Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is presenting its products for the paint and coatings industry under the theme “Pigments and Protection” at the European Coatings Show in Nuremberg, from March 19 to 21, 2013. Exhibits include high-performance pigments from the lightfast, weather-stable and chemical-resistant Bayferrox and Colortherm lines, the organic and inorganic pigment preparations Levanyl and Levanox, and the extensive portfolio of Preventol biocides. Also to be showcased will be the phosphorus-based, halogen-free, flame-retardant additives Levagard and Disflamoll, and the intumescent foam Bayfomox.

Expanding the global pigment production network

LANXESS is expanding its global production network for inorganic pigments and building a new plant in China. The new high-tech facility for iron oxide red pigments will be constructed at the Ningbo Chemical Industry Park on China's eastern coast.

Designed to meet the latest environmental standards, the plant will initially have an annual capacity of 25,000 metric tons. The company is investing a total of EUR 55 million in the project, creating 150 new jobs in the process. Construction will begin in the second quarter of 2013. Production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2015.

“With the new facility and an expanded range of innovative products based on leading German technologies, we can help our customers to meet their growth targets,” said Rainier van Roessel, Member of the Board of Management at LANXESS AG. “The investment project further underlines the importance of LANXESS as one of the leading suppliers of innovative products for the megatrend of urbanization.”

The trend towards urbanization has triggered rising global demand for premium, sustainably produced pigments.

Innovative production process supports sustainability

LANXESS will manufacture high-quality iron oxide red pigments at the new plant using a further advanced and highly sustainable Penniman process. “With our innovative production process, we are raising the bar for the production of iron oxide pigments, particularly in terms of water treatment, waste gas cleaning and energy consumption,” said Jörg Hellwig, head of the Inorganic Pigments (IPG) business unit. “Furthermore, the new facility strengthens our global production network of plants in Germany, China and Brazil,” he added. IPG will market the red pigments with their yellowish cast globally under the well-known product name Bayferrox. Key customers are in the paints and coatings industry, but also the construction and plastics industries.

Brilliant colorants and halogen-free flame retardants

LANXESS' Functional Chemicals (FCC) business unit is focusing on its pigment preparations at the European Coatings Show. These products are based on organic and inorganic high-performance Levanyl and Levanox pigments, which allow brilliant and pure hues with excellent lightfastness and weather stability. “We are experiencing growing demand for products suitable for outdoor use. At the same time, there is ever-increasing interest in environmental safety. We are confident that the differentiating performance of our water-based Levanyl and Levanox grades will be instrumental in supporting the growth objectives of our customers,” said Patrik Brodhag, Marketing Manager for Specialty Colorants at FCC.

FCC will also be showcasing its state-of-the-art and versatile Disflamoll and Levagard phosphorus-based, halogen-free flame retardants. The special properties of these transparent flame retardants also enable them to be widely used in paints and coatings as VOC-free solvents, viscosity depressants, dispersion and wetting agents or antifoams. In addition, combinations of these liquid products with the powdered flame retardant Uniplex FRX 44-94 results in a relevant reduction in the total content of flame retardants.

Advanced biocides for sustainable product optimization

At the trade fair in Nuremberg, the Material Protection Products business unit (MPP) is exhibiting biocidal active ingredients and biocidal formulations for a broad range of applications in the paints and coatings sector, including formulations for water-based wood coatings, emulsion paints, lacquers and plasters.
 
MPP recently started using a new formulation method for algicides in the paint segment. The new method has an advantageous effect on algicidal formulations. Several tests showed that it reduced leaching of the active ingredient from paints in rain by over 50 percent compared to conventional algicides. By improving leaching behavior, the method can either extend the lifetime of facade coatings or reduce the amount of active ingredient required.

Dr. Frank Sauer, MPP Regulatory Affairs Manager, will cover this topic in a 30-minute talk he is giving on modern biocides from LANXESS on March 19, 2013, at 11:30 a.m. at the European Coatings Congress. The title: “Squaring the circle: Full potential of biocides in place needed - Sound behaviour in environment”.