Wesel, September 14, 2016 – The new generation of additive was developed for the first time as a result of collaboration between sites; market specialists in Wesel took on its management. This served to bundle the various technical expertise of specialists in Germany and in the Netherlands, one of the reasons why the new product series was awarded the internal “BYK Advance” innovation prize. The prize went to Dr. Inno Rapthel, Anne Drewer, Erik Steenbergen and Ralf Koch.
Photo (from left): Dr. Inno Rapthel (Head of Lab Applied Development Plastics Schkopau), Dr. Horst Sulzbach (Head of Research & Development), Anne Drewer (Global Head of End Use Wax & GIA), Sabine Arenz (Innovation Management), Erik Steenbergen (Research & Development BYK Cera), Dr. Stephan Glander (President Division BYK Additives & Instruments) and Ralf Koch (Enduse Wax & GIA)
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Thanks to the innovative alliance of different expertise, BYK succeeded in developing a new generation of film formers. The combination of polymer chemistry expertise of BYK's Schkopau (Germany) site and the development of the underlying additives from Deventer (Netherlands) resulted in a new generation of film formers based on maleic acid anhydride (MSA)-grafted polypropylene.
The functionalities of the new polymer emulsions improve the properties of glassfiber reinforced thermoplastics. They are added to the glass-fiber sizing. During the manufacturing process of the glass fibers, the MSA groups of the polymers react with the glass surface, which is how the properties of the glass fiber are specifically modified. Key features are, for example, temperature stability, silane resistance as well as FDA conformity and process adaptation of the products to improve the glass fiber properties along with the finished composite. They thus improve the properties of the finished composite such as mechanical or detergent resistance, and reduce its aging.
These glass fibers are primarily used in the automotive industry as a replacement for metal in order to reduce the weight, and for white goods such as washing machines, refrigerators and dishwashers. BYK is providing the first product of this series to its customers under the brand name AQUACER 1868. Furthermore, the properties of these polymer emulsions can be selectively adapted to customer requirements.
About BYK:
BYK Additives & Instruments is one of the world’s leading suppliers in the field of additives and measuring instruments. Additives are chemical substances which, when used in small quantities, improve product properties such as scratch resistance or surface gloss. Manufacturing processes are also optimized by the addition of additives.
The coatings, inks and plastics industries are among the main consumers of BYK additives. Yet with exploration technology oil/gas, the manufacture of care products, the production of adhesives and sealants, and construction chemistry, too, BYK additives improve the product characteristics and production processes. Testing and measuring instruments from BYK can effectively evaluate the quality of color, gloss and appearance as well as the physical properties of paint, plastic and paper products and are an important part of quality control.
As a globally operating specialty chemicals company, BYK has production sites in Wesel, Kempen, Moosburg , Schkopau and Geretsried (Germany), Deventer, Denekamp and Nijverdal (Netherlands), Widnes (UK), Wallingford, Chester, Gonzales, Louisville and Rochester Hills (USA) as well as in Tongling (China). Today the company employs around 2,000 people worldwide and forms part of the ALTANA Group.