Printing Ink Raw Materials

Press Releases

AGM secures exclusive distribution agreement with Indian partner, Imkemex

International collaboration expands the reach of AGM’s graphene products across the Asian chemical market
Applied Graphene Materials (LSE: AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet dispersions, is excited to announce that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Imkemex (Headquarters, Mumbai, India). The partnership extends AGM’s commercial reach directly into the region’s liquid resins, coatings, composites and polymers sectors.
Originally formed by ICI India in 1965, Imkemex is now a growing, independent provider of distribution services for overseas chemical companies. The new agreement will see the two organisations collaborate on local opportunities for the application of AGM’s proprietary Genable graphene dispersion technology and facilitate wider engagement with new and existing customers within the Indian market.
In addition to its own commercial activity in the U.K. and the United States, AGM has distribution agreements with local expert chemicals and coatings distributors in a growing number of export markets. As a result, AGM has achieved strong regional coverage for its products, providing detailed customer understanding and technical guidance for graphene’s potential use.
Adrian Potts, AGM CEO commented:
“It is a great pleasure to be able to welcome Imkemex into AGM’s growing sales network as a technically-capable, commercially-astute distribution partner for our Genable brand in India. AGM is committed to enabling the widespread application of graphene dispersions and offering competitive advantages to its partners through the development of innovative graphene-enhanced products. At this stage of AGM’s commercialisation, the appointment of Imkemex as our regional distributor in a key strategic market is a significant step towards achieving further adoption of our dispersed graphene nanoplatelets globally.”
Saumendra Tripathy, Managing Director, Imkemex Marketing, commented:
“We at Imkemex are delighted to be AGM’s partner of choice for India. Imkemex’s proven expertise is to provide innovative and novel solutions fit for the Indian chemical industry and it augurs well with AGM’s innovations with Graphene based materials in solving real-life issues and helping create a more sustainable world. Together, we provide state-of-the-art and sustainable solutions of chemical resistance and corrosion inhibition to the Indian coatings industry.”

AGM signs distribution agreement with Rayoung Chemtech Inc., Taiwan

Applied Graphene Materials (LSE:AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet dispersions, is pleased to announce that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Rayoung Chemtech Inc. (Headquarters, Taipei, Taiwan). The partnership will extend AGM’s commercial reach directly into the region’s liquid resins, coatings, composites and polymers sectors.

Founded in 2008, Rayoung Chemtech Inc. has always been committed to delivering high performance specialty chemicals and shares AGM’s vision for helping customers improve material performance and strengthen product competitiveness. The distribution agreement will see the two companies collaborate on customer opportunities and introduce AGM’s proprietary Genable graphene dispersion technology into the Taiwanese coatings and composites market.

In addition to its own commercial hubs in the U.K. and the United States, AGM now has distribution agreements with local expert chemicals and coatings distributors in a growing number of export markets. As a result, AGM has achieved excellent regional coverage providing detailed customer understanding and appreciation of graphene’s potential.

Adrian Potts, AGM CEO commented:
“I am really pleased to welcome Rayoung Chemtech Inc. to the commercial team, in line with our strategy to continue expanding our distributor footprint. We believe that the key to graphene’s continued commercialisation is to combine innovative materials technology with a local customer approach that presents the practical advantages of use and the true potential of graphene dispersions in their applications. We look forward to working with the highly motivated team at Rayoung Chemtech Inc. to take advantage of the many opportunities in the Taiwanese market.”

Ray Chung from Rayoung Chemtech Inc. commented:
“AGM is a world-leading graphene material innovator and dispersions manufacturer and through their advanced technology, we see the vision, potential and great possibilities for supporting the development of a wide spread of industries. We are very happy to become AGM’s partner and jointly introduce new materials that can be practically applied to the Taiwan market. I believe that we can bring higher value to the industry chain and create a better future together, just as Rayoung Chemtech believes in “Better Chemistry, Better Life!”

