Lanxess will launch several new products from its manufacturing plant in Wuxi, China at this year’s ACLE.

The new products are:

• Retinga R12 Plus-C is a resin tanning material with low free formaldehyde content which offers very good filling and dyeing properties and a minimal bleaching effect. The resultant leather has a fine, tight and uniform grain pattern.

• BaymolAD-N-C and Baymol AP-N-C are alternatives to nonylphenol and ethoxylated nonylphenols. They are effective, biodegradable degreasing agents; which are free of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates. They are stable in all the leather manufacturing processes from the beamhouse to the retannage. The products are said to have good emulsifying and dispersing power for fats, fatty acids, metallic soaps, waxes and all kinds of impurities. As they are not fixed to the hide protein or chrome tanned leather, they are easy to wash out. This is particularly important, for example in the production of waterproof or automotive upholstery leather.

• Euderm Filler MM-C is a water-based matting agent for the application in all aqueous base coat formulations, enhancing the surface uniformity and fullness of the finish. Beside the matting effect it also improves the covering power of the base coat without loading the grain. It also improves the embossing properties, obtaining an excellent print retention and improves the cut through resistance of the base coat.

• Primal Binder FS-C is a soft acrylic polymer with selected additives, particularly developed for flesh side fixation. The main advantages are that the softness of the leathers is not affected and there is good fibre fixation. It can be applied either by roll coating or by spraying.

In response to the law prohibiting the use of nonylphenol and ethoxylated nonylphenols passed by the European Parliament and which came into force in January 2005, Lanxess has developed a range of ecological friendly top coats: Eusin Emulsion EBN-C, Eusin Emulsion EDN-C, Isoderm Base FDN-C, Isoderm Base HGN-C, Isoderm LA 83-N-C, Isoderm LA 85-N-C. The products are free of phthalate base plasticizers and APEO containing emulsifiers. The range also contains Isoderm Lustre MGN-C and Isoderm Lustre TGN-C, ecologically friendly top coats which are free of phthalate base plasticizers for solvent based applications.

BaydermFinish HPV-C is a polyurethane dispersion modified with an acrylic copolymer. It has been specially developed for the use in high performance top coats for car upholstery leather. It can also be used in combination with a variety of acrylic and PUD resins to enhance the top coat performance. Bayderm Finish HPV-C does not contain N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP).