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| Radiators, immersed in a tank filled with BONDERITE M-PP 102 |
The innovative coating process by Henkel, called BONDERITE M-PP, is a decidedly simple and sparing choice compared to electrocoating. The technology is renowned in the construction, paint sub-contractor and agricultural markets; currently, its exceptional performance is being shown as well in the market for household radiators.
With the BONDERITE brand, Henkel is a worldwide leader in functional coatings and metal pretreatments. The chemical company develops innovative tailored solutions without any compromise on performance, cost or conformity. Creation of a new process for self-deposition primer coating together with Radiateurs Industrie, a major French household heating equipment company, is exemplary.
Radiateurs Industrie from La Chartre-sur-le-Loir is renowned for top quality of its radiators for over half a century. The production facility of the company supplies 400 thousand radiators annually.
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| Radiators having just exited the co-curing BONDERITE M-PP 102 + powder paint oven |
"Changing our painting process was the only way to continue the production at this site," admits the Operations Director Raphaël Alain. Actually, until late 2015 Radiateurs Industrie was still using the traditional dip paint primer process that employed solvents, presenting safety and health issues. Environmental regulation becoming more stringent, solvent-based process had to be replaced by a sustainable water-based one.
This was the chance for Henkel to offer its innovative BONDERITE M-PP process, previously called Autophoretic coatings. Radiateurs Industrie was impressed by the simplicity and robustness of the technology. It could solve every sustainability headache while significantly improving both corrosion resistance and appearance of steel radiators.
100% solvent-free, the new coating process had as well to comply with the performance requirements of Radiateurs Industrie, while being compact enough in order to fit into the new production facility extension. Process-wise, first, primer coating had to go well with powder top-coating. An even thickness over the entire surface of the radiator, including the difficultly accessible internal convector plates, would also be a strong plus. Finally, the coating had to be clear, and its total cost, competitive.
Mathieu Van De Cappelle, Technical Customer Service expert at Henkel, admits: "All these requirements were challenging enough on their own. Meeting all of them combined required exceptional focus and perseverance."
"We had to be particularly creative in order to meet tough cost targets and we designed-to-cost everything from our formulation to our supply chain. All in all, driving such an innovative project and making it a success has been a great achievement for the entire team," adds Loïc Guillou, Sales Engineer at Henkel.
Unique selling points of BONDERITE M-PP include, first of all, its ability to evenly coat complex parts made of ferrous metals, including inner surfaces of tubes and sharp edges. The compact process is totally free of solvents and VOC. Finally, it is highly sustainable thanks to very low power consumption and wastewater volumes. The new installation was commissioned smoothly in January 2016.
Process flow:
- Alkaline degreasing
- Alkaline degreasing
- Tap water rinse
- Tap water rinse
- RO water rinse
- Bonderite M-PP 102
- 90 °C stove
Raphaël Alain adds: "Radiateurs Industrie is a strong market player, the sole manufacturer of panel radiators in France, representing the brands Chappée and De Dietrich. In 2015, the company's activity grew by 15% within a flat market. The quality of our products is driving our strong growth. Transitioning from the traditional solvent process to Henkel's innovative autophoretic process was an obvious choice, once we realized its simplicity, robustness, and its ability to coat 3 million m² per year of complex-shaped components. Unlike cataphoretic coating, parts are not subjected to electric current. And as proof of its simplicity, it worked perfectly from the first day of production."
Radiateurs Industrie is owned by BDR Thermea group that boasts brands such as Baymak, Baxi, Brötje, Chappée, De Dietrich, or Remeha. It is among the top European suppliers of heating devices with annual sales close to €1.7 billion and employing some 6,500 people across Europe. The Group holds strong positions in the rapidly growing markets of Turkey, Eastern Europe, Russia, China and North America.