AGM to Showcase Latest Technology at Key Industry Events

Applied Graphene Materials (LSE:AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet dispersions, is pleased to announce that it will be taking part in two events over the coming months across its key market sectors. AGM plans to showcase the Company’s latest technological developments in graphene dispersion capabilities at two events: JEC Composites Connect and CoatingsTech Conference.

The AGM team will be showcasing its graphene nanoplatelet dispersions for polymer and composite applications at JEC Composites Connect, an event which will bring together key industry players across the composites community to discuss global trends and new technologies being brought to market. With the correct incorporation through advanced materials engineering, AGM’s graphene nanoplatelets can offer composite materials improved mechanical properties, such as fracture toughness and durability, as well as enabling weight reduction across a variety of applications. Innovative collaboration projects have ranged from next-generation cryogenic pressure tanks, to automotive body panels and ocean fishing rods.

The event is taking place in digital format on June 1-2, and more information is available at https://www.appliedgraphenematerials.com/agm-joins-new-virtual-event-for-the-composites-industry/

Focused on the application of AGM’s graphene dispersions, the Company will also be presenting on Tuesday 29th June at CoatingsTech conference, which is hosted by the American Coatings Association (ACA). AGM will deliver a technical presentation on the formulation of graphene dispersions for water-based coatings and their anti-corrosion benefits. The conference will be centred on the theme of “Essential Coatings Technology: Supporting Tomorrow’s Sustainable Development Challenges Today” and will feature the latest science and technology developments from industry experts, coatings professionals and leading innovators, as they address current and future market challenges.

The two-day in-person conference will take place in Pittsburgh USA. Registration for the event and more information about the ACA’s work is available at: https://www.paint.org/aca-events/coatings-tech-conference/

allnex launches A-Cure selector tool on their website

ACURE™ – Game Changing New Resin Chemistry for Coatings

ACURE™ is a new, non-isocyanate resin chemistry for coatings based on Michael Addition. Historically the Michael Addition has been too fast and difficult to control for practical use on coatings. Allnex has developed and patented new technology which harnesses ACURE™ ’s speed via use of a unique C02 blocked catalyst and kinetic control additives which give the paint formulator the tools needed to manage ACURE™ ’s use across a number of different applications and application conditions. This proprietary technology gives ACURE™ it’s ACURE™ – What’s “Under the Hood”?

In ACURE™ systems, allnex typically uses a relatively low molecular weight malonated polyester with a relatively low molecular weight acrylate like diTMPTA as its primary Michael Addition reactants. To enable Michael Addition, a strong base catalyst is needed. To enable Michael Addition’s extremely fast cure and create potlife, allnex blocked the catalyst with carbon dioxide. This approach preserves the inherently fast curing kinetics of Michael Addition while remarkably providing hours of potlife, orders of magnitude beyond those seen in typical 2k isocyanate or other chemistries.
ACURE™ chemistry is further enhanced by the use of kinetic additives which are used to slow the system further, providing the formulator with additional degree’s of control so as to manage coatings properties including open time, appearance in thick films and coating performance in varying environmental conditions.
Alternatives to Polyurethane systems don’t come easily. ACURE™ provides coatings properties never before seen in the Coatings Industry. If you’re looking for an Eco Friendly, Green Polyurethane coating system – ACURE  has arrived.

For UK info/samples please contact your Tennants representatives who will also be happy to assist

We invite you to check out the new page by visiting https://acure-coating-resins.com/

Are you ready for EU Poison Centre Notification Format?

Consumers and workers come into daily contact with hazardous chemicals, and although they are expected to be used according to safe-use instructions, unintentional exposure may happen: ingestion, skin contact, inhalation, etc. In those cases, emergency professionals need rapid product identification, information about the chemicals contained and its hazardous properties, all these in order to facilitate the identification of the correct treatment and to avoid further damage.

And this is exactly what a poison centre does: it provides medical advice to citizens and healthcare professionals on health emergencies arising from exposure to hazardous chemicals or to other toxic agents; such as medicines, plants, bites and stings. Poison centres in the EU answer calls for support daily and around the clock.

