handin-hand with the global economy and are expected to grow by 5-7 % over the year, states Dr Tobias Lewe, A.T. Kearney. The companies surveyed by ECJ have all shown growth during the last year. The positive development in the segments industrial as well as automotive coatings could also contribute to a satisfactory business. These two segments were harshly hit during the economic downturn but could pick in 2010 and showed signs of recovery – as most segments that had dropped during the crisis. Even if Europe’s coatings producers do not forecast a quick recovery of the markets as there will be challenges ahead in the coming months, they do expect moderate growth.

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Paint consumption to increase The total global paint consumption in 2009 an optimistic picture for coatings in 2011 was at 26.69 million tons and reached 28.6 with growth in line with GDP.” million tons in 2010 (Fig. 1). In 2010, volume was up 7 % compared to the recessionary lows of 2009. In Europe consumption only increased by 2.5 %. The fastest growing region remains Asia-Pacific followed by South America. According to the market research company Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney (KNG), paint and coatings consumption will increase through 2015 at an annual growth rate of 5 %. The experts forecast paint consumption in Europe to hit 9.7 million tons by that year. Overall perspectives for the years to come are bright, as Roger Jakeman, chairman of CEPE sector group Can Coatings, points out: “The industry has recovered quickly in 2010 due to the stable fundamentals of the end consumer market. The can industry is well prepared for the future Global coating consumption by region (million tons) and current forecasts show Source: Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney, Inc.

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Review and Forecast Primer Annual balance Raw materials remain a challenge in 2011 The positive development and satisfactory results in 2010 should suggest the coatings industry has left the crisis behind and looks very optimistic into the future. This future is still uncertain. “We experienced a downturn in the growth rate combined with an increasing trend of strategic raw material costs”, says Dr Aram Manoukian, CEO of Lechler SpA. This statement is commonly shared among coatings producers, especially with regard to increasing raw material prices. Chairman of CEPE sector group Decorative Coatings, Dr Hans-Joachim Güttler, states the industry will be confronted with two dominant issues in 2011. First, further drastic price increases in many raw materials. Second, as downstream users coatings producers have underestimated the disadvantageous impact of Reach on the industry. “In 2010 we have already experienced the first unexpected problems relating to the use of important raw materials. For the year 2011 within the framework of Reach, I expect further restrictions regarding formula which would bring with it a negative impact on our products”, Güttler explains. Nils Knappe, Chairman of CEPE sector group Artist Colours, agrees that the coatings industry is challenged by the instability of the global raw material markets in terms of pricing and availability. However, he expects “overall, in 2011, the industry to be very solid even though we still see ongoing economical problems in some European countries.”

Size of the Eastern European coatings market by country in 2009 (volume in tonnes) Source: IRL

Establishing long-term success

Split of the Eastern European coatings market by country (2009)

Source: IRL

Gradual recovery However, not all voices share the picture of a quick recovery. “The gradual recovery of the economies has continued, although consumer confidence indicators have fallen somewhat in some market areas, such as Poland and Russia”, says Tikkurila’s President and CEO Erkki Järvinen. Market research company Information Research Limited (IRL) reports that the market has been stagnant this year in Eastern Europe. So the market

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size remains at 2.5 million tons in 2010 (Fig.2). Russia accounts for the largest share of the Eastern European coatings market (38 %) followed by Poland (22 %). “In the markets where we operate our own sales companies, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia we expect growth, as well as in the export markets where we have distributors”, explains Armodios Yannidis, CEO of Yannidis Group – Vitex.

The positive development for most coatings producers in 2010 demonstrates they have learned their lessons from the crisis. By rethinking and realigning their businesses and strategies they could overcome a tough year and achieve growth rates. Dr. Lewe points out that in order to capitalize on current growth opportunities, coatings producers have to address lessons learned from the crisis to adjust to the new environment. Read his article (page 18) which reveals three key focus areas that should be considered for further success and growth. Innovative strength and further investments in R&D projects are as important as the industry’s buzz word sustainability. For successful companies sustainability is much more than a pure marketing vehicle. Instead, it encompasses sound economic, ecological and social decision making, which together build the foundation for a company’s longterm success. With this concept the coatings industry will master even the uncertainties to come and continue growing in 2011.

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Primer and Forecast Review

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ECJ annual survey

Confidence Europe's coatings producers look optimistically into the future At the beginning of last year European coatings companies perceived 2010 to be a challenging and hard year for the industry. In this year's annual survey conducted by European Coatings Journal, decision makers of the coatings industry review the last year and share their expectations for 2011. Results in 2010 were satisfactory and the outlook for the future is positive. Even though the market is expected to recover slowly the uncertainty regarding raw material prices and supply will further challenge the industry.

Lars Østerby, Vice President Group Marketing & Products, Dyrup A/S, Denmark

1

Dyrup have had a satisfactory performance in 2010. Our company will return to a positive EBIT in line with our expectations, and in line with our announcement to the stock market. In relation to sales we expect to be 6 – 8 % above last years. Part of this is organic growth and another part is due to acquisitions. So all in all the year has been satisfactory

2

Dyrup have followed the strategy which we launched in 2009 under the name “Fresh Start”. We have four focus areas which are: streamlining the value chain, communicating a clear market position focussing on an “Easy to choose – easy to use” approach, building a high performing organisation and finally growth through new customers, products and channels.

3scribedBasically we will follow the above destrategy. However, we will put more

focus into our last focus area: growth. We believe we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and predict a slight recovery of the market conditions. Also, in terms of positioning our company and our brands we will keep focussing on making our products and solutions easy to choose and easy to use for customers and end users.

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Dr Aram Manoukian, CEO, Lechler SpA, Italy

1 We forecast a sales growth of about +5 % vs last year. A more intensive recovery is coming from the industrial sector, the most suffering one in the past year. The result is still far from the sales performance recorded in 2008 nonetheless the EBITDA % value is increasing due to implemented policies aimed at improving efficiency in different organizational areas of the company.

1 2ged your To what extent have you chanactivities and your focus in

How was the performance of your company in 2010?

your domestic and your international business?

3

How will you position your company in the market in 2011?

2

Our business activities remain balanced between domestic and international market, the latter focused in EU area.

3

In the last quarter of 2010 we experienced a downturn in the growth rate combined with an increasing trend of strategic raw material costs (RMC), so the expectations for next year are cautious. Indeed, constant commercial investment activities and a very solid technology platform arising from important investment in R&D lead us to commit to a real sales growth rate of about +3 %, part of this is assumed to come from acquisition of market share. The growth involves in different ways all our businesses: refinish, industry, decorative and yachting. The dynamics of the nominal market prices/RMC ratio is still uncertain and that may impact the EBITDA target.

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Review and Forecast Primer ECJ annual survey Erkki Järvinen, President and CEO, Tikkurila Oyj, Finland

1

A significant part of Tikkurila's revenue and operating profit is accrued during the second and third quarter of the year. The impact of the fourth quarter on the company's performance was yet to be seen, while this was written. Sales volumes improved in all market areas except for Finland. The Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Scandinavia, in particular, performed strongly. The gradual recovery of the economies of Tikkurila's operating area has continued, although consumer confidence indicators have fallen somewhat in some market areas, such as Poland and Russia. Tikkurila's revenue and operating profit (EBIT) excluding non-recurring items are expected to exceed the corresponding 2009 level. The revenue and operating profit estimates do not take into consideration possible effects from exchange rate fluctuations, which may have a significant impact on the revenue development, in particular.

Armodios Yannidis, CEO, Yannidis Group - Vitex, Greece

3

Being listed has given Tikkurila good possibilities to develop its business. The company is also exploring actively alternatives to grow both organically and through possible acquisitions. The uncertainty related to raw material prices and availability seems to continue during the coming months. Due to the uncertainties related to the general economic situation, Tikkurila will pay a special attention to managing its cost level. There are also some visible signs of picking up in the new construction market, and e.g. in Finland the levels of building permits and new housing start-ups have been clearly higher compared with the previous year. In general, construction affects the paint demand with less than a year's delay. Inflation is rising somewhat in focal market areas. However, there are still no visible signs of a particularly strong recovery, especially in the order levels of industrial customers in western markets.

2

Tikkurila was spun off from its parent company Kemira, when it was listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki and trading of Tikkurila shares began on March 26, 2010. In terms of competitiveness, it was essential to specify Tikkurila's strategy and initiate a structural reorganization in 2009. The company's business operations were organized into four reportable units. These are the SBU East consisting of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asian countries and Belarus, SBU Finland, SBU Scandinavia and SBU Central Eastern Europe, which also includes China and Tikkurila' countries of export. Implementation of the new organization started at the end of 2009. The key elements of Tikkurila's strategy are customer focus, profitable growth, geographic focus, strong brands, and one unified Tikkurila. Tikkurila is a strong regional player that aims to be the leading paint company in the Nordic area and Eastern Europe including Russia.

2

Morten Fon, President & CEO, Jotun A/S, Norway

1

Jotun has grown further in 2010. The growth has come from all business areas with majority of the growth coming from Asia and the Middle East. Jotun expects profits to be in line with record 2009 or slightly better. All in all we are satisfied with the development

2

Jotun has focused the core business segments; powder coatings, decorative paints, marine coatings and protective coatings. Our organic growth strategy remains unchanged, and we continue to invest in structure to ensure growth in new and existing markets.

3

Source: Sebastian Duda - Fotolia.com

1

Decorative paint demand in our home market, Greece, declined severely for a second consecutive year in a double digit negative rate. In this environment companies are confronted with many difficulties and very bad psychology. In our company we have managed to maintain our market share, to minimize risk as possible, reduce our financing while in parallel we have maintained a good spirit that helps creativity. Despite the continuous crisis and the fact that we are in the “war zone” for 24 months now, we have been certified for Health and safety systems according to OHSAS 18001 – alongside our existing quality and environmental systems, and have been assessed by ICAP Group as one of the strongest companies in Greece –a very important credibility award from an organization that has been recognized by the European Central Bank and the Central Bank of Greece.

Jotun's strategy stays firm and we expect continued growth also in 2011. We have a differentiated approach to our markets. We consolidate in markets where this is needed, and we grow in markets where we see opportunities

European Coatings Journal

01 l 2011

In terms of dedicating our strategic focus to our core business we have exited our activity in the synthetic resins production and are currently re-organizing our water proofing businesses. We are placing our efforts and development resources under two main pillars: internationalization and sustainability. We are evaluating projects of entering new markets with our decorative paints brands, under different schemes and various partners. Regarding sustainability, we are participating in CEPE’s task force and hope to be active and helpful with our ideas and work. We have placed an innovative concept in the market, a climate neutral ecological product for Interior use and in addition we are focusing to products and actions related to the Green Buildings.

3

I am optimistic and hope that the Greek market will finally start to stabilize in the second quarter of 2011 and would be glad if we manage to sell equal volumes to 2010. In the markets where we operate our own sales companies, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia we expect to have growth, as well as in the export markets where we have distributors. Currently we are working on projects related to four different countries and hope to initiate at least two of them in the first quarter.

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Primer and Forecast Review

Source: Sebastian Duda - Fotolia.com

ECJ annual survey

Sandro Paniccia, President, ICA Group, Italy

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UroŠ Slavinec, President of Management Board, Helios Group, Slovenia

1282 million The target set for 2010 was to reach EUR of net sales revenue, which

would mean a 6 % growth in comparison to the year 2009. In the period of the first nine months the net sales revenue improved by approximately 12 %, mainly due to increase of sales in Eastern Europe. The situation in the area of input materials continued to be very challenging because of limited supply and high prices and therefore has affected the performance in 2010.

the environment whose main principle is a balance between economic, environmental and social needs of the modern world without limiting the development possibilities of future goals. Great attention will be directed towards concern for the protection of the environment and health of people. We shall accelerate restructuring of our programme towards environmentally friendly coatings.

