Lanxess focuses on cost and environment at ACLE
Specialty chemicals group Lanxess will present a wide range of products for the leather industry at the All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE) in Shanghai, China, on September 2–4. However, responding to the current economic climate and to environmental concerns, it has decided to focus its efforts in specific areas at the event.
Jürgen Hackenbroich, head of the Asia Pacific region in the leather business unit, says: “The focus of our presentation at this year’s fair is on premium products and on environment-friendly technologies for ‘eco’ products. This means production processes that are energy-saving, conserve resources and minimise both the amount of waste generated and the use of critical substances during leather manufacturing.”
The products on display will include Levotan LB, a softening polymer tanning materials, which offers a number of technical and ecological advantages. It allows shoe and upholstery leather to be produced cost-effectively, and the results are lighter, fluffier and softer than conventional fatliquored leather without losing their durability.
Other products it will showcase include: Retingan R12, a dicyandiamide-based resin tanning material with good selective filling properties; Tanigan CF liquid, developed specifically for the manufacture of wet white leather; Tanigan VR, which is said to combine all the advantages of modern chemistry with those of a vegetable tanning material; Aquaderm XL 100 EXP 2008 and Aquaderm XL DI 100 EXP 2009, VOC (volatile organic compound)-free isocyanate crosslinking
agents for top coat formulations; Bayderm X-tra Finish TV, an NMP-free, medium-hard, aliphatic polyurethane dispersion with good flow-out and high elasticity for glossy top coats; silica-free acrylic dispersion Opti-Matt A-2000; and Opti-Matt UD-4, a combination of a modern organic dulling agent with a high-performance silica in an aliphatic polyurethane dispersion.