On 22 March 2017, the Regulation (EU) nº 2017/542 was published, adding the Annex VIII, about the harmonised information relating to emergency health response. According to the ECHA, “It’s about harmonisation, and harmonisation brings synergies and efficiencies”. It was designed to regulate all hazardous mixture notifications (mixtures classified with health and/or physical hazards) within the EU, and established two new concepts related to chemical safety:

  • A harmonised information format file: a common format file which will gradually replace the current national requirements in force.
  • A Unique Formula Identifier (UFI): a unique code for each product which will be added on the label.

This new system, although efficient and beneficial in the long term, also implies a new complex notification process for companies, which will have to notify their products in the official language of each country in which they are marketed, pay different national taxes, etc. Providing harmonized information will certainty improve emergency health response, but the number of notifications is expected to significantly increase, and the producers and manufacturers who have started to work with the new system have already experience workability issues such us:

  • Insufficient time prior to deadline to assimilate notification tools.
  • Regular product variations that will lead to multiple and frequent changes of UFI for the same product.
  • Problems working with the ECHA Submission portal: navigation is complicated, too many clicks; it is not always directly clear if you made a wrong input, since validation is only available at the end of the process; notification via Guided Dossier Preparation took approx. 2 – 3 hours for a single product.

To overcome these inefficiencies and for the harmonized notification system to be truly useful for society, but also viable for companies, experts believe that there is a need for managed automation that minimizes the impact of:

  • Tens of thousands of products to be notified.
  • Frequent formulation changes. Partly own initiative, partly by raw material suppliers or driven by legislation changes.
  • Not feasible to do notifications & updates manually. Notifications must be generated in bulk.
  • Automation requires standardization. The solution must work for thousands of notifications at a time.

Time is running out, since the new harmonized notification process shall apply from 1 January 2021, after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. That is why we have updated CHEMETER, a reliable SDS authoring software which provides you with country specific legislation, up-to-date regulatory information, continuous new features development and professional assistance. It is also a friendly modular software which accommodates each company’s needs considering the country, sector and the aim of the company. It creates an extended range of documents; such as SDS, e-SDS, labels, dangerous goods documents and sector specific paperwork. It is one of the highest implemented software solutions worldwide, and now in addition, we have updated it to provide it with an additional module that issues automatic notifications in a few minutes.

The new module is specially designed to help users to comply with new poison Centre Notification Requirements for Hazardous Mixtures in the EU. It automatically creates PCN dossiers for harmonised notifications. Just in a few minutes, users will get the file with all the necessary documentation: automatic UFI code generation, toxicological information, complete chemical composition, etc. It is a simplified process, which indicates step by step in a simple way the data that the user needs to complete it. In a few clicks, users will get the file to notify all products.  It is a significant time saver compared to the 2 or 3 hours it would take to generate the Poison Center Notification (PCN) format for a single product using the official portal.

You can get more information about CHEMETER and all Siam services on our website https://www.siam-it.com/en/.

BASF / BTC Europe FREE Webinar: HEP N-Hydroxyethyl-2-Pyrrolidone, Hydrophilic Co-Solvent for the Formulators Toolbox.

HEP uniquely combines a high boiling-point and water-solubility allowing for diverse use as a co-solvent or extraction solvent typically in inks, coatings, cleaning, agrochemicals / pharma applications. Its hydrophilic nature and strong polar solubility also suggest its use as a humectant. Current users of 2P, GBL and NMP will be interested to learn that HEP is label-free and can offer a low-tox or more sustainable alternative to standard pyrrolidones.

If you would like to find out a little bit more about the chemistry, characteristics and applications for HEP then please join us for the following session:

Thursday 8th October 2020
09:30 UK/BST
Register here to attend.

Blagden to supply NOVARES hydrocarbon resins to customers in the UK and Ireland

Blagden Specialty Chemicals Ltd has been appointed the exclusive UK and Irish distributor for the Novares range of hydrocarbon resins from Rain Carbon Company (formerly known as Rütgers) from 1st January 2021. “The Novares range of hydrocarbon resins is a valuable addition to the high-performance products we already offer,” said Blagden CEO Graham Turton. “They will be available for prompt distribution from UKbased warehouses in the new year.”