2

Great focus in 2010 was placed on the quarterly cost reduction programme, the endeavour for a higher level of orders and the acceleration of restructuring which would provide the Helios Group with new momentum in the upcoming years

3be veryBusiness conditions will continue to challenging. We expect business

results of companies in the Helios Group will still be significantly influenced by the conditions on international markets in 2011. Therefore we shall endeavour to mitigate the consequences of decreased demand by obtaining new customers on existing and new markets. We shall continue the process of specialising production lines and will divest or pool production locations. We will also reduce the number of products and optimise the number of different trademarks. Helios Group will stay oriented towards sustainable development reconciled with

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Hans Wijers CEO AkzoNobel The Netherlands

ICA Group’s consolidated turnover in the first 9 months of 2010 was 7.5 % up on the previous year. During October and early November, we have noticed a slowdown, which is undoubtedly due to the inevitable oscillations of a market that remains very much weakened by the crisis of 2009. As such, we expect to end the year with an overall increase in consolidated turnover of around 5 % – slightly lower than the figure achieved up until September 2010. We feel that this long, drawn-out process of recovery, which has been full of ups and downs, is nevertheless significant, and gives us hope for the medium term. In fact, we anticipate that the market, during the course of 2011, will continue to get back in gear both in Italy and overseas.

2

ICA Group has always prioritised product research and innovation. This strategy, which has served us very well in the past, is now particularly essential in allowing us to face up to the crisis with a sense of confidence. Over the past year, our laboratories – in response both to the crisis and to the emerging requirements of the market – have been focusing their creativity and capacity for innovation on the development of the first design-oriented coating system, called "MY LAB". The aim is to fulfil the requirements of designers when they are engaged on the creation of interior furnishings, with a view to stimulating their design input.

3 The coming year will be crucial in terms of the recovery of the market. We expect 1, 2 + 3 Although there is reason to reap the rewards of the investments we for caution in mature markets, we are confident that we are in good shape to benefit from our geographic spread and leading positions. We are optimistic about our strong revenue growth in high growth markets and our ongoing efforts to capture value. Our disciplined focus on customers, cost and cash remains strong, and we are making excellent progress in driving top line growth. With our medium term Value & Values strategy we are confidently entering a period of accelerated and sustainable growth.

have made in researching and developing new products that are increasingly ecofriendly and are targeted at the needs of designers and architects. All of this has been made possible thanks also to the recruitment of new technicians, which has enabled us to expand the team of researchers based at ICA Group’s laboratories. In terms of our 2011 turnover, the plan is to build upon the growth that we have demonstrated over the course of 2010

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Associations CEPE

A new era in substance management is here! CEPE offers special service on REACH to all members online

ECHA's list was published to give downstream users, manufacturers and importers the opportunity to check that registrations were being prepared for substances which needed to be registered in 2010. It was based on feedback from companies and registrations already submitted and will periodically be updated. According to ECHA some 38.000 dossiers were due by early December 2010.

ECHA offers discussion with downstream users

Jan van der Meulen, Managing Director, CEPE

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After 1 December questions may arise, as downstream users will inevitably be confronted with grey areas. Notably, they expressed their concern about the possibility of disruption of supply of substances after the registration deadline. But some other issues, like what will happen with substances already in stock or uses not covered by the registration of a substance, are to be taken into consideration. ECHA’s Directors’ Contact Group proposed a list of recommendations for manufacturers and importers in order to avoid unnecessary disruptions in the supply of substances or mixtures after the December 2010 registration deadline. There are issues, for example, with completeness of dossiers, where the Commission recognises that there may be cases where the importers of a mixture cannot obtain compositional and analytical data of each substance present in the mixture from their supply chain. Another issue for which the Commission has tried to find a solution is when, for example, specific uses are not covered by the registration. The Commission recognised - a little late - that there are registration issues that will affect downstream users. Therefore, it recently invited downstream user associations to attend a meeting with the Directors’ Contact Group and they now intend to involve the downstream users in the discussions on a regular basis.

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CEPE provides REACH support online CEPE developed a special REACH webpage on its public website where various guidance documents and explanatory texts are posted and updated on a regular basis. On this REACH page, the substance suppliers of CEPE members find nearly all uses and operational conditions they may need. As far as the CEPE community is concerned, some guidance documents were developed and made available to all CEPE members. Via these documents, the CEPE members have been informed on how to deal, for example, with the fear of supply interruption. However, if a downstream user has done its preparation work on time and is aware of the registration process, the concern can be minimised. And now having entered this new era, there are still questions to address. The months ahead will bring issues like, for example: »» When will I receive registration numbers? »» How do I interpret Exposure Scenarios? »» What should I do in case of a REACH compliance inspection if I do not have all registration numbers for my substances? »» What might inspectors ask? »» Will I be able to use a substance even if the suppliers have confirmed that it will not be registered? 1 December 2010 is already behind us, but it will be some time before downstream users have all the answers they need. CEPE will make sure that its members get answers to these questions.

Source: Olivier - Fotolia.com

In the months preceding the deadline of 30 November 2010, many downstream users became anxious to know if the substances they use would be registered. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) responded to this by issuing a list of substances that companies intended to register under REACH in 2010. Accessible online, CEPE posted guidance documents on a special REACH webpage which will be regularly updated to help solving unanswered questions.

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Technical Paper

Source: Bikerboy82/Fotolia.com

Effect pigments

Reflections on a sparkling trade How the manufacture of metallic pigments has evolved over the centuries

Peter Wissling The evolution of metallic pigments is reviewed from the earliest days of hammering out gold into thin sheets more than 4000 years ago. Today, many different forms of metallic pigment have been developed to provide enhanced appearance, resist aggressive manufacturing and application processes and avoid reaction with waterborne formulations.

G

old and silver, both precious metals, have attracted mankind`s attention for thousands of years. Their metallic lustre, cool appearance, elegance and angle-dependent lightness may help to explain the attractiveness of these metals. Limited availability of gold and silver made them expensive materials, another reason for their desirability. Ultimately this made gold and silver usable only in the most exclusive areas. Temples of the highest goddesses

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or imperial palaces were enriched by these precious metals. To decorate wooden structures and walls in temples and palaces, gold was frequently processed by hammering the metal into extremely thin foils (Figure 1). This processing is considered as having been started by 2500 BCE in Egypt, from where it spread out into what is today called the Middle East region, and from there to faraway places such as Europe and the Asian countries. During these long ages, golden colours produced by coating objects with varnishes that contained tiny pure gold flake-shaped particles were also indications of wealth. Books of religious and social significance contained golden coloured ornaments, for example in the elaborate initial letters of chapters. The exceptional value of gold and silver subsequently created an interest in making these elegant materials available to a wider number of people – classes of society that were less wealthy but also had an interest in

01 l 2011

* Corresponding author: Peter Wissling Eckart GmbH Hartenstein, Germany T +49 9152 77-4518 [email protected]

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Technical Paper Effect pigments ous colours can be created ranging from pure copper to greenish gold. The brass particles hammered out of the foils were of a flat shape. When these flakes were embedded into inks or varnishes any object could be made to appear "golden". It was the merit of the master craftsman Albert Huber, who lived in the southern German town of Fürth, to have invented this type of process. For a long time, transforming brass particles into tiny pigments with a golden appearance was a manual process, reducing the prices for pure gold decorated objects significantly. However, this hammering out procedure was very far from being an industrial and economic process. Around 1830, Georg Benda invented a bronze grinding mill. This milling technique was continuously improved and water wheels were used to produce sufficient energy to drive large scale mills capable of producing good quantities of bronze pigment (see Figure 2). The milling took place in a dry stage and subsequently the pigments were delivered in a powder form. It was now possible to deliver to markets good quantities of brass pigment powders. That was the time when the industry adopted the term “gold bronze pigment”. The name is doubly inaccurate: the flakes contain neither gold nor bronze, but purely brass.

Figure 1: Pre-industrial manufacture of gold pigments by the simple, laborious technique of hammering

New shades, new risks, with aluminium pigments Another important milestone in effect pigment history was transferring the dry milling process from brass pigments to milling of aluminium flakes to serve as an economic substitute for expensive silver metal.

Results at a glance

Figure 2: A ball mill as used in commercial production of metallic pigments

exclusivity or in displaying their wealth. A fascinating development in metal pigment manufacturing began. Only the most important steps forward can be highlighted in the presentation below.

Brass: the first revolution in metallic paints A wider usage of gold decoration in society was not possible until 1760, when brass was found to be a good substitute for pure gold. Brass is a copper-zinc alloy with a "golden" colour and can – like gold - be beaten into tiny particles. Depending on the copper to zinc ratio, vari-

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The aesthetic desirability and high cost of gold and silver metals created a demand for lower-cost ‘metallic paints’ many centuries ago. The evolution of metallic pigments is reviewed from the earliest days of hammering out gold into thin sheets. Brass was the first low-cost substitute for gold. Pigment flakes were first produced by the same hammering process as for gold, then more economically by a dry milling process. Because aluminium easily produces dust explosions, a wet milling process was later developed for it. The distinction between leafing and non-leafing grades emerged when different lubricants were used to prevent the particles from agglomerating after milling. Today, many different forms of metallic pigment have been developed to provide enhanced appearance, resist aggressive manufacturing and application processes and avoid reaction with waterborne formulations.

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As demand for golden brass and above all silver aluminium pigments increased, the dry milling process became increasingly inappropriate, as aluminium powers in particular are susceptible to dust explosions. More and more aluminium mills exploded, frequently killing workers. The solution was found in 1910 in America, when the milling process was modified to use mineral spirit. This wet milling process was referred to as the Hall process. In principle it is still in use today. The Hall process is only the final step of the complete aluminium flake production. Nowadays aluminium pigment producers start with aluminium ingots that are melted at around 660 °C. The liquid metal is forced under pressure through a tiny nozzle. Irregularly shaped particles are then obtained, which are referred to as granular powders. These can be incorporated into inks and varnishes, but they have no hiding power and an extremely grey and dull appearance. Additionally, the granular particles stick out of the coating and produce a sandpaper effect. Only when the granular powders are converted into aluminium flakes by a milling process can an adequate metallic appearance, hiding power and film smoothness be obtained – features we are used to seeing today on silver metallic cars, mobile phones and silver coloured printing ink products. Gold bronze flakes are manufactured in a similar way, the main difference being that the milling still takes place in a dry stage.

our

in

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Lubricants serve to prevent agglomeration During the conversion process of the granular metal powders into metal flakes by milling, large free surfaces are created. These highly reactive metal surfaces formed during milling can interact, welding the metal particles together to form large particles called pigment agglomerates that cannot be separated from each other. The agglomerates reduce the metallic appearance and smoothness of ink and coating films. Therefore the formation of metal agglomerates has to be avoided as much as possible during the milling process, which is achieved by using lubricants during milling. In the early days of metal pigment production the lubricant was stearic acid, a hydrocarbon acid with 18 carbon atoms. The stearic acid molecules align around the metal flake surface forming a spacing layer around them. Welding together was no longer possible.

