OREANDA-NEWS. BASF and Hemmelrath Technologies, a company that is specialized in modular facility concepts for the production of paint and coatings, have decided to cooperate in order to develop future-oriented concepts of pigment technology.

The aim pursued by both partners is to improve the output and quality of coatings and paint production and save costs through the introduction of new processes. Both organizations plan to combine the modular coating plant technology (MoFa-Technology), which is well known in the industry, with pigment preparations from the Xfast(r) range of BASF.

Hemmelrath Technologies, which is based in Erlenbach (Bavaria/Germany), is a process innovator in the field of paste production for coatings and paint. The company has developed the so-called MoFa-Technology where the individual steps of coating production are combined and interlinked in one single facility. This technology leads to significant savings in energy, raw material and time compared with traditional production procedures and can be used both for large and small production quantities.

In joint tests, Hemmelrath Technologies and BASF want to develop concepts to combine MoFa-Technology with pigment preparations and are going to use the concentrated, solid preparations from the Xfast range of BASF to this end. These stir-in pigments in the shape of free-flowing granules that are low in dust can be stirred directly into aqueous coatings and paint formulations and disperse in no time at all. It is no longer necessary to grind the pigment particles in a bead mill.

"Our aim is to find out how to best combine the benefits of the MoFa-Technology with the Xfast pigment preparation," says Stefan Sutterlin, head of the pigment business of BASF in Europe. Technicians of both companies will provide their expertise and jointly develop coating formulations. "The first feasibility studies have been successful. We are convinced that we will set new market standards in quality, cost optimization and productivity," underlines Sutterlin.