Powder coatings as a body coating alternative mark the start of a new era for automotive manufacturers who wish to reduce
both their carbon footprint and their costs
without compromising on technical quality or
performance. Powder coatings are offering the
automotive industry a sustainable alternative
to liquid paints.
AkzoNobel’s powder mono coat system reduces the number of process steps
and enables a significant reduction in energy consumption.
“This is not the first time powder coat-
ings have been used as automotive top-
coats. We have been coating commercial
and passenger vehicles for many years and
have made steady advances,” said Ak-
zoNobel AAC’s Kevin Hales. “A lot of hard
work has gone into refining the product
and application techniques, working
closely with PSA Peugeot Citroën to ensure
their incredibly high quality demands are
met and the coating is suitable for the Eu-
ropean passenger vehicle market.”
PSA Peugeot Citroën has considerable experience in powder
coating, especially for primer, which has been used at its Mul-
house factory since 2003. “This project was very exciting because
it’s not only a practical response to customer expectations for
more innovative effects, but also it’s obtained in the most simple
way we can imagine, which was to apply a mono coat paint di-
rectly on e-coat with a fully automatic process,” said Antoine
Vieu, PSA Peugeot Citroën expert for topcoat materials.
PSA Peugeot Citroën not only wanted a powder coating for
this significant new finish, they also required a matching finish
for the plastic body panels.
“Our challenge was to provide a high quality aesthetic match
not only for color but also in surface structure,” said Regis Garcia
of AkzoNobel Automotive and Aerospace Coatings. “The Citroën
DS4 is evidence that AkzoNobel AAC rose to this challenge.”
Another example of innovative powder technology at work
can be seen at San Jose International Airport, which is the first
showcase for PPG Industries’ Duranar powder coatings.
The new Terminal B concourse at the Norman Y. Mineta San
Jose International Airport in California is the first monumental
architectural project constructed with Duranar powder coatings
by PPG’s industrial coatings business.
Duranar powder coatings are formulated by PPG to provide
the same long-term durability as Duranar liquid coatings, but in
an environmentally advanced, ultra-low-VOC powder. They are
based on the same polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) technology as
liquid Duranar coatings.
Duranar Regal White powder coatings were applied to a series of curved, perforated metal panels that arc over the main
Terminal B structure. The coating was specified by Fentress Architects, Denver, Colo. Overly Manufacturing, Greensburg, Pa.,
AkzoNobel’s Interpon Powder Coatings become the first full body monocoat powder coating to be used on a passenger vehicle in Europe. The Citroën DS4 is pictured here.
was the metal panel manufacturer and Spectrum Metal Finishing,
Youngstown, Ohio, was the PPG Certified Applicator. Terminal
B covers more than 160,000 square feet and is designed to accommodate up to 8. 5 million passengers a year. The project
earned LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC).
Consolidation in the market
There has been a great deal of consolidation over the past several
years in the powder coatings market, where the major players
own roughly 85 percent of the market share. Most notably AkzoNobel acquired the powder coating activities of Dow Chemical, which Dow gained from its acquisition of Rohm and Haas.
In addition, Becker sold its powder coating business in North
America to Sherwin-Williams and its European powder coating
business to Inver SpA, while
BASF sold its powder business for home appliances, heating
and pipe coatings to Arsonsisi SpA.
Valspar Corp. recently bought a Brazilian manufacturer of
powder coatings used in appliances, building products, transportation and other general industrial markets. Isocoat Tintas e
Vernizes Ltda. serves customers in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. The company, which is located in Araçariguama, state of São
Paulo, had 2010 sales of approximately $34 million.
“Isocoat further strengthens Valspar’s presence in the fast-growing coatings markets in Latin America,” said Gary Hen-drickson, Valspar president.
During the year Tikkurila completed the selling of its powder
coatings business to Teknos Group Oy. Tikkurila divested its industrial powder coatings business, because it is not a part of
Tikkurila’s core business. After the transaction, Tikkurila has no
powder coatings related operations. The revenue of the sold com-
www.coatingsworld.com
December 2011
