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PPG enters into negotiations to acquire Revocoat
NEWS/IN BRIEF Contact: DuPont de Nemours International Sa, 2 chemin du Pavillon, CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 717 4042, Fax: +41 22 717 5111, Web: http://photovoltaics.dupont.com, Web: www.dupont.com
Castolin unveils HD8 wear-resistant coating
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astolin Eutectic has developed what it describes as an extremely wearresistant coating made using an innovative, high-deposition welding technique. Called HD8, this coating has been specifically developed by the firm’s engineers in Wiener Neudorf (Austria) who aimed to obtain a high density of tungsten carbide homogeneously distributed within a nickel-based matrix at high deposition rates. The critical parameters of the process – in particular the temperature – are automatically controlled in order to avoid severe carbide dissolution, which may happen in standard welding techniques. Furthermore, the coating is optimised with a low dilution and consequently the overlay chemistry is not negatively affected by the base material. According to the company, the wear resistance is far superior to that of steel hardened plates or usual chromium carbide wear-plates as it is measured with ASTM G65 test. HD8 increases service life and consequently reduces the costs associated with new parts and changeovers in high demanding industries such as cement, mining and power-generating sectors. Plates and customised HD8 parts are provided exclusively by CastoLab Services workshops. HD8 can be applied directly to customers’ parts or provided as full plates. Contact: Castolin Eutectic, Chemin de la Venoge 7, St Sulpice, NA 1025 Switzerland. Tel: +41 21 694 1106, Web: www.castolin.com
Company News PPG enters into negotiations to acquire Revocoat
I
n the USA, PPG Industries has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Axson Group to acquire Revocoat, a global supplier of sealants,
February 2015
adhesives and damper products for the automotive industry. PPG expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2015, following the French works council consultation process, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed. Revocoat, based in France, is part of the Axson Group, which specialises in highperformance operational polymer formulation. It employs more than 500 people and operates seven manufacturing facilities, and one research and development centre. ‘Acquiring Revocoat will enable PPG to continue to strengthen its speciality materials offerings to global automotive customers,’ said Cynthia Niekamp, Senior Vice President, Automotive Coatings, PPG. ‘The business represents a true adjacency with our core automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings business, strengthening PPG’s existing offering of sealant and adhesive products for this industry.’ Jean-Marie Greindl, President, PPG Europe, and the vice president of PPG’s automotive OEM coatings business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, added: ‘Combining the expertise of the Revocoat team with PPG’s footprint will enable us to serve our customers around the world with an enhanced product portfolio.’ ‘During the last six years, the management team and employees of Revocoat have driven the business to become a strong global competitor in the automotive OEM adhesives and sealants market,’ said Charles Churet, President, Axson. ‘PPG’s automotive OEM coatings business is the best possible vehicle to bring Revocoat to the next level of performance, providing customers with a broader and stronger product offering and its employees with more opportunities for growth and personal development.’ Contacts: PPG Industries Inc, One PPG Place 40 East, Pittsburgh, PA 15272, USA. Tel: +1 412 4343131, Web: www.ppg.com Revocoat Sas, 2 rue d’Oresmeaux, Z.I. Nord 60130, St Just en Chaussée, France. Tel: +33 3 44 77 6100, Fax: +33 3 44 77 6161, Web: www.revocoat.com
SKF merges industrial business areas
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KF, a major supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems, and services which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training, has merged its
IN BRIEF Seminar focuses on designing with fluoropolymers Readers are reminded that ISGATEC GmbH is running the seminar ‘Designing with Fluoropolymers’ in Mannheim, Germany, on 11 March 2015. According to the organiser, it will cover, amongst other areas, characteristic properties of the fluoropolymer groups (PTFE and modified PTFE); fluorothermoplastics; and fluoroelastomers. It will also look at how elastic and viscoelastic materials perform under stress, and at static and dynamic seals. Various case studies and ways of avoiding part failure also will be discussed. More information: Web: www.isgatec.com Freudenberg-NOK forms new ARPM seals committee Freudenberg-NOK has formed a new Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers (ARPM) seals committee to make best use of industry knowledge and establish global testing protocols. This new working group is aiming to focus on the evolving technical needs of seals and gaskets manufacturers throughout the world, says Joseph Walker, Global Director, Advanced Materials Development, Freudenberg-NOK. Suppliers are being challenged to respond to intense customer requirements today, noted Walker. Challenges such as fuel economy, emissions reduction, less weight and more aggressive mechanical environments require suppliers to respond with new products and manufacturing methodologies that meet a myriad demands. ‘One of the drivers of this committee is to consolidate those demands into a regionally accepted portfolio of test protocols and methodologies that maximise efficiency and reduce costs,’ said Walker. ‘By working together and working with other industry organisations, we can maximise efficiency and reduce our costs.’ Federal-Mogul Powertrain expands, relocates facilities in China Federal-Mogul Powertrain, a division of FederalMogul Holdings Corp (FDML), has recently moved two engine bearing plants in Shanghai, into one larger facility to meet the growing demand for its products in China that reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency. Located in the Zhoupu Zhihui Industrial Park in Shanghai, the new plant is a Federal-Mogul majority-owned joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Co (Group) subsidiary Huayu Automotive Systems Co Ltd. The company expects that the 19 974-m2 (215 000-ft2) plant, which produces bearings, bushings and thrust washers for original equipment manufacturers, will double its current capacity of engine bearings for domestic customers over the next five years.