Novares resins are based on petrochemical feedstock and offer diverse properties which help to produce safe and high-quality products for industries including coatings, plastics, rubber and adhesives as well as for road construction and printing inks. The resins are produced by Rain Carbon Inc, a global leader in the production of raw materials.

Blagden has a long-established reputation as a leading supplier across UK and Irish industrial markets, representing some of the largest and most innovative manufacturers. It takes over distribution from Gelpke & Bate who, after a long association with Rain Carbon, will close their office by December 31st 2020.

“We will soon be expanding the range with the introduction of hydrogenated versions of hydrocarbon resins,” Graham added. “This pure series of resins offer a water-white quality, low odour and colour, thermal stability and excellent compatibility where required.”

To find out more about these products or to discuss specific needs within the following industries, please contact:

Coatings: Michael Austin on 01959 560804 (maustin@blagden.co.uk)

Plastics: Ian Corke on 01959 560809 (icorke@blagden.co.uk)

Industrial Applications: Greg White on 01959 560817 (gwhite@blagden.co.uk)

Printing Inks: Philip Randall on 01959 560857 (prandall@blagden.co.uk)

FREE forthcoming webinar being offered by BASF for the Printing & Packaging Industry

Find out how to reduce your carbon footprint with NEW Joncryl® Biomass Balance resins for Sustainable Packaging from BASF.

 

Many manufacturers are asking for resins based on renewable materials in order to improve the sustainability and marketability of their products. Resins are generally based on crude oil but BASF can now substitute crude with vegetable oil derived from waste products (compost) or sustainable palm plantations to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. The new Joncryl® BM Biomass Balance resins are produced with these renewable materials.  The Biomass Balance approach allows the manufacture of water-based inks containing renewable raw materials without the need to change printing and/or converting processes. The production of one tonne of Joncryl® Biomass Balance ‒ compared with that of a conventional product ‒ can reduce carbon dioxide by the same amount as a car emits over a distance of 4,500 km. Joncryl® Biomass Balance opens up new opportunities to create more sustainable packaging.

 

FREE forthcoming webinar being offered by BASF for the Printing & Packaging Industry.

To give customers more information on the Joncryl® Biomass Balance concept, BASF have organised a free web seminar to introduce this and other products that are designed to support customers to reduce their carbon footprint and meet market demands for sustainable packaging solutions.

 

During the session on November 4th, Jan ver Delft from the BASF resins team will discuss how the Biomass Balance approach works and how Joncryl® Biomass Balance resins for inks and coatings can reduce the use of non-renewable resources by up to 100%. He will also look at other bio-based products, which, like our Biomass Balance solutions, can substantially reduce your carbon footprint.

Date                 4th November
Time                 12-12.30pm
Register            Please click here to register

If you are unable to join the session and would like further information on the Joncryl® BB concept please contact Chris Morgan, Head of Sales: Coatings, Inks & Plastics BTC UK Email: christopher.morgan@btc-europe.com

Look out for the Joncryl® Biomass Balance products on the BTC stand at Surfex 2021!

Graphene-enhanced coating successfully developed for Indian power transmission assets

Applied Graphene Materials (LSE:AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet dispersions, is pleased to announce that Stanvac-Superon Group, the India-based manufacturer of industrial repair and maintenance solutions, has introduced a speciality conductive coating incorporating AGM’s Genable dispersed graphene materials, for use on industrial power transmission equipment.

Following successful development and testing, the new protective, conductive coating incorporating AGM’s high-quality A-GNP35 graphene dispersions will reduce contact resistance in coated copper and aluminium electrical cable joints to reduce the power lost over the connection. Using the graphene-based 8079 (A) Power-Plus coating, a 30-50% reduction in contact power loss is achieved, offering significant energy savings over time.

