Lanxess announces top coat development
12/03/2010
Specialty chemicals group Lanxess has announced plans to optimise its top coat systems, especially those used for automotive leathers, and to expand its share of the market. To this end, the company's leather business unit has invested in new technologies, including a new type of roll coating machine, for its technology centre in Leverkusen.
Michael Franken, head of finishing in the centre's product development application section, said on announcing the development: “There is an increasing demand for new, environment-friendly processes for applying leather finishes and other coatings. We have therefore invested in product development so that we can play an active part in this trend.”
The leather business unit’s applications technologists can use the new roll coating machine to develop modern top coat formulations for their customers and help them with technical problems.
The new roll coating machine is the Gemata Topstar, which has specially developed rubber screen rollers for direct roll coating. This makes it possible to apply top coats more accurately and with virtually no wastage. In addition to cutting costs significantly, this method of application also improves the environmental balance of the leather production process compared with conventional spraying methods, where as much as 50% of the formulation may be wasted due to overspraying, Lanxess said.
“Manufacturers of automotive leathers value our expertise. In this hotly contested, multi-billion euro market, the technical support that we can offer and the development of cost-effective, environment-friendly recipes for our leather customers are invaluable in helping us to remain competitive,” Mr Franken added.
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