Evonik Establishes Leading Additive Supplier for the Coatings Industry

Evonik Industries is transforming into one of the leading suppliers of additives for the coatings industry. The acquisition of Air Products’ Performance Materials division that was completed in early January made a key contribution to this. Effective Jan. 3, 2017, Evonik merged its Coating Additives Business Line, the coatings business of its Silica Business Line, and the specialty additives branch of Air Products with a focus on substrate wetting additives.
 
“The result is one of the world’s leading additives suppliers for the coatings industry,” said Dr. Claus Rettig, chairman of the Board of Management, Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH. “Our technology platform is unlike any other in the world. It allows us to develop innovative solutions for just about any formulation challenge in the paints and coatings industry.”
 
The products of the new business line complement each other well. The broad range of additives for water-based coatings under the TEGO brand will be combined with AEROSIL silica to control the rheological properties of paints and coatings as well as the ACEMATT matting agent. The acquired substrate wetting agents under the SURFYNOL and DYNOL brand names and additional expertise on the formulation of automotive coatings in particular are the perfect complement to the coatings additives portfolio.
 
To Dr. Gaetano Blanda, head of the new business line, joining forces to create added value for customers and Evonik is one of the most important goals. Some 450 employees at approximately 30 production and research sites of the new business line currently offer nearly 500 products.
 
Evonik merges three successful units in the new Coating Additives Business Line:
• Part of the former specialty additives business of the Performance Materials division of Air Products.
 
This former division of Air Products has been an important supplier of specialty additive technologies for the paints and coatings industry for more than 30 years. The business offers a large number of wetting agents, defoamers, grinding agents and dispersion additives that help formulators achieve the perfect finish. Some of the most important applications are in the automotive industry. The most well-known products of this business include SURFYNOL and DYNOL.
 
• Silica Coatings
 
The coatings business of the Silica Business Line of Evonik produces two renowned product groups for the coatings industry: AEROSIL and ACEMATT. As components of coatings and paints, AEROSIL fumed silicas are primarily used for controlling rheological properties, as thickeners, thixotropic agents and anti-settling agents, and for improving anti-corrosion properties.
 
ACEMATT silica-based matting agents can alter the surface of a coating in order to scatter incident light in defined ways. Invisible to the human eye, the matting agent particles protrude from the coating, and do not significantly alter either the color of the coating or that of the substrate when used in clear varnishes.
 
• Coating Additives
 
The former Coating Additives Business Line of Evonik leads the additives market for water-based finishes. The business line’s TEGO brand offers a unique range of products for customers in the coatings and printing inks industries.
 
In addition to its familiar defoamers and deaerators, the additive portfolio also includes wetting agents, dispersion additives, leveling additives, substrate wetting additives, radiation curing additives, rheological additives, and hydrophobizing agents. Rounding out the product portfolio are cobinders, nanocomposites, and specialty resins.