BASF has invested €2.5 million in its
Demarchi coatings site, located in the
state of São Paulo, Brazil, to expand its
capacity to service Brazil’s automotive
industry with waterborne automotive
coatings. The goal is to meet market demands generated by new car makers setting up their plants in the country and
by the trend of using waterborne technology rather than solventborne. BASF
is the pioneer in developing waterborne
basecoats for the automotive industry.
The technology is eco-efficient because
water replaces most of the organic solvents. In addition to the traditional clients such as GM, Volkswagen, Fiat and
PSA, and a strong presence in the segment of coatings for trucks, BASF has in
the past years conquered new supply contracts which include car makers such as
Hyundai and Chery. Another trend in the
market is the use of integrated processes
where the paintline is shortened by one
step. This means that less material, time
and energy are used. At the same time, the
same application quality can be achieved.
In South America, BASF has two plants
where automotive coatings are produced,
one in Demarchi, Brazil, and the other in
Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2013, Brazil
was the fourth biggest car sales market
in the world and on the seventh place
worldwide as car producer, according to
the International Organization of Motor
Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).
AkzoNobel Announces
First Carbon Credit
Methodology
AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings busi-
ness, supplier of International advanced
hull coatings, and The Gold Standard
Foundation have announced a new and
unique methodology to reward the im-
proved fuel efficiency of ships within
the international maritime industry.
Certification by The Gold Standard for
the first of its kind, peer-reviewed meth-
odology will allow ships to generate
carbon credits, thus income, for the CO2
emission reductions they achieve.
The new methodology is based on
ship owners and operators converting ex-
isting vessels from a biocidal antifouling
system to the premium, biocide-free ad-
vanced hull coating Intersleek. A baseline
emission level is determined for the ves-
sel prior to the application of Intersleek
with the same data source then used to
determine the emission savings after the
application of Intersleek. The carbon
credits generated are directly related to
reduced emissions as a result of reduced
fuel consumption.
“This landmark methodology en-
ables ship owners and operators to ben-
efit twice when they invest in Intersleek
technology. Firstly, they can increase
operational, environmental and energy
efficiencies, which reduces fuel costs
and emissions and then they can reap
the additional financial benefits of car-
bon credits, which we will share with
them,” said Trevor Solomon, Intersleek
business manager.
Added Conrad Keijzer, AkzoNobel’s
executive committee member responsible
for Performance Coatings: “This pioneer-
ing initiative is a great example of how we
constantly innovate to bring sustainable
value and benefits to our customers. The
increased uptake of clean technologies in
the international shipping industry forms
part of our Planet Possible approach of
doing more with less.”
International reported that it spent
more than two years developing the
carbon credits methodology as part of
its research into making eco-efficiency
technologies more accessible for the
wider shipping industry. The company
chose to work with The Gold Standard
Foundation because it is the highest qual-
ity and most trusted carbon certification
standard with rigorous sustainability
benchmarks over three categories; envi-
ronmental, social and economic, as well
as technological.
Sherwin-Williams Adds
Aerospace Coatings Social
Media Platform
Sherwin-Williams has created two aero-
space coatings-dedicated social me-
dia sites through the creation of new
Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. This
new portal allows aircraft maintenance,
repair, overhaul and coatings specifiers an
extensive community in which to share
market trends, application tips and view
some of the products and developments
in the industry. Sherwin-Williams’ new
Facebook account lets users share indus-
try news, comments and photos while al-
lowing the brand to post questions and
industry-wide content to better interact
with its audience. Its new LinkedIn ac-
count creates a forum to also share data,
but serves as a more informative portal
to place Sherwin-Williams generated
whitepapers, blog postings and forward
pertinent coatings industry news summa-
ries and articles. The company created the
new accounts after considerable research
on industry trends, customer needs, and
determining the best way social media
would complement its customer-base
in a business-to-business setting. “Our
new Facebook page allows users to cre-
ate a conversation about industry trends,
issues and even specific application
tips and recommendations,” said Julie
Voisin, Sherwin-Williams global product
manager for Aerospace Coatings. “Our
LinkedIn platform allows us to show-
case the expertise of Sherwin-Williams
through weekly posted articles on coat-
ings topics as well as sharing news from
industry-related groups and media. It also
provides a venue for us to introduce new
products and post information pertinent
to those in the Commercial, Military
and General Aviation OEM and MRO
aerospace coatings communities, respec-
tively.” The creation of these social media
channels is an addition to the already
existing YouTube account dedicated
specifically to Aerospace Coatings from
BASF Invests in Demarchi Site to Expand
Capacity of Waterborne Automotive Coatings