The first customer application is well-underway and is expected to reach approval shortly. Stanvac-Superon Group expects the product to be used for power transmission, electrical distribution, and railways, as well as other high energy consumers such as steel mills, smelters, and refineries.

Adrian Potts, Chief Executive Officer of AGM said:
“Our easy-to-use graphene dispersions have again been successfully incorporated into high performance coatings applications, and enabled our customer to achieve a 30-50% improvement in their product’s performance. This once again reflects the success of AGM’s approach to customer engagement and customer product development. Combining our expertise in formulating and dispersing nanomaterials, we deliver a customised solution to achieve excellent performance gains in customer products.
We look forward to end-user approvals and long-term revenues from the successful deployment of this coating product in India and throughout Stanvac’s export networks.”

Sanjay Mehra, Managing Director of Stanvac-Superon Group said:
“We are indeed impressed with the performance of the AGM graphene dispersions and thank them for all their technical support and assistance in this development”

KIMICELL HEC

Announcement

Tennants as distributor for Vink Chemicals are pleased to offer a new range of Kimicell thickeners.

Description

Available in a range of low, medium or high viscosities, the Kimicell Hydroxyethyl Cellulose is used as a thickener for water-based paints and coatings. They are also used as admixture performance enhancers.

They also offer bio-stable grades, offering better resistance than most other soluble gums and polymers and this resistance to enzymatic and chemical degradation elicits a more stable viscosity.

Function

It increases the paint/coating in can viscosity, sag resistance (especially in combination with HEUR) and enhancing coverage. It also provides good water-retention, rheology and colloid protection, especially when used in those solutions where a non-ionic material is desired. It reduces sedimentation of the pigments and fillers and can also contribute to the dispersion of pigments by improving the flow during grinding, helping to stabilize the pigment from flocculation. In admixtures they can also be used to improve the properties of mortars such as water-retention, workability & open time.

Application

Normal dosage is 0.4-0.8% w/w. Paint made from the lower molecular weight grades are more resistant to spatter during roller application for example.

Further Information

For further information, please contact nigel.eves@tennantsdistribution.co.uk

Safety, Regulatory and Safe Handling of Chemicals

Safety, Regulatory and Safe Handling of Chemicals are topics that constantly challenge the global Chemicals industry at all times.
There is a need for companies to understand the correct regulatory, classification, symbols and pictograms.  It’s not just enough to write SDSs ‘in-house’ without employing proper tools or knowledge resources or simply copy-pasting safety data sheets from competitors, suppliers or from the internet as these could be quite misleading!  Yet another requirement for companies aspiring to get various types of Quality, Compliance, other certifications is to have proper systems in place including those of Safety, Regulatory and Safe handling of Chemicals regardless of being hazardous, non-hazardous chemicals or both.

 SIAM SL, Spain based in the world famous La Rioja wine region of Spain develops IT Solutions and Software for the automatic Classification, Formulation and Authoring of Safety Data Sheets for single substances and mixtures falling under CLP and GHS regulations.  SIAM provides a highly versatile software (CHEMETER) for preparing multilingual SDS in over 55 world regulatory/languages and multilingual product labelling and provides SDS AREA, a platform for easy distribution and management of Safety Data Sheets.
Both CHEMETER and SDS AREA solutions offer major time-savings to companies over traditional methods of authoring SDSs as well as using old software since both solutions come with latest features suited to the current and evolving safety regulations in over 55 countries.   CHEMETER software is easy to understand, open and flexible and built-up in a modular fashion to suit your exact needs at any given time.

1000+ clients across 45 countries that use CHEMETER software and SDS AREA include a variety of manufacturers, exporters, importers, distributors, traders, MSME’s, OEM’s into all kinds of Chemicals, API’s and Plastics and coming from all walks of industry including CASE, Petrochemicals, Pigments, Resins & Additives, Dyes & Dispersions, Textile and Leather Chemicals, Cleaning & Construction Chemicals, Lubes & Greases, Cosmetics, Solvents, Rubber, Plastics, Detergents, Flavours & Fragrances, Water Treatment Chemicals, Agro Chemicals, Monomers and Polymers, Resins and more.