Choice of lubricant determines flake alignment in a matrix system In thin coatings and inks the stearic acid/metal surface causes the metal flakes to align parallel to the surface of the films. A similar effect can be observed in autumn in nature, when leaves fall down from trees. Some of these leaves arrive on the surface of rivers, seas or ponds. Consequently metal effect pigments of this type are called leafing pigments. This class of pigments is attractive from an optical point of view – the surface has an extremely metallic appearance. However, as the metal flakes are not fully embed-

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Technical Paper Effect pigments top

bottom

Figure 3: Appearance of leafing pigments (top) and non-leafing ones (bottom) in a paint film

Tougher flakes serve tougher application processes

Figure 4: Cornflake pigments seen under high magnification show thin flakes with ragged edges ded into the binder matrix (see Figure 3), leafing flakes can easily be removed from the film by scratching or rubbing actions, and a loss in brightness is observed. When stearic acid is replaced by oleic acid as a milling lubricant, metal flakes can be generated that align themselves inside the binder matrix. These are referred to as non-leafing flakes, which are scratch and rub resistant, but from an optical point of view less brilliant than leafing type effect pigments (Figure 3).

The quest for brighter nonleafing pigments For a long time it has been the desire of all aluminium pigment producers worldwide to enhance the appearance of non-leafing metallic pigments, and bring it as close as possible to that of leafing pigments. A major driving force came up when in the 1940s a major US automotive paint company introduced metallic effect colours into the automotive industry. Automotive consumers demanded ever brighter coatings. The metallic appearance could be enhanced by modification of the metal flake. The coarser a flake is, the more mirror-like it is, and the brighter is its metallic appearance. Thus, either the flakes could be made larger overall or fine

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flakes could be removed from the mixture of particle sizes. The resulting “cornflake” aluminium pigments (Figure 4) have the great advantages of good optical properties with very good hiding power alongside acceptable prices. A further huge step forward in the endeavour to improve metallic performance was the introduction of “silver dollar” aluminiums in the 1970s. So far the milling conditions had been quite harsh. The finished flakes had many edges and corners and also rough surfaces. Under a microscope, they appeared like a cornflake cereal, eaten at breakfast, which led to their name. But now, by means of a gentle milling process, which can be understood as milling and surface polishing, flakes with a very smooth, mirror-like surface can be made. These products produce less scattering from the reflected light and as a result appear much brighter and more brilliant.

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The automotive paint lines in the American hemisphere are characterised by having long curved pipes with gear pumps. These systems apply a lot of shear force to the metallic particles. These tend to break up and subsequently loose some metallic appearance when pumped through the paint lines for long periods. For that reason what are known as “Tufflakes” or (alternatively "Non-Degrading Flakes") have been developed in the Americas. These are basically thick silver dollar aluminiums. A typical silver dollar flake measures some 50 nm in thickness, whereas non-degrading flakes are up to three times thicker. This substantially reduces the tendency to damage in aggressive paint lines. In most state-of-the art automotive or plastic coatings and inks silver dollar or non-degrading aluminiums are to be found. Products marketed in cost-sensitive areas require the more economic cornflake grades.

Waterborne conversion is a gas Starting in the 1960s, the developed countries saw a massive concern of their societies for environmental affairs. In the coatings industry, this translated into the development of waterborne formulations, replacing environmentally harmful solvents by water. Metallic aluminium is highly reactive towards water and the tiny aluminium flakes produce massive amounts of hydrogen gas from small amounts of water (even from moisture contamination in packaging or ingredients of the formulation). European aluminium pigment producers swiftly developed chemistries to "passivate" the aluminium surface. Selected long-chain molecules, typically phosphor-organic chemistries, were added to the flakes after the ball milling process. This additive technology provided an economic and in many cases adequate protection against hydrogen formation. There also exist waterborne binder systems with high pH values (above 9), using strongly alkaline components for pH adjustment (eg, ammonia). At other times the metallic paint needs to be stored for long periods in sealed cans (typically refinish paints). Here addi-

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Technical Paper Effect pigments tive technology does not provide sufficient protection against outgassing. Encapsulation of the individual aluminium flakes offers a solution. Each single pigment flake is coated by a layer of trivalent chromium, which is precipitated in a reactor out of watersoluble hexavalent chromium onto the aluminium surface. Although trivalent chromium is not biophysically available, it must be considered a heavy metal that is present in the paint film and in that respect is not fully environmentally compliant.

Figure 5: Encapsulation of an individual pigment flake with surface modification

Protective systems can also enhance paint performance In recent years silica encapsulation has been successfully presented as an alternative and truly environmentally attractive encapsulation technique (see Figure 5). Encapsulation chemistry in the western hemisphere was and still is to a very large degree silicabased. In the Asia-Pacific region (originating from Japan) acrylic polymer encapsulation is given preference. The focus here is laid on improvement of the chemical resistance of solventborne coatings for e.g. single layer coatings for mobile phones or claddings. Another benefit achieved with polymer encapsulation is a substantially better intercoat adhesion between base and top coat (e.g. on wheel covers or double layer plastic coatings) along with extremely high bonding of the polymer coated metal flakes within the binder matrix. In these technologies the reasons for encapsulation were not environmental issues.

VOC reduction poses new challenges The American markets have tackled the environmental challenge by reduction of harmful organic solvents, favouring low VOC coatings rather than waterbornes. However, the alignment of flake-form pigments in a coating system is reduced when the solids content is increased, so the optical appearance of low VOC systems is typically poor. Silver dollar or non-degrading flakes do, however, allow the formulation of optically attractive low VOC coatings. The ultimate reduction of solvents is achieved in powder coating technology. Here the flake alignment is the poorest if compared to solvent or waterborne technologies. For a long time leafing pigments were used to create attractive optical effects in powder coatings. These could be top-coated, and in that way provided fairly scratch and rub resistant coatings, at least for furniture, lamps, pipes and machinery. Additionally, coarse non-leafing aluminium flakes (diameters typically between 35 µm and 55 µm) are suitable for the formulation of bright sparkle effects. To obtain better electrostatic spray characteristics, nonleafing aluminium flakes are silica coated. Here the encapsulation process can be simpler than that used in waterborne applications. UV cure is another approach to compliance with environmental issues. This technology is used so far for clear coat systems and in the formulation of inks. Gold bronze and aluminium flake pigments often catalyse polymerisation of the oligomer binder molecules. Here again coated metal flake pigments may present a solution, or sometimes careful selection of the chemistries may be sufficient. As the metal pigments work as

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Figure 6: The thicker and more regular appearance of silver dollar pigments tiny mirrors, reflecting the curing UV radiation, special attention also needs to be paid to photoinitiators.

Market demands continue to evolve Recent issues driving development in the effect pigment industry include further enhancements to the metallic appearance. That can be obtained from pigments produced by vapourising aluminium onto special foils (“PVD pigments”). The aluminium layer is stripped off the foil and cut into truly mirror-like flakes which yield chrome-like finishes, provided the formulation is adjusted to suit the pigments. (Figure 6) A comparatively cheaper technology may be a further improved very gentle ball milling technology allowing production of very thin aluminium and also gold flakes (“platinum dollar” and “mirror gold”). The economic downturn in recent times has motivated paint formulators to research more cost-effective formulations. This has resulted in increased consumption of costeffective cornflake aluminiums of moderate brightness. Colour preferences have changed dramatically over recent years. Silver was selected as the “millennium colour” at the change of the millennium and for that reason saw peak consumption in all kinds of industry. Nowadays, consumers prefer individual and unique colours, which results in a vast diversity of coloured silver shades, colours being combined with haptic effects and combinations of a variety of effect pigments, in which aluminium/pearl pigment mixtures are the most common. The development of novel complex effect pigments to provide multi-colour changes or pigments with huge colour shifts finds applications not only in automotive and industrial applications but also in cosmetic products. Yet even as the world becomes more colourful, classical aluminium and gold bronze effect pigments will remain in use in fairly high proportions.

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Technical Paper Analytical testing

Finding all the bugs Electrophoresis technique can identify damaging bacteria more accurately

*Corresponding author: Monika Lamoratta Lanxess Deutschland GmbH Leverkusen, Germany monika.lamoratta@ lanxess.com

Monika Lamoratta* Frank Sauer All current procedures for identifying bacteria that degrade paints use culturing and this procedure may bias the results. Attempts were therefore made to identify bacterial species directly from their DNA. Detailed identification was obtained from a contaminated and degraded paint sample, but components of undegraded paint may interfere with the test procedure.

T

here has been a trend for some time now in the paint and coatings industry for the supply of environmentally friendly product solutions and for sustainability in product development as well as in manufacture of modern coating systems. A publication by the "Wissenschaftliche Dienste des Deutschen Bundestages" [scientific services of the German Bundestag] from 2004 [1] describes what is termed the “three-pillar model” of sustainable development. This is based on the concept that sustainable development is only achievable if environmental, social and economic aims are pursued at the same time and are given equal importance, so as to ensure the ecological, economic and social effectiveness of a society. The three aspects are mutually interdependent. If this concept is applied to a wall paint, for example, appropiate preservation firstly prevents the coating in the wet state from contamination with bacteria, fungi or yeasts and subsequently protects the cured paint film after application from

Figure 1: Classical laboratory cultivation of microorganisms

growth of micro-organisms. These are for example moulds and algae, which possibly might be harmful to health, which negatively influence the decorative aspect of a facade. With an optimum preservation, the substrate remains presentable on long term and the integrity of the film matrix is retained for longer, compared to unpreserved coatings. This means that expensive and resource-consuming redecoration does not have to be carried out so often. Apart from avoiding risks to health, appropriate preservation therefore makes a substantial contribution to prolonging the service life of a coating, thereby saving natural resources. In line with the above definition, highperformance protection against micro-organisms can therefore be seen as sustainable product optimisation.

How micro-organisms are conventionally identified It is usually complex microbial communities (consisting, for example, of bacteria, fungi and yeasts) that are responsible for the structural degradation of emulsion paints in wet state, so that the selection of the right microbicide must be based on the type and prevalence of the destructive micro-organisms in the product. To effectively control the spectrum of these micro-organisms, in an ideal situation the composition of the communities must be precisely known. Until now, conventional methods of identification have been used which require cultivation of the affected product (Figure 1). However, with this cultivation step, there is always the danger that it will also support the growth of those micro-organisms which may be insignificant in terms of paint destruction. This means that the relevance of these strains in the microbial destruction of paint would be substantially over-rated. In particular, there are two classical methods of bacterial identification. The first is based on phenotyping, in which the grown colony is examined for size, shape and colour, for example (Figure 2). This examination is normally followed by biochemical methods such as Gram staining and oxidase reaction, which allow the species and genus to be identified more precisely.

Bacteria can also be identified from their DNA Another method in which micro-organisms are characterised at genetic level was recently established in routine practice. This characterisation is based on evolutionary changes at DNA level in the information-carrying regions, the genome. During the course of development, e.g. because of adaptations to changed environmental conditions, different species have developed from just a few antecedents, for example. Molecular biological identification is based on differences in the genetic code.

Figure 2: Bacteria seen in a coloured electron microscope image

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Technical Paper Analytical testing An area of the DNA that is used in practice for bacterial identification is, for example, the 16S rRNA gene [2, 3, 4, 5,]. The corresponding sequence of the base pairs from a specific segment of this gene (Figure 3) can be assigned precisely to a specific species of bacteria – in a similar way to comparing human fingerprints. With this method, too, however, the bacteria have first of all to be cultured in the products for identification purposes, and the grown colonies have to be isolated. Genomic DNA is isolated from each colony and the 16S rRNA gene segment is amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Figure 4). The PCR technique is a process for the amplification of DNA in vitro with the use of a special enzyme for this purpose, known as DNA polymerase. The products from previous cycles are used as starting materials for the next cycle, thereby allowing exponential amplification. By sequencing this gene segment and making a comparison with published sequences in a database, the individual organisms can be identified by family, genus and ultimately species.

