Coatings World - April 2011

BASF opens refinish
competence center in Mexico

BASF Coatings has opened a new training center for automotive refinishing in Toluca, Mexico. The new Refinish Competence Centre (RCC) is located in the Toluca Vesta Park industrial area in Mexico State. Approximately 500 customers per year will undergo training there in the future, the company said. The training courses support the BASF Coatings’ automotive refinish brands available in Mexico. The company now has a network of approximately 50 RCCs throughout the world. The Refinish Competence Centres are state-of-the-art information and training centers for spraypainters from all over the world. More than 10,000 participants per year attend courses at the centers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions alone. The RCC in Mexico is the fourth new center to be opened within the past two-plus years. In 2010, a training center was opened at the Montataire site in France for approximately 400 customers per year. Prior to that, the 2,000- square meter RCC was inaugurated in Münster in 2009, and in late 2008, a training center was opened in Shanghai to serve roughly 600 refinish specialists per year. BASF said the need for more training centers is on the rise.

ABRAFATI 2011
issues call for papers
ABRAFATI (Brazilian Coatings Manufac-
turers Association) has issued a call for
papers for its 12th International Coatings
Congress, which will take place Novem-
ber 21-23 2011 at the Transamerica Expo
Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Technicians,
professors, researchers and others inter-
ested in presenting papers at the 12th In-
ternational Coatings Congress may now
submit their abstracts to be evaluated by
the scientific committee. This year’s con-
gress will highlight recent research and in-
novations related to procedures, products,
raw materials, applications, technology
and environmental care, among other
themes. Anyone interested in presenting a

lecture or participating in the Poster Session should submit an abstract of the presentation to the 12th Congress Committee by May 31, 2011 through the website www.abrafati2011.com.br. The summary should be 20 to 30 lines long, in Portuguese, English or Spanish. It should include a title, the author’s name (and co-authors), the speaker’s name and the basic content summarized.

EPA awards $5.5 million to
support nanotechnology
research

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $5.5 million to three consortia to support research on nanotechnology. EPA, in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Natural Environment Research Council, is leading this scientific research effort to better understand the potential risks to people’s heath and the environment. The scientific information developed from the research can help guide EPA and other agencies in decisions about the safety of new materials and products that are made using nanotechnology.

“The responsible development of nanotechnology can play a major role in sustaining a positive, healthy environment, a vibrant and growing economy, and a high standard of living,” said Paul Anastas, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “ Understanding the risks posed by engineered nanomaterials is a global challenge that is best met through international collaboration, drawing on the combined expertise of researchers from diverse backgrounds.” Nanotechnology is the science of very small matter called nanomaterials, which are structured in size between one to 100 nanometers. A nanometer is 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair. At extremely small sizes, the laws of physics change, and nanomaterials can exhibit unique properties different than the same chemical substances in a larger

size. This opens up new opportunities for the development of innovative products and services.

The grants EPA has awarded will help researchers determine whether certain nanomaterials can leach out of products such as paints, plastics and fabrics when they are used or disposed of and whether they could become toxic to people and the environment. Many U.S. industries can benefit from the positive applications of nanotechnology, including environmental remediation, pollution prevention, innovative drug delivery and therapy, efficient renewable energy and effective energy storage.

In addition to EPA’s $5.5 million, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has contributed $500,000 through a new research partnership between the two agencies. Grant awards were made to three consortia consisting of researchers from the United States and the UK. Each U.S. team of researchers received $2 million from EPA and CPSC for a total of $6 million. Each UK team also receives $2 million from the UK agencies, resulting in a grand total of $12 million to conduct the research.

Reduced environmental
impact and costs for
Norwegian Cruise Line

Ten years ago, Norwegian Cruise Line applied biocide-free Intersleek foul release coatings to the 78,309 GRT Norwegian Sun when it was built in Germany. Ten years later, the Intersleek system has only needed touch-up repairs, significantly reducing overall paint volume, packaging, waste and VOC emissions, according to the company. In addition, because full coats were not necessary, dry-docking time and costs were also significantly reduced.