Come 1st November 2020 and CHEMETER software will offer its users an additional module specially designed to help users manage the EU’s new regulation of UFI (Unique Formula Identifier) Code in order to comply with the EU’s new Poison Centre Notification (PCN) requirements for hazardous mixtures being supplied into the EU.   The module automatically creates PCN dossiers for harmonised notifications and within a few minutes, users can upload files with all necessary documentation, automatic UFI code generation, toxicological information, complete chemical composition, etc.   It is a simplified and easy step-by-step process and significant time-saver compared to the 2-3 hours odd it otherwise takes to generate PCN for a single product using the official portal.

You can get more information about SIAM’s Regulatory IT Solutions on https://www.siam-it.com or by sending an email to:

Nirav Banker
(UK, Asia & Middle-East Business Head)

Email: n.banker@siam-it.com
UK Mobile: (+44) 747 096 4875

Siltech – Silicone Amines for Coatings

Silicone amine polymers are an interesting category of materials within silicone chemistry.
They tend to provide the very best handle and softness to textile substrates.
They are also quite hydrophobic, so are used in applications such as car care.
They can additionally be used as reactive components in resins.

Broadly speaking, there are 5 categories at Siltech, as follows:

1 – Aminoethyl aminopropyl-based, with structure as shown:

“a” and “b” can be varied.  Silamine 2972 and Silamine MUE are good examples within this product group.

2 – Reactive amino-functional prepolymers, with structures as shown below:

There are a multitude of types, and these can be co-reacted into coatings and resins in order to provide flexibility and add impact resistance.

3 – Silicone polyether amines, as shown here:

In this case, the aminoethyl aminopropyl groups are “solubilised” with polyether groups.  For example, Silamine D208 EDA is water-soluble.  These types are also reactive (carbinol functional), and a, b, c, d and e can be varied.

4 – Silicone alkyl amines have alkyl groups in addition to the amine functionality, in order to improve organo-compatibility. Silamine T-97 is one example, and Siltech has made a series of these products.

5 – Fluorosilicone amines are niche, but Silmer NHF Di-H1 is one example, which has pendant fluoro groups and terminal allyl amines.

Please contact dave.wilson@siltech.com

Siltech – Silicone Film Formers for Coating Applications

Siltech Film Formers are designed to coalesce and react on hard surfaces such as concrete, porcelain, wood, countertops, or rubber, and flexible surfaces such as fabric, paper or leather.

The products are all provided in dispersible or dilutable emulsion form.

Typical properties include:

  • Release
  • Slip
  • Anti-squeak
  • Anti-stain
  • Softness
  • Hydrophobing
  • Gloss
  • Flexibility

Here’s a table which summarises the various types:

Please contact dave.wilson@siltech.com

Siltech – Using SilmerTM Reactive Silicones to Modify Coatings

Silicon and Carbon are the in same column of the Periodic Table, and so the chemistries of Si and C are very closely related.  Siltech builds upon this similarity in the “Silmer”TM reactive line of products, in order to manufacture numerous functionalised pre-polymers.  The resultant silicones can be co-reacted into analogous non-silicone systems in order to improve slip, flexibility, abrasion resistance, release, and hydrophobicity.

 

In the most general terms, the SilmerTM reactive pre-polymers are either multi-functional or linear di-functional, and there is an ever-increasing list of functional types, including the following:

 

  1. Hydroxyl (carbinol) OH
  2. Tetra Hydroxyl (carbinol) OHT functional, for better network formation and improved organo-compatibility.
  3. Acrylate ACR
  4. Tetra Acrylate ACRT
  5. Hydroxy OH ACR Acrylate functional.
  6. Hydride H
  7. Vinyl VIN
  8. Isocyanate NCO
  9. Amine NH
  10. Epoxide functional, both glycidyl-based EP and cycloaliphatic-based EPC.
  11. Trimethoxysilane TMS and Triethoxysilane TES
  12. Thiol SH
  13. Carboxy COOH

 

Please contact dave.wilson@siltech.com to discuss any of these products.