Source: Adam Gault, OJO Images, Getty Images

Figure 3: Schematic representation of a segment of DNA

Cultivation step may introduce unwanted bias The disadvantage of the methods described above is that they need a cultivation step. With this process, however, because of the chosen experimental parameters such as nutrient supply, temperature and oxygen level, the result can be an unintended pre-selection of certain micro-organisms. Organisms that are unable to reproduce under the selected culture conditions cannot be detected and so cannot be identified by the methods described above. It was therefore the declared aim of the work discussed below to develop another process that, by combining modern molecular biological methods, would allow the direct iden-

Results at a glance The preservation of paints against microbiological attack prolongs their lifetime and is thus both environmentally and economically desirable. However, all current bacterial identification procedures use intentional culturing to increase their numbers, and this may bias the results. Attempts were therefore made to identify bacterial species directly from their DNA using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The method appeared satisfactory with a paint that was already naturally contaminated with bacteria, but identification of species added directly to fresh paint was not yet possible, suggesting that components of the paint may interfere with the separation step. Classical identification methods and DGGE identified different bacterial species in the contaminated paint, suggesting that DGGE may be developed to give more accurate information on degrading species and so assist in optimising biocidal systems.

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Figure 4: Electrophoresis with DNA fragments obtained by PCR tification of bacteria from a contaminated aqueous product such as an emulsion paint or a sample of process water. Thus a cultivation step, with its potentially adverse effect on the information obtained about the composition of the microbial community, would no longer be necessary. This newly developed method is based on the sequencedependent separation of gene segments of the same size by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) [6]. In this case, the DNA of all the bacteria contained in the product is isolated directly from it and the respective 16S rRNA gene segments are then amplified (the process is outlined in Figure 5). If there is infestation by a bacterial community, a mixture is obtained of 16S rRNA gene segments of the same size, which differ from one another only in their sequence.

How different gene sequences are isolated The mixture of 16S rRNA gene segments is then separated by DGGE according to sequence. This separation is possible because gene segments with different DNA sequences have different melting points, i.e. the type and frequency of the building blocks of a DNA sequence determines the temperature at which the DNA double strands separate from one another. This is also called denaturation and cannot only induced by temperature but also by chemical reagents such as urea and formamide. This characteristic is utilised in electrophoresis as a (partly) separated strand of DNA is less mobile in the gel than a

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Technical Paper Analytical testing With culturing Comamonas testosteroni Flavobacterium mizutaii Pseudomonas aeruginosa Delftia tsuruhatensis

Table 1: Bacteria identified from a contaminated emulsion paint using test methods with and without initial culturing of the bacteria

Pseudomonas spp. Microbacterium keratanolyticum Culture-independent Pseudomonas fluorescens

DNA identification tested in emulsion paints

Pseudomonas putida

DNA isolation directly from the product  PCR analysis (16S rRNA segment)  Separation by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)  DNA sequencing 

Figure 5: Summary of procedure for bacterial identification without initial culturing

Database comparison  Identification of the micro-organisms

double strand. A mixture of 16S rRNA gene segments can therefore be separated using this method. The fragments which are separated from each other can now be sequenced and compared with known DNA segments in a database. Ideally, using this method, a specific number of identification results is obtained which should reflect the number of contaminating bacterial strains in the product. To be able to use the culture-independent method of bacterial identification by DGGE in practice, however, it is essential that the different DNA of a bacterial community can be isolated directly from the final products to be tested, such as emulsion paints.

How DNA is isolated from contaminated products

“Encyclopedia of analytical science, Ten-Volume Set” Alan Townshend, Colin Poole www.elsevier.com

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In order to isolate DNA from different materials, their polarity or negative charge is used. Two widely used isolation techniques are based on this. In phenol/chloroform extraction, a product containing DNA is mixed in a phenol/chloroform mixture, shaken and the phenolic phase is then separated from the chloroform phase. In this process, the DNA dissolves in the phenolic phase, while most contaminants such as proteins or other organic compounds are found in the chloroform phase. Another method of isolating DNA is purification by anion exchange resins. Here, at low salt concentrations in a de-

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fined pH range, the DNA binds to the anion exchange resin and could be purified of any impurities. By subsequently increasing the salt content, the DNA in the anion exchange resin can be displaced again and thus eluted from the stationary phase. A purified and concentrated DNA product is obtained in every case. However, these methods were originally devised for the isolation of nucleic acids from tissues, blood or other biological sources. DNA purification from a relatively complex mixture such as that of an emulsion paint can theoretically lead to problems with existing experimental protocols.

The method of culture-independent bacterial identification described above was therefore developed in practice in a test system with three strains of bacteria, Escherichia coli coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, in the same bacterial concentration in three different paint systems. Typical exterior emulsion paints based on pure acrylic, styrene acrylic and polyvinyl acetate binders were used. It was possible to isolate DNA by purification using anion exchange resins from bacteria in a polyvinyl acetate based emulsion paint which had been naturally infested for some time. It was also possible to amplify this DNA by PCR and to use it in DGGE. However, it has not been possible to date to isolate DNA from a freshly contaminated paint using this method of purification. Nor did phenol/chloroform extraction provide any better results in this respect. Thus, experiment shows that DNA can be isolated from an emulsion paint which is severely infested with bacteria and already degraded, while isolation of DNA from a freshly produced emulsion to which bacteria have been artificially added needs further optimisation. This appears to suggest that at least some components of the paint impede the use of the two methods of purification used. One reason for this could be, for example, that components of the paint are bound to the surface of the anion exchange resins so that they are no longer available for the DNA to bind to. If the paint is already decomposed by bacterial infestation, a substantial amount of the organic components in the paint are degraded so that they cannot block the anion exchange resin. This may now allow the DNA to bind to the matrix and effective purification becomes possible.

Isolated DNA can be identified by DGGE As expected, all the organisms from an artificial mixture of bacteria were identified with a high degree of conformity. Somewhat surprisingly, from above named contaminated emulsion paint, only the Pseudomonas aeruginosa species was prominently represented (Figure 6). A comparison of the methods shows that culturing gives a varying number of identification results (see Table 1), the non-culture-dependent DGGE method allows a rather more accurate identification. The fact that relatively fewer bacterial species were found culture-independently from a paint product compared to culture-dependent mehtods could be an indication of the

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Technical Paper Analytical testing fact that not all bacterial strains which are present are equally involved in the destruction of the product. Separation using DGGE correlates to some degree with the concentration of bacterial DNA in the paint. To this extent, DGGE can be regarded as a semi-quantitative method. Thus, the bacteria detected by DGGE could be the dominant species in the paint product that are mainly responsible for destruction of the product in the wet state. In contrast, with the conventional method, the growth of those bacteria which may not be relevant in terms of destruction of the paint is also promoted, so that the detection of these strains of bacteria can be wrongly interpreted.

Detailed information on bacteria may be obtained These experimental results show that it is possible in principle for a bacterial community to be identified by DGGE without culturing. As regards contaminated products such as emulsion paints, at present fewer strains are identified than with the conventional method. At the moment it is to clarify if this is conditioned on the method or the relevance of the bacteria with regard to the paint destruction. It seems possible, however, that optimisation of the DGGE method would answer this question, thus providing new insights into the processes involved in the destruction of paint in the container which would allow users to protect products not only effectively but also in a sustainable way in line with the motto “As much as necessary, as little as possible”.

Figure 6: Electrophoretic separation of DNA from the three strains of bacteria, the mixture of bacteria and the contaminated emulsion paint by using DGGE

REFERENCES [1] Wissenschaftliche Dienste des Deutschen Bundestages: Nachhaltigkeit, Der aktuelle Begriff 06/2004, 6 April 2004. [2] Bottger E. C., FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1989, Vol. 65, pp 171-176. [3] Harmsen D., Karch H., ASM News, 2004, Vol. 70, pp 19-24. [4] Kolbert C. P., Persing D. H., Curr. Opin. Microbiol., 1999, Vol. 2, pp 299-305. [5] Wood S. A. et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 2008, Vol. 74, No. 23, pp 7243–7251. [6] Rölleke S., Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 1996, Vol. 62 No. 6, pp 2059-2065.

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Technical Paper Functional coatings

Melting the ice New anti-frost technologies

* Corresponding author: Dr. Volkmar Stenzel Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing and Advanced Materials T +49 421 2246 407 volkmar.stenzel@ifam. fraunhofer.de

Dr. Volkmar Stenzel* Alexjej Kreider Nadine Rehfeld Andreas Stake Efforts to prevent ice accretion on surfaces have had limited success to date. A more realistic goal is the production of durable, industrially viable coatings that reduce ice adhesion rather than completely prevent its formation. Besides carrying out research on these “passive” coatings, specialists at the Fraunhofer IFAM are developing novel nano-structured surfaces with outstanding anti-ice effects, as well as temporary anti-ice coatings and a biomimetic concept based on a biological model.

I

Tackling the ice problem

ce formation on surfaces and structures severely impairs the functionality of equipment, endangering property and even life in some cases. That is why current methods of preventing ice formation on aeroplanes, vehicles, wind turbines, trains, traffic signalling devices, windows and building surfaces, weather stations and also refrigerators need to be improved. For example, aircraft are today de-iced using liquids with a low freezing point: this procedure increases costs and down time and causes environmental problems. During flight, anti-icing is achieved with hot bleed air from the engine, which uses about 5 % machine power and the additional equipment required adds to the total weight of the aircraft. New hydrophobic, functionalised layers with a nanostructure are one prospective technology for developing

This paper was presented at the European Coatings Conference "Smart Coatings" on 9 and 10 November, 2010, in Berlin

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Figure 1: The IFAM ice chamber allows icing behaviour to be tested under controlled conditions Maximum wind speed of 70m/sec

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better, durable, reliable and cost-saving solutions. They will enhance product value, increase safety in critical applications such as aerospace and also be of benefit to a large number of other technical areas and applications.

Reliable test methods The Fraunhofer IFAM has for several years been developing both anti-ice coatings for various technical applications and tests that can differentiate icing behaviour on coatings. For development of new functional coatings with improved ice-phobic properties, it is necessary to understand ice formation mechanisms and ice adhesion as well as their interaction. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) allows investigation of the influence of surface functionalisation on the phase transition between water and ice (crystallisation and melting). A special test chamber enables the freezing process of water droplets on different (coated) surfaces to be observed via optical microscope or infra-red camera. To assess anti-ice coatings, environmental and technical conditions as well as general requirements must be taken into account, including the durability of anti-icing effects. The following points need to be taken into consideration: » Test parameters for assessing icing behaviour should be carefully selected and reflect real conditions as far as possible. » Even small parameter variances could lead to different results and hence misinterpretation. » The icing process is very sensitive, which means that there is a fairly high risk that the test results will not correlate with icing behaviour under real conditions. A broad range of tests under different laboratory and real-life conditions therefore has to be performed. The ice chamber (Figure 1) allows variation of ambient conditions, enabling different scenarios to be tested as well as the inclusion of additional test devices. Tests can generally be performed at temperatures down to -10 °C and a relative humidity of 60 %. Additionally, the test surface can be cooled down to -40 °C and a wind speed of up to 30 m/s applied. Rain can also be simulated, and a camera allows visual inspection of the test sample. In general, three different tests are performed: 1. The ice rain test, which simulates the run-off behaviour of water as well as subsequent formation of clear ice. 2. Rime formation. 3. Run-back ice formation. This generally occurs after deicing of leading edges such as aircraft wings and wind turbine blades, where melted ice freezes again in other areas. The Fraunhofer IFAM is also developing reliable tests for assessing clear ice and rime adhesion. The tests involve measuring the force needed to remove ice or rime

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Figure 2: The IFAM test rig on Mount Brocken provides real winter conditions

completely from a surface. The results of individual tests allow coatings to be differentiated, and comparison of the measurement data gives an indication of the relative reduction of ice adhesion. To verify the results, promising coatings are tested under real winter conditions on a rig (Figure 2). The important finding is that the laboratory test results correlate with anti-ice effects under real conditions.

