Coatings World - August 2015

The center combines innovative research and development, marketing, sales, customer service, and support functions such as environment safety and health, procurement, controlling, human resources, and information technology in one facility to foster collaboration, networking and creativity.

Evonik believes innovation is per-
formed by people – not by processes,
projects or machines, added DelGuercio.
“The company believes the keys to inno-
vation are creativity, courage and team
spirit,” he said. “The innovation culture
of a company determines how fast em-
ployees are able to drive forward good
ideas and convert them into a profitable
business. The Richmond Business and
Innovation Center will play an integral
part in this.”
With around 500 projects in its inno-
vation pipeline, Evonik is already one of
the world’s most innovative companies.

Evonik participates in the American Chemistry Council‘s Responsible Care program and is certified to the RC 14001 standards and practices in environmental, health, safety, security, product safety and process safety management.

BASF to Set Up New Global
Business Unit Combining All
Pigments Activities

BASF will form a global business unit (GBU) combining all of its pigments activities effective January 2016. In the second half of 2016, BASF intends to carve out its pigments business and establish separate legal entities.

With sales of about €1 billion in 2014 and 2,500 employees globally, BASF holds a leading position in the pigments market, offering the broadest portfolio of products and technology. The new GBU will likely be headquartered in the Ludwigshafen area. All employees who are dedicated to the pigments business will be transferred to the new GBU.

“We have achieved and maintained a
leading position in the pigments market
through acquisitions and a series of suc-
cessful restructuring measures. The new
global business unit will fully concen-
trate on the pigments business and thus
be even more focused on supporting the
needs of our pigments customers,” said
Dr. Markus Kramer, President of BASF’s
Dispersions & Pigments division.

Dr. Alexander Haunschild, senior vice president of the regional business unit Pigments and Resins Europe and appointed head of the GBU, stated: “By creating an organization fully dedicated to pigments, we will adapt better to the challenges in the pigments industry. Our customers will benefit from tailored services and higher responsiveness.”

BASF’s pigments business serves a variety of industries including paints & coatings, printing & packaging and plastics. The portfolio comprises of color pigments such as phthalocyanines, high performance pigments, azo pigments, effect pigments, inorganic pigments, dyes and pigment preparations.

WACKER Honors Chemist
with Alexander Wacker
Award for Production of
Silicone Films

WACKER, the Munich-based chemical group, presented Dr. Andreas Köllnberger with the 2015 Alexander Wacker Innovation Award. The 41-year- old chemist had developed a process for producing ultrathin silicone films. As thin as 10 micrometers, the precision films are very versatile. Due to their dielectric properties, they are ideal for use in electronics, robotics, sensor systems and medical technology, and enable the development of innovative products. The award ceremony took place during the Group’s annual research symposium at its plant in Burghausen, Germany.

This year was the fourth time that the € 10,000 innovation award had been presented for product innovation. Dr. Köllnberger and his team developed a process to produce silicone films that are only 10 to 400 micrometers thick. The high-precision films are extremely uniform, their thickness not varying by more than five percent over their entire area. The production process is fully automated and takes place in a closed system under cleanroom conditions. For the first time, it is possible to produce silicone film of very high quality and purity as roll stock on an industrial scale.

Due to their wide-ranging properties, silicone films are suitable for numerous industrial applications. Since silicone is selectively permeable to gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, silicone films are ideal for gas separation and for producing wound dressings. Moreover, silicone films are of interest for developing novel sensors and actuators. Due to their dielectric properties, they can be used as elec-troactive polymers in intelligent sensors, artificial muscles, energy-saving electrical relays and valves, and in the generation of electricity.

“Few companies have influenced silicon and silicone chemistry from the outset as much as WACKER,” said Executive Board member Auguste Willems in his speech at the award ceremony in Burghausen. “Our portfolio of silicones has grown to include thousands of products. The outstanding work of Dr. Köllnberger and his team has now added another highly promising product.”

Willems handed over the award during the 43rd R&D symposium, which, as in previous years, was held at WACKER’s main plant in Burghausen, Germany. The 2015 Alexander Wacker Innovation Award attracted entries from 48 employees, including from sites in China, India, Japan and the USA. Examples of the product innovations submitted ranged from a terpolymer for formulating low-emission tile adhesives through to new polyvinyl acetate solid resins for gumbase and a silicone fluid emulsion developed specifically for Asian hair-care products. “This year, the standard was again extremely high,” said Willems. “All submitted product innovations are very promising, with strong profits likely.”

Chromaflo Expands R&D for Thermoset Composites Chromaflo Technologies, one of the leading independent global suppliers of colorant systems, chemical and pigment dispersions, is very pleased to announce two new positions to support the Thermoset Composites market at its Ashtabula, Ohio facility.