New products pep up BASF's portfolio
New products pep up BASF's portfolio
Keywords: Coatings, Binders, Paints
Ever since the introduction of a broad-based innovation programme more than a year back, several new BASF-developed coating binders have been launched on the market. These are high-performance products for special applications in the construction industry or products that on a like-for-like basis are more environmentally friendly and of a higher quality than the current market standards.
A new aqueous acrylate dispersion that acts as a binding agent for high-gloss paints, marketed under the brand name of Acronal® DS 6250, for the first time matches the technical properties of solvent-based alkyds for important applications. This innovative application allows the content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ready- formulated paints to be significantly reduced – yet another example of sustainability-led portfolio optimisation by BASF undertaken on a voluntary basis – an EU directive on VOCs will not become effective until 2007. Along with Acronal®LR 9014 for wood and glossy paints, which has been launched recently, BASF now offers two new and attractive products for this area of application.
Equally new are Acronal® DS 6252 X and Acronal®DS 6257 X for the so-called elastic coatings used mainly in France and southern Europe to renovate house walls, for example, for bridging cracks in exterior walls. An essential requirement is that they do not become tacky in high temperatures and at the same time they adhere well to all surfaces and retain their elasticity over a broad temperature range.
Visible house foundations or walls exposed to climatic wear and tear are often treated with marble stone finishes. Acronal® DS 6254 is a new binder developed for these purposes that guarantees color fastness especially under humid and rainy conditions – a genuine innovation in aqueous polymer dispersion applications, because traditional products tend to whiten under these conditions.
BASF classics: binders for coatings
Binders for coatings ensure gloss, mechanical stability or the necessary adhesion of the paint to the respective surface. For large-volume applications such as interior paints, house and fac¸ade coatings or outdoor plasters,BASF's aqueous polymer dispersions, for example, Acronal® 290 D,are tried and tested classics. However, in view of continued market pressures,above all in the German construction industry, it is these products that are suffering from severe competitive – and hence margin – pressures,compounded by raw material prices that have been high for more than a year.
In such a situation, producers whose product portfolio includes innovative new developments have a competitive advantage. Dr Jürgen Barwich,responsible for the marketing of architectural coatings in the Regional Business Unit Adhesive and Construction Industry Europe, says: “Our traditional standard products will remain important, but we also plan to expand our specialities segment through innovations and in this way make our coatings range significantly more attractive and higher-quality for our customers. This is the only way, in today's difficult market environment, to provide our business with the necessary momentum for growth.”
The new products destined for the European market are manufactured at BASF's sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Tarragona, Spain. Ludwigshafen has a modern and efficient dispersions centre for high-volume products and its specialities plant for the flexible production of what will initially be smaller-scale products. The applications support service to customers has been supplemented with an online information service (www.highglosspaint.com)and Worldaccount, one of BASF's e-commerce portals. A new laboratory robot ensures the ultra-efficient development of customer formulations for the finished paint.
According to Jürgen Barwich, “close cooperation with our customers, high-performance standard products plus innovative specialities combined with new swift time-to-market concepts and a modern and flexible production base – these form the cornerstone of our strategy for coating binders.”
As a major supplier to the construction and coatings industry, BASF develops, produces and markets polymer dispersions, powders and solutions based on acrylates, stryrene and butadiene worldwide. They are used, for example, to manufacture plasters, finishing systems and compounds, advanced super concrete plasticizers, roof coatings and ceramic tile adhesives. They act as binding agents in paints and coatings. BASF's special strengths lie in its high-performance research, development and applications technology. The business is part of the functional polymers division in BASF's performance products segment. Further information is available online at www.basf.de/dispersions.