Anti-ice technologies The technologies described could either prevent initial ice formation or remove ice after it has formed. There are two distinct anti-ice technologies: active and passive (Table 1). Thermal Used in many industries, for example aviation and automotive, heating of a structure is the best-known method for effective anti-icing.

Results at a glance Surfaces have been developed to obtain anti-ice effects. The synthesis of anti-freeze proteins and their coupling to paint matrices has been used to produce biomimetic anti-ice coatings. Using chemical freezing point depressors, temporary anti-ice coatings have been developed. Passive coatings that reduce ice formation through nano-hydrophilic centres in a hydrophobic environment have been produced.

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Technical Paper Functional coatings Active methods Thermal Chemical Biochemical Mechanical

Passive methods Ice adhesion reduction

Change of wetting behaviour

Table 1: Anti-ice technologies. Experts at the Fraunhofer IFAM are investigating the highlighted methods

Figure 3: Linkage of anti-freeze proteins (AFPs) to suitable coatings

Chemical Chemicals that reduce the freezing point of water are also widely used. For example, a mixture of alcohols can be sprayed on aircraft, forming a protective glycol film [1]. Another method is to incorporate freezing point depressors in paint matrices. Since these depressors leach out, however, this effect is only suitable for technical applications that require rime-free surfaces for a short time. Biochemical The use of biochemical technologies for the prevention of ice formation on technical surfaces is a relatively new approach. This method involves coupling anti-freeze proteins to coatings [2].

Mechanical Mechanical and electromechanical methods include scraping ice from car windows. Active methods such as these can be supported by passive ones via reduction of ice adhesion.

Active coating concepts Synthesizing anti-freeze proteins Fish, amphibians, plants and insects in polar and subpolar regions use biochemical methods to survive [3]. One method of preventing ice formation is based on anti-freeze proteins with constitutive properties that cause freezing point depression due to the configuration and conformation of their molecules, but have no effect on the melting point of ice. This leads to a temperature difference between melting point and freezing point, known as “thermal hysteresis” [4]. The molecules are called thermal hysteresis proteins or (more commonly) anti-freeze proteins (AFPs). Work is currently being carried out to synthesise antifreeze proteins and couple them on paint matrices without loss of activity (Figure 3). The ice chamber test for a coating that contains AFPs shows reduced rime formation. A research project, “Biomimetic anti-frost surfaces based on peptide-functionalised coating” (“Biomimetische Frostschutzoberflächen auf Basis Peptid-funktionalisierter Lack (AFPII)”, funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research), Germany, is the continuation of a study that demonstrated the feasibility of synthesising relevant protein sequences. Three methods of coupling the synthesized sequences to the coatings were subsequently tested: 1. Application to coatings with reactive groups using an ultrasonic atomiser, and subsequent polymerisation within the paint matrix 2. Covalent linkages 3. Use of additional linking molecules between the coating and protein sequences All three strategies were essentially successful and further investigated with the aim of maximising flexibility and the effectiveness of the proteins. Coupling tests with varying reactive chemical groups were performed for im-

"Functional Coatings by Polymer Microencapsulation" S. K. Ghosh www.wiley.com

Figure 4: Rime test with unmodified (left) and modified coatings (right) on glass substrate

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Technical Paper Functional coatings mobilisation of the proteins. Initial tests in the ice chamber showed reduced rime accretion under certain conditions. Further tests will be carried out to determine the technical feasibility of this biomimetic approach. Temporary anti-icing Another active coating concept is the use of chemical freezing point depressors in paints. Since it is based on the leaching of depressors out of the paint matrix [5], this effect is temporary and only suitable for technical applications that require rime-free surfaces for a short time. The first step was to formulate suitable coatings containing freezing point depressors that did not impair coating properties and were certain to leach out of the paint matrix. Waterbased polymer dispersions that are compatible with different glycol types as well as with selected salts were selected as paint matrices. The initial test results showed significant reductions in rime formation, some coatings preventing it completely for a certain period (Figure 4). These promising results led to investigations of the longterm performance of the coatings and the minimum temperatures at which they are effective. Combinations of different freezing point depressors are also being investigated.

Passive coating concepts Passive methods are those that use energy only from natural forces such as wind, gravity and temperature variations. Most anti-icing coatings currently available are hydrophobic. They prevent water from settling on surfaces and subsequently reduce ice formation. The hydrophobic property of a surface can be expressed

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Surface roughness • Influence on hydrophobicity, e.g. lotus effect • Influence on ice adhesion Hydrophobic character • (Super) hydrophobic coatings with reduced wetting • Reduced clear ice Types of bonding • Electrostatic interactions • Hydrogen bonding • Van-der-Waals interactions Figure 5: Key parameters for passive anti-ice coatings

as the contact angle of water, which indicates the interaction between water and surface. Hydrophobic surfaces have contact angles greater than 90°, whilst super hydrophobic coatings have angles greater than 140°. Organic fluorine compounds and silicone compounds are the most commonly used hydrophobic chemicals. The key parameters for passive anti-ice coatings are the types of bonding available (in order to allow interactions between the water molecules and the solid surface), surface roughness and hydrophobic characteristics. These parameters interact with each other, for example surface roughness affects water contact angle (Figure 5). It would seem logical that (super) hydrophobic coatings should improve anti-icing behaviour, because they reduce wetting. However, comprehensive studies have shown that hydrophobicity is only one of the factors determining anti-ice properties. Furthermore, a hydro-

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Technical Paper Functional coatings

Figure 6: Hydrophobic / hydrophilic coating approach

phobic coating is not necessarily an anti-ice coating. A systematic study has shown that polysiloxane additives in coatings increase hydrophobicity, but, surprisingly, also increase ice formation. This depends, among other things, on the roughness of the surface. Rime formation, caused by water vapour in the air, cannot be prevented by passive coatings either. Fraunhofer IFAM has developed a passive anti-ice coating that achieves a balance between surface roughness and hydrophobicity and minimises available sites for interaction with water molecules. This coating showed reduced wettability in the ice rain test and also reduced ice adhesion in laboratory and field tests. A further approach is the development of coatings that contain hydrophilic centres in a hydrophobic environment (Figure 6). This allows water molecules to adhere to certain sites, but the hydrophobic surroundings of these sites promote the removal of ice crystals. This approach is being investigated in a BMBF funded project (in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research, Dresden, Germany and industry partners), and involves different technical strategies. The Fraunhofer IFAM is studying the use of nano- and micro-scale particles in appropriate coating formulations. Micro-scale particles have been investigated for their ability to enhance hydrophobic character without adversely affecting ice adhesion as a result of increased contact area. After surface modifications that ensure the availability of uncoated particles at the surface, tests have shown that water preferentially adheres to the hydrophilic anchoring points but since the particles were too large, no positive effect on ice adhesion due to the hydrophobic surrounding area could be observed. The most recent development is a coating that contains nano-hydrophilic centres in a hydrophobic environment. This pure organic coating can be applied by spraying. The structure allows water molecules to adhere to hydrophilic centres and the hydrophobic surroundings of these sites promote the removal of ice crystals. Rime formation can clearly be reduced compared to surfaces without anti-ice coatings. Further investigations will show to what extent other required coating properties like durability, adhesion etc. can be achieved.

A promising start – development work to continue New, more effective, durable, reliable and cost-efficient methods of reducing ice formation on different

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surfaces are being developed that will enhance product value, increase safety in critical applications such as aerospace and also be of benefit to a large number of other technical areas and applications. These novel technologies include hydrophobic, functionalised layers with a nano-structure, the synthesis of anti-freeze proteins and their coupling to paint matrices to produce biomimetic anti-ice coatings, the use of chemical freezing point depressors to produce temporary anti-ice coatings, and passive coatings that reduce ice formation through nano-hydrophilic centres in a hydrophobic environment. The first stages of the development work, which include investigation of icing mechanisms and setting up test procedures and experiments with suitable paint formulations, have been completed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank the Association of Industrial Research Organisations (AiF) for funding an industryrelated project, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding the anti-ice related projects, “New functional and biomimetic surfaces for the prevention / reduction of ice accretion” (“Neue funktionelle und biomimetische Oberflächen zur Verhinderung / Verminderung von Eiswachstum”) and “Biomimetic anti-frost surfaces based on peptide-functionalised coating” (“Biomimetische Frostschutzoberflächen auf Basis Peptid-funktionalisierter Lacke (AFP-Lack II)”, and all colleagues at the Fraunhofer IFAM for their support.

REFERENCES [1] Ma F., Corneau D., Aircraft de – icing and anti-icing composition. Can. (1999), 34 pp. CODEN: CAXXA4 CA 1340377 C 19990202 CAN 138:25842 AN 2002:760958 CAPLUS [2] IFAM Jahresbericht 2008/2009 [3] Ramlov H., Aspects of natural cold tolerance in ecothermic animals; Hum Reprod 15 Suppl 5: 26-46; 2000 [4] Barrett J., Thermal hysteresis proteins; Int J Biochem Cell Biol. Feb; 33 (2): 105-17; 2001 [5] Ayres J. et al., USA, Characterization of titanium alkoxide sol-gel systems designed for anti-icing coatings: II. Mass loss kinetics; J.Coat.Technol.Res.; 4(4) 473-481; 2007

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Technical Paper Packaging coatings

Raising the barriers Nano-layer enhances resistance properties of polyethylene laminate Juha Nikkola Two sol-gel coatings were studied as barrier coatings on polyethylene-coated paper used in packaging applications. Smooth dense films were formed, but plasma pre-treatment was essential to ensure good adhesion and functional properties. Substantial performance differences were observed between the hydrophobically functionalised coating and the hydrophilically functionalised one.

T

he traditional packaging film materials, non-polar polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) are used in several industrial packaging applications. However, economic pressures and competition have created a trend towards a need for superior and multifunctional performances with even higher line speeds. The ever-increasing demands on product properties combined with faster line speeds make it challenging to achieve the level of adhesion required for thin coatings in particular. In order to meet these challenges, new surface activation methods and functional coatings on paper, paperboard or plastic films have been developed to provide special or enhanced properties in the field of paper converting [1]. During the last ten years there has been general interest in studying the potential of organic-inorganic hybrid solgel thin films. The sol-gel process involves the development of nanoscale networks in a continuous liquid phase through the formation of a colloidal suspension and the subsequent gelation of the sol [2].

