Coatings World - October 2012

ards associated with the risk flash ignition and fire.

Following cooperation with dry container box manufacturers and owners, which included many trial applications in China, which is the hub of the new container box manufacturing industry, the trials have demonstrated that the Ekomate technology can be applied on existing production lines with minimum adjustment to the norms or investment in new equipment said the company. CMP Shanghai is manufacturing 2,000 tons of Ekomate per month and is expanding production capacity to meet market demand, which in turn continues to elevate CMP’s green policy and ongoing commitment to the environment.

Henkel also started construction for its 150,000 square-meter adhesives factory in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. The new facility will be the main adhesives manufacturing base in China and the Asia-Pacific region. Upon completion, the new Henkel factory will be the largest adhesives factory in the world with an estimated annual production of 428,000 tons the company said.

The construction of the new adhesives factory is part of the company’s overall strategy to expand its capacities in the growth regions. Currently, Henkel realizes 42 percent of its total sales within the emerging markets, and 53 percent of its employees are now working in those markets. The new state-of-the-art adhesives facility, which is scheduled to begin production at the end of 2012, will enable Henkel to cope with the rapidly growing demand in China and the Asia-Pacific region for its adhesives. The new factory will require a total fixed asset investment of 50 million euros. Henkel also plans to hire 600 employees to operate the new facility.

“This investment is in line with our priority to expand our business in the emerging markets,” said Kasper Rorsted, Henkel’s CEO, during the groundbreaking ceremony, “China has been an impor-

Key Opportunities For Future Growth In The
Chinese Market

• The 18th Congress of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is being held in October 2012 and there will be pressure on the new leadership team to introduce measures to stimulate the economy after many government incentives were pulled in 2011;

• The Chinese government’s affordable housing program plans to build 36 million new affordable dwellings over the next five years;

• Huge regional disparities remain in China, with rural areas offering opportunity for infrastructural development and as yet untapped consumer demand;

• Rising car ownership, poor road conditions and a very low scrappage rate will all boost demand for automotive refinishes;

• The Chinese end-user industries will be looking for coatings of-
fering environmental benefits and safety features (like lead-free,
VOC-free, formaldehyde-free etc.), plus more functionality, in
order to meet stricter standards (particularly for products destined
for export) and serve the needs of discerning consumers (espe-
cially the younger generations); and
• Offshore engineering schemes and infrastructure development
will bolster sales of marine and protective coatings.

tant growth engine for Henkel, and we are confident that the plant
will greatly enhance Henkel’s growth potential in the country.”
The new adhesives factory is also a result of the company’s ef-
forts to further optimize its overall manufacturing activities by con-
centrating on high-performance factories that will generate more
significant cost, productivity and efficiency advantages. As part of
this initiative, Henkel’s new adhesives production facility in China
will significantly expand capacities for existing and new technolo-
gies. These efforts have also been aligned to make operations more
environmentally compatible as the new adhesives factory will set a
high industry standard for its high operational efficiency, low en-
ergy and water consumption as well as low carbon emissions.

H.B. Fuller Company opened its most recent manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China. The new plant is the first multinational reactive adhesives plant in China the company said and is located in the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park. This facility and the company’s regional technical center in Shanghai will collaborate to serve the Asia Pacific region. H.B. Fuller’s Nanjing facility will produce urethanes and other reactive chemistries for customers in the construction, filter, flexible packaging, solar, textile, window and woodworking markets.

Germany-based Dürr has been contracted to build an automobile paint shop in China for the FAW-VW joint venture. This automotive paint shop, which Dürr says will have the lowest emissions in all China and a capacity of 34 vehicles per hour will go into operation to paint various Audi models starting in March 2013.

The plant will have completely automated primer, base and topcoat application and has expanded the joint venture’s capacities in Changchun.

Dürr is responsible for the construction of the complete paint shop, including application technology and exhaust air purifica-tion. The company will use its EcoDryScrubber system for the dry separation of overspray that it says reduces energy consumption up to 60 percent in comparison to conventional spray booths by using air recirculation. Fresh water and coagulation chemicals can be completely dispensed with and overspray bound by limestone powder can be reused.

The use of water-based paints in the primer and basecoat section is also new and environmentally friendly as well.

The Ecopaint RoDip M rotational dip coating process, which is already used around the world in 46 different paint shops for PT / ED applications, will be used in pretreatment and electro dipping in Changchun. With this Dürr said the rotation of the entire body in the tank optimizes the dipping, flooding and draining process. By eliminating the entry and exit ramps the tank volume is decreased, reducing the need for energy and chemicals.

Prior to the filler and basecoat applications, the car body is cleaned by six EcoRS Clean robots and sword brushes. Interior and exterior painting is fully automated, using a total of 62 painting and handling robots from the EcoRP L series.

EcoBell3, the new atomizer generation for electrostatic paint application will be used for the application of primer, base coat and clear coat. Seam sealing, including the hemflange application, underbody protection and pore recognition, is carried out by 16 EcoRS robots. CW