Successful first application of graphene-enhanced anti-corrosion coatings on Environment Agency assets

Applied Graphene Materials (LSE:AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet dispersions, is pleased to announce that England’s Environment Agency (EA) has successfully completed its first application of AGM’s harsh environment anti-corrosion product to one of its flood defence assets on the North East coast of England. The coastal flood defence gates were coated with AGM’s new graphene enhanced Genable CX-based anti-corrosion primer.

AGM’s coating system that was used in this project is a further iteration of AGM’s product offerings for barrier performance and anti-corrosion application. It represents the culmination of 18 months of in-depth testing and evaluation of anti-corrosion performance for both salt-spray and immersion in harsh test regimes.

This first customer application on a coastal facility represents a major milestone in customer exploitation of AGM’s graphene-enhanced coatings systems for corrosion protection in harsh coastal environments. The coating of the EA’s asset is the first of several planned applications of the system.

Adrian Potts, Chief Executive Officer of AGM said:
“After many years of product development and rigorous testing of example graphene formulations for a range of increasingly harsh corrosion environments, it is extremely gratifying to see the successful application of these coatings in harsh coastal and sea spray conditions. I am excited by the opportunity to engage with England’s Environment Agency and look forward to wider use of our products on further EA assets, as well as deeper engagement with them as an innovative solution provider.
Being based in the North East and seeing our products used locally is also testament to local innovation and the excellent platform of graphene R&D which AGM has developed in the region.”

John Abraham of England’s Environment Agency said:
“The EA has set itself an ambitious target of being a Carbon Net Zero Organisation by 2030. We must innovate and engage with companies that are developing the materials and technologies of tomorrow, if we are to meet this ambition. One area the EA is looking at, is how to lengthen the maintenance intervals on our Flood Risk Management (FRM) Assets, which will reduce our carbon footprint in maintenance activities.

We have welcomed the opportunity, to engage with AGM, who have supplied us with their new advanced graphene primer, that was used in December 2021 on one of our FRM Assets. The asset, comprising of two flood barrier gates, two sluice gates, and various auxiliary components, all within the harsh coastal environment where we have to carry out frequent maintenance, due to its location. We have uniquely used this on half the FRM asset, with the other half in the standard offering we use, giving us a direct comparison which will give real world results in a relatively short period of time, due to its location.
We look forward to working with AGM, for further trials in 2022 of this interesting and innovative product, within a range of real world environments.”

Trailblazers and innovators support the aqueous trend

The growing adoption of aqueous systems across the coatings industry is supported by additives which address key challenges. Here we highlight a selection of BYK’s wetting and dispersing additives for water-based systems, available across the UK and Ireland from Blagden.

Aqueous coatings now account for 60% of the coatings market and are on an above-average growth trajectory according to our key supply partner, BYK Chemie GmbH. Such systems have health and environmental benefits and are increasingly required to meet legislative requirements.

The challenges facing formulators in creating water-based coatings are steadily being overcome with innovative and effective additives. BYK has been at the forefront of such innovation, developing an extensive portfolio of products for aqueous systems.

The four wetting and dispersing additives highlighted here range from trailblazing originals to brand new products:

Trailblazer continues to set industry standard: At its launch in 1990, Disperbyk-190 was a trailblazer. Since then, its impressive product profile has seen it become an industry standard worldwide. Suitable for all pigments, its excellent wetting and dispersing quality produces high gloss and transparency levels as well as low viscosity. The effect is to improve flow behaviour and increase pigmentation.

First to offer VOC-free with electrosteric stabilisation: By combining these two features, Disperbyk-199 enables paints and pigment concentrates to meet legislative requirements as well as demand for greater efficiency. Ideal for inorganic and organic pigments, it is a cost-effective alternative to commonly-used dispersants and high molecular weight wetting and dispersing additives.