Sol-gel reactions summarised Hydrolysis acts as a rapid initial reaction of the sol-gel process, where reactive alkoxide groups react with water molecules to form hydroxyl groups. Equation (1) represents the hydrolysis, where M is usually silicon, zirconium or titanium and n generally equals four. (1) After the initiation of the reaction, the hydrolysed alkoxides react easily with each other and produce the backbone of the sol-gel network. Water or alcohol is obtained as a by-product, depending on the reaction mechanism. The condensation reactions are explained by Equations (2) and (3). (2) (3)

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Through these reactions the sol-gel technique offers opportunities to produce premium functional and transparent thin films.

Plasma technologies enhance coating adhesion

* Corresponding author: Juha Nikkola VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Juha,[email protected]

When using non-polar plastics such as polypropylene or polyethylene as the base material, it is necessary to increase the surface energy, by plasma pre-treatment for example, to obtain adhesion. One of the oldest industrial applications of plasma surface activation is corona treatment. The corona system does have certain limitations, though it has greatly evolved. For instance, the surfaceactivation effect of the corona is not stable and the use of plasma chemistry with different chemicals or gases is limited. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas were originally created to eliminate the inhomogeneity of the surface treatment in the corona discharge [3]. The system is based on a dielectric layer covering at least one of the electrodes used. This generates a random distribution of streamers and a diffuse plasma, with a non-localised treatment effect. Other methods to generate the plasma include radio frequency (RF) plasma and microwave induced plasma (MIP). RF plasma is based on a capacitive or inductive matching of the impedance in the system, with a time-varying magnetic field subsequently creating an electric ring field which excites the electrons and produces plasma [4]. In MIP, the plasma is produced in an electrodeless manner, by the microwaves which ionise the gas used and further support the propagation of the microwaves. One of the main drawbacks of conventional DBD systems for surface modification is the risk of damage and/ or back treatment of the substrate by direct plasma interaction. Due to these limitations in traditional corona or plasma techniques, cold or non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas have been studied and developed. In addition, the search for new functionalities on paper surfaces has initiated research into novel atmospheric plasma applications for paper products. Recently, several authors have presented their studies on novel atmospheric plasma equipment and surface activation or deposition [5, 6, 7].

Plasma treatments tested in similar applications The sol-gel technique with atmospheric plasma pretreatment has proved to be a potential method to produce functional sol-gel thin films on reel-to-reel products [8, 9]. The use of atmospheric pressure plasma to obtain hybrid inorganic-organic barrier coatings on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films has also been studied [10]. The

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Technical Paper Packaging coatings

Figure 1: Extrusion coating line equipped with plasma activation unit

authors suggested that atmospheric plasma enhanced coatings could be an effective and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional barrier coatings such as polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) lacquers. In addition, durable hydrophilisation of PET, PP and PE films has been studied by Dubreuil et al [11]. They used acetic acid and ethyl acetate as precursors to deposit a hydrophilic layer on polymer surfaces with DBD atmospheric pressure plasma. Based on their experiments, these atmospheric pressure induced coatings can be used to produce durable hydrophilisation of polymer surfaces, which further improves the adhesion between polymer surfaces and coatings in certain applications. In relation to this work, the pilot extrusion coating line (Figure 1) located at Tampere University of Technology was equipped with an atmospheric plasma pre-treatment unit. The main goal was to obtain high barrier effects to oxygen, grease etc with antimicrobial properties on the basis of PE-coated paper with different surface treatments. Initially, multifunctional sol-gel based coatings were developed. Subsequently, the coatings thus developed were applied onto plasma pre-treated PE-coated paper in both laboratory and pilot scale on-line trials.

Experimental equipment and materials The specifications of the plasma treatment unit on the coating line are shown in Table 1. Argon and helium may be used as treatment gases. In a typical experiment the

Table 1: Plasma parameters in plasma activation

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Parameter

Value

Treatment power

Max. 2000 W

Voltage

22.5–25.0 kV

Frequency

21.5–25.0 kHz

Treatment width

Max. 370 mm

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atmospheric plasma pre-treatment unit is used to activate the substrate ( e.g. plastic film) prior to coating or printing. In this study, the atmospheric plasma pretreatment was used to pre-treat PE-coated paper prior to spraying on the sol-gel coating. In the laboratory scale trials, thermal curing of the coatings was performed in a heating chamber at 110 °C for 10 minutes, whereas in pilot scale trials curing was by using IR and the suspended dryers of the pilot line. The substrate material used in this work was “Lumiflex” (paper coated with polyethylene (PE) at 15 g/m 2) obtained from StoraEnso Oyj. Two silane based sol-gel coatings referred to as SG204 and SG206, developed by

Results at a glance Polyethylene and polypropylene are widely used as packaging materials. However, demands for both higher production speeds and enhanced performance are creating difficulties in applying coatings to these non-polar substrates to provide the desired performance. Two different sol-gel coatings were studied as barrier coatings on polyethylene-coated paper. One coating was hydrophobically functionalised with long-chain hydrocarbon groups and the other hydrophilically functionalised with amino groups. Surface characterisation by SEM and AFM showed that smooth dense layers were formed on the PE. Plasma pre-treatment greatly improved adhesion and performance of the coatings. Only the hydrophobic coating provided effective grease barrier properties, whereas only the hydrophilic coating showed significant oxygen barrier properties and antibacterial activity.

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15% May not sound much but it is the amount of

titanium dioxide Figure 2: SEM cross-section image of amino-based solgel coating on PE-coated paper

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, were prepared through hydrolysis and condensation reactions. SG204 was functionalised with long-chain hydrocarbon groups (hydrophobic coating) and SG206 with amino groups (hydrophilic coating), respectively. The sol-gel coatings were applied by spray coating and cured by heat as described above.

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Test procedures summarised The oil and grease resistance of the specimens was studied by contact angle measurements with oleic acid. In addition, the effect of abrasive wear on the oil repellency was studied by a standard paint washing tester apparatus (modified standard DIN 53778), where a brush was used as an abrasive material (1000 abrasion cycles). Abrasion resistance was evaluated by comparing the contact angle values before and after the test. Oxygen transmission rate of the coated samples was measured with a “Model 8001” oxygen permeation analyser from Systech Instruments Ltd. The oxygen transmission rate was measured at room temperature (23 °C) and with three different relative humidities: 0, 50, and 80 % RH. A “JEOL JSM-6360LV” scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to characterise the surface structure of sol-gel coated samples. The surface topography was analysed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) with a Park Systems “XE-100” using non-contact mode. Antimicrobial activity was determined as described in standard JIS Z 2801: 2000 “Antimicrobial products test for antimicrobial activity and efficacy”. Bacterial suspensions of gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram negative Escherichia coli containing approximately 1×10 6 colony forming units/ml of test bacteria were placed on the surface of the specimen and incubated for 24 h at 35 °C. After incubation the bacteria were washed from the samples and the number of viable bacteria was measured by

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Technical Paper Packaging coatings

Figure 3: AFM images of untreated PE coated paper (left) and argon plasma enhanced amino-based coating on PE coated paper (right); image size is 1 µm x 1 µm

The coating thickness determined from the SEM crosssection image is approximately 1.3 - 1.5 µm. Based on the SEM image, the coating has spread well and appears to be smooth and dense at the micro scale. Figure 3 shows the AFM surface characterisation images of untreated PE-coated paper (left) and the amino-based sol-gel (right) coated sample. The Ra roughness values for untreated PE-coated paper are 5.1 nm and Rz is 43.0 nm. For sol-gel coated surfaces the roughness values are clearly lower. The Ra value is 0.4 nm and R z is 3.8 nm. The measurement area was 1µm x 1µm. These AFM results also show that the coating formed a smooth and dense layer on PE-coated paper in the nano scale.

Hydrophobic coating has good grease barrier properties Figure 4: Contact angle values of oleic acid on test substrates before abrasive wearing Figure 5: Contact angle values of oleic acid on test substrates after abrasive wearing.

plating. Antimicrobial activity was determined according to standard JIS Z 2801 using uncoated polyethylene as a reference sample.

Smooth, dense coatings are obtained An example of the coating thickness and structure of the amino-based sol-gel coating is presented in an SEM cross-section image in Figure 2. The coating was applied by on-line spray coating on PE-coated paper after argon plasma pre-treatment in reel-to-reel paper converting at a line speed of 60 m/min.

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State-of-the-art coatings based on e.g. a fluorochemical [12] or on naturally-based chitosan [13] have been studied as grease barriers serving as an alternative or addition to polyolefin coatings on paper. For these fluorine-free coatings, the contact angles of oleic acid for untreated and sol-gel coated PE surfaces are presented in Figure 4. The rapid spreading of the oleic acid into the uncoated PE-coated paper took place during the measurement time of 25 seconds. The decrease of contact angle as a function of time also indicates possible absorption of oil into the specimen. On the other hand, the stable contact angle over time shows that absorption of oil into the sol-gel coated surface did not occur. The sol-gel matrix with hydrophobic components displayed improved grease barrier performance. It should be noted that the hydrophobicity is not the only reason for these results, since the uncoated polyethylene surface is also relatively hydrophobic. The improved performance may be due to the smooth and dense surface structure of the sol-gel coating together with the surface functionality introduced by longchain hydrocarbon groups. However, it seems that the long-chain hydrocarbon groups also provide oil-repellent performance in addition to hydrophobicity. No effect of

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P

Technical Paper Packaging coatings plasma pre-treatment alone on the oil repellency of the coating in Figure 4 was evident. On the other hand, the effect of plasma pre-treatment on the adhesion of the sol-gel coating can be seen in Figure 5. The decrease of the oil repellency after abrasive wearing of the untreated and sol-gel coated specimen can be seen by the decrease of contact angle value. The comparison between sol-gel coated samples with and without helium plasma pre-treatment showed that with the plasma pre-treated specimen the contact angle value decreased only slightly, whereas the value of the untreated sample decreased remarkably after wearing. This indicates that the adhesion of the coating to the PE surface was clearly enhanced by plasma pre-treatment and furthermore the durability of grease barrier was also improved. With both specimens the contact angle value remained stable as a function of time, which means that absorption of the oil did not occur. The contact angle value for the untreated PE surface could not be measured after three seconds, indicating rapid absorption of the oil into the abraded PE surface.

Oxygen barrier performance can be enhanced The oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of both sol-gel coatings with and without plasma pre-treatment are

Figure 6: Oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of sol-gel coatings SG204 and SG206 with and without plasma pretreatment on polyethylene coated paper (as reference)

presented in Figure 6. The oxygen transmission rate for untreated polyethylene was approximately 8700 cm3/(m2 x 24 h) at 23 °C, 50 % RH. The additional sol-gel coating layer on top of the polyethylene film improved the oxygen barrier levels.

European Coatings Conferences Extra

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Focusing on current developments in raw materials as well as mechanisms and standards the European Coatings Conferences will provide you with ideal networking opportunities and up-to-date information, presenting a suite of high-level technical papers, given by invited international experts. Coming up next!

