the UK government’s Let’s Grow
Regional Growth Fund. It represents the latest addition to the
Felling location, which is the
Performance Coatings business’ largest
R&D site worldwide, employing around
300 scientists.
Axalta Introducing
Sustainability-Boosting
Coating Technologies to
China Car Makers
Axalta Coating Systems will showcase
its Harmonized Coating Technologies, a
consolidated coating system, in China at
the SURCAR 2015 automotive body finishing show in Shanghai.
Combining latest generation water-borne coatings with established high
solid coatings, Axalta’s Harmonized
Coating Technologies aim to meet the
emerging needs of light vehicle original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to
achieve more sustainable and efficient car
manufacturing.
At SURCAR Shanghai, Axalta will de-
but two new application systems for cus-
tomers in China under the Harmonized
Coating Technologies umbrella: an up-
graded 3-Wet Waterborne system and
High Solid 2-Wet Monocoat system. Each
system responds to different customer
needs for high-performance, quality and
flexibility. The systems share the ability
to reduce the number of bake/flash steps
needed for curing and are designed to
deliver full-layer performance. As part
of the portfolio of Harmonized Coating
Technologies, the patented and patent-
pending Eco-Concept primer-less coating
system is also presented at Axalta’s booth,
representing one of the most advanced
waterborne coating processes today.
“Sustainability is at the core of
Axalta’s innovation and business devel-
opment, and sustainability is a key value
we share with customers,” said Luke Lu,
Vice President of Axalta and President
of Axalta’s operations in China. “At
Axalta, we believe Harmonized Coating
Technologies are a concrete example of
how we are putting that philosophy into
practice to provide tangible benefits to
customers here in China.”
Axalta’s Eco-Concept process is de-
signed to reduce OEM investments and
operation expenses up to 20 percent
when compared to conventional wa-
ter-borne coating processes while also
lowering energy use and emissions. It is
especially suitable for waterborne coat-
ing production lines and in shifting from
medium-solid solventborne production
lines to waterborne coating lines.
The upgraded 3-Wet Waterborne
system uses a specially developed
water-based coating formulation that
enables successive coats to be applied on
top of prior coats while still wet or re-
quiring only an ambient (minimal flash)
dry step between coats. The process is
designed to further reduce the bake steps
and save energy.
The 2-Wet Monocoat system is de-
signed to increase productivity with
reduced energy use and paint shop foot-
print. It combines the paint performance
of a clearcoat-over-basecoat system with
the productivity of a monocoat process.
With this advanced technology, coating
applications can be reduced from three to
two and the number of baking steps from
two to one. The monocoat appearance is
achieved with a hyper-branched acrylic
polymer formulated to provide high qual-
ity appearance and durability. Advanced
weathering tests conducted by Axalta
have shown that paint applied with this
2-wet technology retains as much as 90
percent of its gloss after four years.
Axalta has been operating in China
since 1984, and this experience enables
Axalta to maintain its leadership role in
developing innovative, cutting-edge coating products. In addition to the recent-ly-opened Jiading waterborne coatings
facility, Axalta operates an adjacent plant
in Jiading, a plant in Changchun, six powder coating operations in collaboration
AkzoNobel Helps Protect Barcelona’s Iconic La Sagrada Familia Basilica
Barcelona’s iconic Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is to benefit from a key contribution by AkzoNobel’s Powder
Coatings business. Due to be completed in 2026, the company’s Interpon products will be applied to several areas of the UNESCO
World Heritage Site, where construction first began in 1882.
“As a company that dates back nearly 400 years, we are passionate about the need to preserve the heritage of our cities,”
said John Wolff, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Powder
Coatings business. “We are therefore honored to be in-
volved in the development of such an important building.”
“Our involvement in this prestigious project reflects the
company’s desire to protect urban heritage and make cities
around the world more exciting, vibrant places to live,” said
Jose Luis Camargo, Business Manager of AkzoNobel’s Pow-
der Coatings business in Iberia.
