The industrial paints market is looking better than it has done for the past year. AMS previews PaintExpo, one of the year’s top paint and coatings events.
Recent figures suggest that the automotive market has passed the worst of the downturn. As markets strengthen, carmakers are looking once again to build production numbers. Manufacturers of coating technologies are also feeling the effects of the upswing, in the form of increased project launches and orders. PaintExpo, a leading international trade fair for industrial coating technologies taking place from April 13 – 16, 2010 in Karlsruhe, Germany, brings together many of the most important suppliers in this field.
“The automotive industry is one of BASF Coatings’ most important sectors,” commented company CEO Raimar Jahn. “The economic crisis has affected our business with vehicle and industrial paints, but we’ve nevertheless been able to maintain our position within this generally declining market. We haven’t lost any market shares during the crisis; on the contrary, we’ve even made gains in some areas. Even though recovery is slow and unsteady at the moment, things are shaping up well for us on the whole.” The following is a round up of what some of the most important suppliers in the paint and coatings industry will be presenting at the upcoming PaintExpo event.
adphos Innovative Technologies
(Hall 4, Booth 4519)
Small flaws in the top coat are often repaired using paint spots. These are applied to the pre-buffed work area with a dabbing tool, then either dried for up to 30 minutes with IR stand-type dryers at a spot repair station or returned to the top coat dryer. With the NIR Microspot repair system, a compact hand-held device, the drying and curing process time can be reduced from 30 minutes to between 20 and 50 seconds. Precisely targeted NIR radiation dries and cures the paintwork surface within a defined temperature profile, to the point that the paint spot is immediately ready for rubbing down and polishing.
www.adphos.de
Erichsen
(Hall 3, Booth 3530)
Erichsen will have its multi-functional Lineartester 249 on display, used for checking material surface resistance against mechanical or combined mechanical/chemical treatment. Equipped with electromotive drive, electric through-scratching indication and variable test speed, the Lineartester 249 is also offered with a variety of accessories, enabling tests such as scribe/scratch, to-and-fro cycle abrasion, crockmeter and MEK tests, which determine the resistance to solvents. In addition to the Lineartester 249, Erichsen will be showing the Layercheck 700 thickness gauges. Available in two models, the 700 F can be used for the measurement of non-magnetic coatings on steel (magnetic induction principle) and the 700 FN universal probe, for measurement of non-magnetic coatings on steel and insulating coatings on non-ferrous metals (magnetic induction principle and eddycurrent method). The automatic mode can recognize the correct measuring method, regardless of the ferrous, nonferrous base material, indicating the type of substrate.
www.erichsen.de
Harter
(Hall 4, Booth 4326)
Harter specializes in the development, manufacture and operation of drying facilities in the areas of retained water drying, paint drying and sludge drying. The company’s Airgenex system can be used in a continuous dry system or as a batch drier. Recycling waste heat in the closed system, Airgenex returns reduced operating costs and improved efficiency. According to Harter, the Airgenex system reduces drying times by up to 50% over conventional drying systems, while soft product drying eliminates the need for dedicated cooling zones.
www.harter-gmbh.de
InfraBioTech
(Hall 3, Booth 3452)
IBT has been developing and supplying infrared radiators for nine years, working with ceramic-coated emitters. These are said to reduce process time, save energy and improve the quality of the finished product. IBT, in partnership with Rehau, has developed a new drying plant set up using STIR (Selective Transformed Infrared) technology.
www.infrabiotech.de
CSF Foerderanlagen
(Hall 4, Booth 4520)
Companies requiring unconventional conveyor solutions can turn to CSF Foerderanlagen, which offers transfer solutions suitable for a range applications for manufacturers needing to integrate custom-configured cross-linking and control units in order to optimise workflow. CSF guarantees rapid project development and delivery times based on the company’s experience in delivering a cost-optimised solution.
www.csf-gmbh.com
Vollert Anlagenbau
(Hall 3, Booth 3434)
Intralogistics specialist Vollert Anlagenbau will be presenting floor-guided and above-floor fully-automatic coating plants for the powder coating of parts weighing between one and 50 tonnes. Instead of power and free conveyors, the company is focusing on a flexible, low-maintenance drive concept, using stationary wheels, disk drives and distributors. During PaintExpo, visitors will be able to see a 3.5 tonne paint plant in operation at SEW Eurodrive.
www.vollert.de
Chemische Werke Kluthe
(Hall 4, Booth 4325)
Chemische Werke Kluthe will be presenting its new development in the field of water-based paints, the onecoat Hakuflex RW 84. Offering high corrosion protection and user-friendly application, the product is said to offer a solution to companies looking to switch over to using waterbased paints.
www.kluthe.com
CMA Robotics
(Hall 3, Booth 3514)
CMA Robotics will have a wide range of equipment on display at the upcoming PaintExpo of interest to automotive manufacturers. The company’s painting robots feature a selfteaching option where the paint technician moves the robot arm around the workpiece, movements which the unassisted robot can later copy. CMA Robotics can provide robotic solutions for large or small workpieces, which in addition to the self-teaching function, also provide traditional point-topoint programming which can be used to paint otherwise inaccessible areas.
www.cmaroboter.de