Easy-to-clean/selfcleaning coatings III

Biobased Coatings II

Novel biocide technology

10/11 February 2011

12/13 April 2011

 Biobased technology for UV coatings  Sustainability in the focus of developments  The status quo for biobased and the possibilities in the near future

 Latest news on the Biocidal Product Directive  Solutions for dry-film and in-can preservation  Biocideds for antifouling paints

8/9 February 2011  Water repellent surfacs  Sol-Gel technology with easy to clean performance  Biomolecular responsive wettability switching  Durability of nanostructured superhydrophobic coatings

Detailed programmes, abstracts and online registration at www.european-coatings.com

Nicole Steinbach · Project Manager Events Tel. +49 511 9910-274 [email protected]

Technical Paper Packaging coatings Effects of relative humidity on hydrophilic coating

Figure 7: Oxygen transmission rates in different relative humidities for SG206 sol-gel coating on PE-coated paper with argon plasma activation

Figure 7 presents the OTR values of the SG206 coating on argon plasma pre-treated PE-coated paper as a function of different relative humidities. It was observed that when the relative humidity content was 0 % RH, the oxygen transmission rate of the sol-gel coated specimen was even lower than presented above. In addition, it was seen that the OTR value increased when the relative humidity content increased. It seemed that the increase in moisture content adversely affected the uniformity and density of the solgel coating layer and therefore increased the OTR value. Also, this effect is most likely due to the hydrophilic nature of the SG206 coating, when it increasingly attracts H2O molecules to the surface due to the increase of moisture content. Therefore the hydrophilicity of the SG206 coating may further diminish its barrier effect against oxygen molecules at higher moisture levels. Similar behaviour has been noted when studying the oxygen barrier performance of hydrophilic chitosan coatings [15]. The further development of the sol-gel coating composition for better oxygen barrier in higher moisture content will be continued in future studies. However, the OTR value (4000 cm3/(m2 x 24 h)) in 80 % RH for sol-gel coated sample was still notably lower than the value (8700 cm3/(m2 x 24 h)) for the reference untreated polyethylene coated paper.

Amino functionalised coating shows antimicrobial properties Antimicrobial properties were determined as described in standard JIS Z 2801. Activity was expressed using an R-value determined as shown in Equation 4: Figure 8: Antimicrobial activity of the SG204 and SG206 coatings against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli after 24 h at 35 °C

Additionally, the effect of plasma pre-treatment on the OTR value of SG206 can be seen. The comparison between untreated and argon plasma pre-treated SG206 coating shows that the OTR value is remarkably lower when using argon plasma pre-treatment. The improvement in oxygen barrier performance was most likely due to improved spreadability and uniformity of the coating. In addition to the plasma pre-treatment, the chemistry of sol-gel coatings affects the oxygen barrier performance. It can be seen that even after plasma pre-treatment the hydrophobic SG204 coating did not have the same effect on oxygen barrier properties as the hydrophilic one. In addition to the differences in surface chemistry, it seemed that SG206 formed a denser inorganic network, as had been reported earlier for amino-based coatings [14], whereas the SG204 did not form a similar network.

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R = log B — log C

(4)

Here, B indicates the viable cells on the reference after 24 hours and C the viable cells on the sample after 24 hours. Materials are evaluated as having antimicrobial properties if a calculated reduction of R ≥ 2 is attained. The antimicrobial activity of the two coatings against S. aureus and E. coli is presented in Figure 8. These indicate that SG206 showed antimicrobial activity against both bacteria, whereas SG204 did not. This behaviour is again due to the difference in coating composition. However, neither of the coatings includes biocides for achieving the antimicrobial activity, which has been already studied elsewhere [16, 17]. In SG206 the antimicrobial activity is based on the direct interaction between the amino groups and bacteria, which inhibits their growth. A similar approach has already been presented in spacecraft solutions [18], but not in packaging coatings. Even though the results are very promising, the use of this approach is limited in food contact applications, since the coating does not meet the requirements set by the European packaging legislation nor does it have

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Technical Paper Packaging coatings FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) acceptance. Therefore, at present these coatings should be used only in packaging applications where direct food contact can be avoided.

REFERENCES [1] Lahti J., D.Sc.Thesis, Tampere University of Technology, 2005. [2] Brinker C. J., Scherer G. W., Sol-Gel Science: The Physics and Chemistry of Sol-Gel Processing, Academic Press, Inc., 1990. [3] Tendero C.et al, Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy,

Surface chemistry is key to performance In summary, two different kinds of sol-gel coatings for functional polyethylene packaging applications have been developed. The coatings were successfully applied onto PE by spray coating in a reel-to-reel paper converting process. The performance of the two coatings revealed that the surface chemistry had a remarkable effect on the desired properties. Firstly, good grease barrier performance was obtained with the hydrophobic coating and secondly, oxygen barrier and antimicrobial performances were obtained with the hydrophilic coating. Apart from the surface chemistry, it is proposed that the coating composition, inorganic network density and surface functionality affected the performance. The spreadability and adhesion of the coatings on the polyethylene surface was clearly improved by using atmospheric plasma pre-treatment, which also enhanced the barrier performance of the coatings.

2006, Vol 61, pp 2-30. [4] Fauchais P., Vardelle A., Novelect (EDF R&D), 2003, 54 pp. [5] Vangeneugden D. et al, Chem. Vap. Depositions, 2005, Vol. 11, pp 491-496. [6] Cernakova L. et al, 9th TAPPI Advanced Coating Fundamentals Symposium, Turku, Finland, February 8th–10th 2006, pp 7–17. [7] Pykönen M. et al, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2008, Vol. 202, pp 3777–3786. [8] Nikkola J. et al, NETCOAT Annual Seminar, Tampere, Finland, 24 Oct. 2006. [9] Nikkola J. et al, ISPC18, Kyoto, Japan, 26-31 Aug. 2007. [10] Paulussen S. et al, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2005, Vol. 200, pp 672-675. [11] Dubreuil M. F., Bongaers E. M., Surf. Coat. Technol., 2008, Vol. 202, pp 5036-5042. [12] Deisenroth E. et al, JOCCA-Surf. Coat. Intnl., 1998, Vol. 81, pp 440-447. [13] Kjellgren H. et al, Carbohydrate Polymers, 2006, Vol. 65, pp 453-460. [14] Kyoungmi J., Hyunjoon K., Jnl. Sol-Gel Sci. Techn., 2007, Vol. 41, pp 19–24. [15] Vartiainen J., Tuominen M., Nättinen K., Jnl. Applied Polym. Sci., 2010, Vol. 116, No. 6, pp 3638–3647. [16] Marini M. et al, Europ. Polym. Jnl., 2007, Vol. 43, pp 3621-3628. [17] Tatar P. et al, Jnl. of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials, 2007, Vol. 17, p 3. [18] Hodges M., Woodard D., Roberts M., SAE Technical Paper, International Conference on Environmental Systems, July 2007, Chicago, USA.

European Coatings Tech Files

Special Effect Pigments The book describes the changes of the special effect pigments, regarding their properties, manufacturing processes and application types. Furthermore, it provides an overview of the areas of "color metrics for special effect pigments" and "application of the decorative and maintenance cosmetics". It is particularly designed for color designers, application technicians and product developers in the ranges of lacquers, plastics, printing inks and cosmetics. Moreover, representatives of the marketing and sales sectors will receive useful information on special effect pigments for their daily use. >> Special Effect Pigments Gerhard Pfaff, Mai 2008, 218 pages, hardcover 149,– € order-no. 421

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Vincentz Network P.O. Box 6247 · 30062 Hannover · Germany Tel. +49 511 9910-033 · Fax +49 511 9910-029 [email protected] www.european-coatings.com/books

Market Place Novel products Rotary lump breaker for deagglomeration A new rotary lump breaker from Munson Machinery features side removal bed screens for rapid, thorough cleaning and screen changes. The low profile unit, „Model RDC1515-SS”, reduces agglomerates and friable materials being discharged from process equipment, storage vessels and shipping containers. Material entering the 381 mm square inlet is reduced in size by dual rotors with three-point, singlepiece breaking heads rotating with minimum clearance inside a curved, perforated bedscreen. On-size material exits through apertures in twin bedscreens ranging from 25 to 64 mm in diameter. Whereas conventional units must generally be unbolted from upstream and downstream equipment to access bottom-mounted bedscreens, the new unit with sideremoval bedscreens can remain in place, allowing cleaning and screen changing in a fraction of the time. The unit is recommended for deagglomeration of free- or non-free-flowing bulk chemical, food and pharmaceutical products, and size reduction of friable products and compacted powders.

Battery-powered laboratory pump Electrical laboratory pumps made of polypropylene and stainless steel have been included in the Lutz Pumpen range for years. New to the portfolio is a batterypowered pump line. The new “B1” pump series features the proven technology of the sealless pump tube; this ensures that liquids cannot be contaminated and the pump can run dry for a short time without being damaged. The new pump is designed for applications requiring minimal quantities to be transferred from small vessels with narrow openings. The pump is user-friendly, and the motor is easy to detach from the pump tube and connect to the charger, which can be used as table-top unit or mounted on the wall. The readily detachable motor means that several pump tubes can be operated in different vessels with just one drive unit. The battery capacity is sufficient for a full day’s needs in the laboratory.

Munson Machinery Company, Inc. USA-Utica [email protected] www.munsonmachinery.com

Environmentally friendly binders

Compact spectrometer system

Robert Kraemer GmbH & Co. KG has supplemented its range of environmentally friendly binders to cover new fields of use. The adhesion promoter “Rokracure VP 5550” has been developed for UV applications. This gives better adhesion to both polar and non-polar substrates, as well as providing wetting and a high level of flexibility. Suited to two-pack epoxy applications, the low-viscosity modified epoxy resin “Bremar VP 5780” brings the advantages of high flexibility and adhesion, good resistance to water and a low tendency to migration. The polyols “Rokrapol VP 5158”, “Rokrapol VP 5161” and “Rokrapol VP 5162”, for high-solids systems, are suitable for two-pack PU applications. They give improved wetting, high levels of pigmentation and filler loading, and adjustable hardness and reactivity. For oxidation drying varnishes and glazes there is “Rokralux VP 5361”; this is based on soya bean oil and emulsifies well. It also provides good drying and hardness and has little tendency to yellowing.

“Jaz” is a suite of stackable, modular and autonomous components with a common electronics and communication system. The heart of the instrument is a miniature CCD-array spectrometer which is available with a range of user-selectable grating and slit options that are optimised for a variety of application needs. The result is a model that incorporates up to eight spectrometer channels. Each modular system has a powerful microprocessor and a display to allow complete spectral data to be captured, processed and stored directly in the measuring system, without the need for a PC. Spectral data can also be transferred to a laptop or desktop PC for further processing. This means that x axis values may be displayed as the wave number or in nanometres, or data from a number of different spectrometer channels may be combined in one graph.

Robert Kraemer GmbH & Co. KG DE-Rastede [email protected] www.rokra.com

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Ocean Optics Germany GmbH DE-Ostfilern [email protected] www.oceanoptics.com

Lutz Pumpen GmbH DE-Wertheim [email protected] www.lutz-pumpen.de

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Market Place Novel products Rulers for compliant cross hatch cutter

Completely automated titration station

The adhesive strength of paints and similar coatings is not only a technical/ physical property characterising how well the film and the substrate mate material bond together but also plays a cru crucial role in determining the tendency to corrosion. A cross hatch cutter has been the best-known and most frequently used tool for adhesion testing for many years. So that testing is in compliance with standards, defined spacings between the cuts have to be observed. In combination with the known cross hatch cutters in the “295” series, Erichsen is offering a number of different ruler models to give a flexible and simple way of ensuring that these defined spacings observe the relevant standards. These different models may also be ordered individually. The range includes the universally applicable “Scrollruler”, which allows the desired spacing between the cuts to be adjusted simply by turning the thumb wheel, and three different models of folding ruler. These each represent the different ruler thicknesses required for the individual cut spacings, so that there is no need to add them together to reach the required thickness.