New versatile additive for the full spectrum of coatings: Versatility is a key attraction of Disperbyk-2014. It can be used in the full spectrum of coatings, from aqueous coatings and printing inks to UV, solvent-borne and solvent-free systems. It also has broad compatibility with a large variety of solvents and binders. Its highly deflocculating effect makes it possible to formulate coating systems with excellent optical properties such as improved colour strength, gloss and transparency and reduced haze.

Specialist product for high-quality, aqueous pigment concentrates: Another VOC-free wetting and dispersing additive, Disperbyk-2015 is based on controlled polymerisation technology enabling a defined molecular weight distribution for use in many different binder systems. It shows excellent compatibility in a range of water-borne resin systems. It enables high levels of gloss and exceptional colour strengths with optimum viscosity and good levelling properties.

To find out more about these and other products or to discuss your specific needs, please contact Michael Austin at Blagden on 01959 560804 or email maustin@blagden.co.uk.

Please note: Information provided here is given in good faith and without liability. It is intended for guidance only. Users are advised to conduct their own independent examination of the product to ascertain its suitability for incorporation into processes or products. Users should ensure that the use of the product complies with all pertinent current legislation. We guarantee to supply to specification, not performance.

Why it’s time to embrace digital colour masters

A combination of digital standards and industry-leading instruments enables businesses to reduce costs and wastage across the entire supply chain by getting the colour of every component right first time.

Investment in R&D excellence from quality control instrument specialist BYK-Gardner enables companies across the globe to achieve consistent measurement and control of important characteristics such as colour. And not just colour. BYK-Gardner instruments measure many other characteristics such as gloss, orange peel, multi-angled colour, sparkle, graininess, colour fastness, cloudiness, transparency, clarity and haziness.

This is achieved through industry-leading LED illuminated instruments with optimal inter-instrument agreement and enables true full digital masters to be introduced for all these characteristics. The digital masters can easily be distributed through the supply chain making a digital approval process possible at every stage, in every location from beginning to end.

Guarantee repeatable product quality across time and space
Digital masters include spectral data and client requirements, while also allowing automatic colour identification where appropriate. Measurement tolerances and an instant pass/fail can be included on both hand-held and robotic installations. The result is self-approval throughout the supply chain and improved harmony between products to guarantee a high right-first-time rate.

Working with major manufacturers across many industries, the benefits from reductions in waste and delay as well as improvements in communication of measurement data, to productivity, quality and sustainability deliver a complete return on investment – the instruments can pay for themselves!
Digital masters can be sent by e-mail as an xml file to locations anywhere in the world. They have applications within industries including automotive, coatings, plastics, printing inks leather and even wine.

Blagden distributes BYK-Gardner instruments to companies across the United Kingdom. To find out how your business can benefit from the use of these instruments in combination with digital masters, call Simon Moss at Blagden on 01959 560818 or email.

Please note: Information provided here is given in good faith and without liability. It is intended for guidance only. Users are advised to conduct their own independent examination of the product to ascertain its suitability for incorporation into processes or products. Users should ensure that the use of the product complies with all pertinent current legislation. We guarantee to supply to specification, not performance.

Exhibitors

Company NameStand

Banner Chemicals Ltd

404

Brenntag UK & Ireland

308

BTC Europe, a brand of BASF

201

Camida

412

Cardolite Specialty Chemicals Europe

320

Cornelius Group Plc

317

Devine Chemicals

532

DKSH Great Britain

321

FP Pigments

211

Grolman Ltd

616

IMCD UK Limited

208

Lawrence Industries Limited

528

LKAB Minerals

724

Maker

500

Nordmann U.K.

509

Omya UK Ltd

200

Rakem Group

500

Ravago Chemicals UK Ltd

417

Richard Baker Harrison Ltd

328

Safic Alcan UK Ltd

300

Stort Chemicals

608

Synthron

620

Tennants Distribution Ltd

624

Univar Solutions

217

Wilfrid Smith Limited

524

Xyntra Chemicals B.V.

508