The “862 Compact Titrosampler” from Metrohm is a completely automated titration station combining a titrator and autosampler, which takes up only as much bench space as a typical laboratory balance. In the “862 Food/Beverage Compact Titrosampler” and the “862 Salt Compact Titrosampler”, the manufacturer is furthermore offering two complete packages which include everything required, from the electrode and the sample beaker to model methods, for professional routine analysis of foodstuffs and chlorides respectively. The system comprises twelve sample beakers, so it is possible to perform different analyses fully automatically, including cleaning and conditioning the electrode between runs. The large clear display shows the titration curve in real time, and users can see the current status of the sample series at a glance. Samples requiring urgent analysis can be given priority treatment at any time.

Erichsen GmbH & Co. KG DE-Hemer [email protected] www.erichsen.de

Biobased polyester polyols Croda Coatings & Polymers introduces its fully biobased “Priplast” polyester polyol building blocks for polyurethane applications. The new 100 % biobased range has been developed to meet the industry trend towards biobased materials without compromising on performance.The range of polyester polyols is based on natural fatty acids. Modifying resins with these polyester polyols brings durability (a unique combination of thermo-oxidative, UV and hydrolysis resistance), moisture repellency, flexibility, adhesion to a wide range of substrates, including low polarity plastics, as well as good flow properties with efficient substrate wetting and renewable content. Croda Coatings & Polymers NL-Gouda www.crodacoatingsandpolymers.com

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Deutsche Metrohm GmbH & Co. KG DE-Filderstadt [email protected] www.metrohm.de

Polyester acrylate developed for floor coatings Cytec Industries Inc. continues to widen its product range for UV curable field applied coatings and introduces an innovative resin for VCT (vinyl composition tile) and concrete floors. The new “Ebecryl 893” resin, a polyester acrylate, has especially been developed for use in field applied topcoats for flooring. Floor coatings based on this product provide a good balance of properties such as cure speed, adhesion, hardness and scratch resistance. Good chemical and solvent resistance and high gloss are also obtained. The resin is low in viscosity, therefore giving latitude in formulating. It also provides resistance to yellowing upon cure and over its lifetime. Cytec Industries Inc. BE-Brussels [email protected] www.cytec.com

Film applicator carries out automatic testing Samples which are applied as a film can be tested for parameters such as film thickness, opacity, hiding power, gloss and colour using various application techniques. For coatings, printing inks and their compositions to be tested efficiently, the films must be reproducible and precise when applied to different substrates. The automatic film applicator from TQC functions particularly ergonomically, allowing a number of standard operating steps to be dispensed with. An automatic sample clamp holds the substrate firmly in place and releases it. The transporting device for the applicator returns to its starting position automatically. Where the spiral bar applicator is used, at the end of the application procedure it is automatically stored in a special mount. The transport mount returns to the starting position, and the clamp releases the substrate so that it can be removed quickly. TQC GmbH DE-Hilden [email protected] www.tqc.eu

Looking for more novel products? Browse the EC Market Navigator, your supply network: www.european-coatings.com/ marketnavigator

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Market Place Novel products High performance pigment to ensure stable colour

Special unit prints labels with hazard pictograms Primera Technology has added the “CX1200e” to its range. This is a webfed digital press which allows labels with the new hazard pictograms to be produced quickly and almost automatically. The company is targeting not only all chemicals manufacturers and dealers but also packaging service providers specialising in this sector. The manufacturer promises that the web-fed digital press can produce the new labels by just in time methods without any problems: in a single operation, it can print several tens of thousands of labels without any manual intervention, though smaller print runs are also possible. The unit operates by laser printing and, depending on the quality required, has an output of up to five metres a minute. Its high resolution of up to 2.400 dpi ensures fine grading and pin-sharp text and graphics. Primera Technology Europe DE-Wiesbaden [email protected] www.primeralabel.de

Degasification system for metering without bubbles Liquids have a tendency to take in the air around them in dissolved form. The higher the pressure acting on the medium, the more pronounced this effect. Conversely, this means that as soon as pressure on the product is relaxed, the trapped air is released, which unfortunately results in air bubbles being formed during the metering process. This effect is much more marked with fluids which are conveyed at high positive air pressure (in pressurised tanks); but even atmospheric pressure can be enough for air to be dissolved in the medium. In all cases, the final result is inaccurate metering. “ViscoTreat-Inline” provides a station between the emptying of drums and the metering point, ensuring that the fluid is properly prepared for metering. The negative pressure required for degasification will depend on the medium, and can be adjusted individually. The vacuum container forming the core of this unit has a capacity of 15 or 25 litres and so acts as a buffer tank too. There is no need to halt production when the drum is changed. ViscoTec Pumpen- und Dosiertechnik GmbH DE-Töging a. Inn [email protected] www.viscotec.de

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The Shepherd Color Company has announced the introduction of a new high performance, FDA approved pigment, “Blue 10F545”. It is approved for indirect food contact use by the US FDA under Food Contact Notification (FCN) 000938. The approval covers the intended use in all polymers, at a maximum loading of 5 % by weight. It also meets numerous other regulatory requirements such as AP 89.1, AS 2070, BfR, China GB9685-2008, CONEG, EN 71.3, French Positive List, RoHS, TCLP, WEEE and ELV. Also known as a complex inorganic colour pigment (CICP), ceramic pigment, or mineral pigment, the new product and other similar colorants excel where stable colour is needed. It shows good lightfastness and can be used in extreme applications – those high in UV exposure, in high heat systems, and those in contact with harsh chemical environment. The pigment is insoluble in all solvents and resins and will not bleed or migrate.

C U

The Shepherd Color Company USA-Cincinatti [email protected] www.shepherdcolor.com

Analysis of low-concentration samples The “DelsaNano” series combines dynamic light scattering for the measurement of particle size in the range down to 0.6 nm with electrophoretic light scattering for determining zeta potential. The “DelsaNano HC” now gives users an additional option for effectively determining particle size and zeta potential in concentration ranges as low as ≤1 ppm. Meanwhile, the patented FST technology, which measures the zeta potential at higher concentrations (up to 40%) and hence does away with the need to dilute the system, is still available. The FST technology makes it possible to analyse the scattered light at small angles in the marginal region of the measuring cell so that the effects of interaction are avoided, since at these angles the relationship between frequency shift and half width are at a minimum. Beckman Coulter GmbH DE-Krefeld [email protected] www.beckmancoulter.de

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Calendar of Events 2011 Conferences 17 – 19 January 2011 The Coatings Summit Washington, DC/USA www.european-coatings.com/ TheCoatingsSummit/ 28 – 30 January 2011 25th Indian Paint Conference Faridabad, India www.ipaindia.org 7 – 9 February 2011 Pipeline Coating 2011 Vienna, Austria www2.amiplastics.com 8 – 9 February 2011 European Coatings Conference: Easy-to-clean/ self-cleaning coatings III Berlin/Germany www.european-coatings.com/ events/ecc.cfm 10 – 11 February 2011 European Coatings Conference: Biobased coatings II Berlin/Germany www.european-coatings.com/ events/ecc.cfm

31 March – 1 April 2011 EuPIA Annual Conference Vienna/Austria www.eupia.org

Exhibitions 28 – 30 January 2011 India International Coatings Show 2011 New Delhi, India www.coatingsindia.com 29 – 31 March 2011 European Coatings Show 2011 Nuremberg/Germany www.european-coatings-show. com/en/ 19 – 22 April, 2011 Primus: Interfarba 2011 Kiev, Ukraine www.theprimus.com/en/inwww.theprimus.com/en/in terfarba 11 – 13 May 2011 COAT EXPO 2011 Guangzhou/China www.coatexpo.cn/en/

Seminars 26 – 27 January 2011 2nd RTE Metal Coatings Seminar 2011 Zelzate/Belgium www.radtech-europe.com

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7 March 2011 Functional Raw Materials and Coatings Salford/UK www.occa.org.uk

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More coatings events at www.european-coatings.com/ events/coatings_calendar/

Would you like to include your company event in our Events section? For more information please contact our advertising sales team: Sabine Wilkens, Tel. +49 511 9910-255, [email protected]

Source: Pressmaster – Fotolia.com (left)

15 – 16 March 2011 Principles of Waterborne Coatings Hampton, Middlesex, UK www.pra-world.com

28 – 30 March 2011 European Coatings Congress 2011 Nuremberg/Germany www.european-coatings-show. com/en/congress/

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Masthead European Coatings Journal Vincentz Network GmbH & Co. KG, Plathnerstr. 4c, 30175 Hannover, Germany www.european-coatings.com

Source: MadMax/Pixelio; TQC

Editorial Team

In the focus

To Brush or not to brush  Progress made over the last years in the design of waterborne acrylic polyols and polyisocyanates for two pack polyurethane coatings has enabled the coatings formulator to overcome the drawbacks that were associated with the first generation of waterborne polyurethanes. Consequently waterborne two pack technology has gained a strong foothold.

Editor in Chief, Science & Technology: Dr. Sonja Schulte (schu)(v.i.S.d.P.) [email protected]

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Editor in Chief, Market & Companies: Miriam von Bardeleben (mvb) [email protected]

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Editors: Damir Gagro (gag) E-mail

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Sonja Specks (sos) E-mail

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Kirsten Wrede (wr) E-mail

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E-mail Fax Publisher Jürgen Nowak E-mail

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Subscriptions: Dirk Gödeke (Responsible) +49 511 9910-025 E-mail [email protected] FAX +49 511 9910-029 Advertising Anette Pennartz (Director) Rüdiger Reschke +49 511 9910-251 E-mail [email protected] FAX +49 511 9910-259

The switchable adhesion  The creation of coatings with smart behaviour is an active area of current research. A waterbased adhesive system can be fully reversible and may also be reused. Switchable adhesion is an important technological goal because of the many possible applications that may arise.

Layout and Production Birgit Seesing (Responsible) Siegfried Urbich Nicole Nietmann E-mail FAX

+49 511 9910-266 [email protected] +49 511 9910-299

Trademarks: The appearance of commercial names, product designations and trade names in this publication should not be taken as an indication that these can be used at will by anybody. They are frequently registered names which can only be used under certain conditions.

Fine particles into the air?  The impact of nanoparticles on human health and environment is currently under discussion. Producers of coatings, customers and end user ask for information concerning the possible release of nanoparticles due to the daily wear of surface coatings.

Copyright: Contributions bearing the author’s full name or his/ her initials reflect the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of the editorial board. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use or the internal or personal use by specific clients in the USA only, is granted by the publisher for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service. Copyright by Vincentz Network. ISSN 0930-3847. Place of jurisdiction: Hanover and Hamburg, Germany. VAT.-Reg. No. DE 115699823. European Coatings Journal is printed at BWH GmbH.

and . . . Heterogeneous construction waste for the use in lightweight concrete  Exclusive report from The Coatings Summit 2011 

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Circulation: European Coatings Journal is published monthly (11 issues per year: July/August is a double issue). The subscription rate is EUR 179,76/US-$ 260 per year including p & p (EGL members: EUR 62,00), the single copy rate is EUR 23,01/US-$ 24,20) plus p & p. Subscription charges are payable one year in advance net on receipt of invoice from the publisher. Shorter invoicing periods are subject to a surcharge of EUR 2.50/US-$ 2,75 per invoice. Pro rata refund in case of premature cancellation. No obligation to supply in case of force majeure. Advertisements: The advertisement format is 175 x 250 mm, 4-column division (each 42 mm wide). See price list 28 for discounts and other conditions. Closing date is the 14th of previous month. Print run (3rd quarter 2010): 7730 copies (IVW- audited). 11/2010

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