Sealing Technology
5
Castolin unveils HD8 wear-resistant coating
C
astolin Eutectic has developed what it describes as an extremely wearresistant coating made using an innovative, high-deposition welding technique. Called HD8, this coating has been specifically developed by the firm’s engineers in Wiener Neudorf (Austria) who aimed to obtain a high density of tungsten carbide homogeneously distributed within a nickel-based matrix at high deposition rates. The critical parameters of the process – in particular the temperature – are automatically controlled in order to avoid severe carbide dissolution, which may happen in standard welding techniques. Furthermore, the coating is optimised with a low dilution and consequently the overlay chemistry is not negatively affected by the base material. According to the company, the wear resistance is far superior to that of steel hardened plates or usual chromium carbide wear-plates as it is measured with ASTM G65 test. HD8 increases service life and consequently reduces the costs associated with new parts and changeovers in high demanding industries such as cement, mining and power-generating sectors. Plates and customised HD8 parts are provided exclusively by CastoLab Services workshops. HD8 can be applied directly to customers’ parts or provided as full plates. Contact: Castolin Eutectic, Chemin de la Venoge 7, St Sulpice, NA 1025 Switzerland. Tel: +41 21 694 1106, Web: www.castolin.com
Company News PPG enters into negotiations to acquire Revocoat
I
n the USA, PPG Industries has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Axson Group to acquire Revocoat, a global supplier of sealants,
February 2015
adhesives and damper products for the automotive industry. PPG expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2015, following the French works council consultation process, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed. Revocoat, based in France, is part of the Axson Group, which specialises in highperformance operational polymer formulation. It employs more than 500 people and operates seven manufacturing facilities, and one research and development centre. ‘Acquiring Revocoat will enable PPG to continue to strengthen its speciality materials offerings to global automotive customers,’ said Cynthia Niekamp, Senior Vice President, Automotive Coatings, PPG. ‘The business represents a true adjacency with our core automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings business, strengthening PPG’s existing offering of sealant and adhesive products for this industry.’ Jean-Marie Greindl, President, PPG Europe, and the vice president of PPG’s automotive OEM coatings business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, added: ‘Combining the expertise of the Revocoat team with PPG’s footprint will enable us to serve our customers around the world with an enhanced product portfolio.’ ‘During the last six years, the management team and employees of Revocoat have driven the business to become a strong global competitor in the automotive OEM adhesives and sealants market,’ said Charles Churet, President, Axson. ‘PPG’s automotive OEM coatings business is the best possible vehicle to bring Revocoat to the next level of performance, providing customers with a broader and stronger product offering and its employees with more opportunities for growth and personal development.’ Contacts: PPG Industries Inc, One PPG Place 40 East, Pittsburgh, PA 15272, USA. Tel: +1 412 4343131, Web: www.ppg.com Revocoat Sas, 2 rue d’Oresmeaux, Z.I. Nord 60130, St Just en Chaussée, France. Tel: +33 3 44 77 6100, Fax: +33 3 44 77 6161, Web: www.revocoat.com
SKF merges industrial business areas
S
KF, a major supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems, and services which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training, has merged its
IN BRIEF Seminar focuses on designing with fluoropolymers Readers are reminded that ISGATEC GmbH is running the seminar ‘Designing with Fluoropolymers’ in Mannheim, Germany, on 11 March 2015. According to the organiser, it will cover, amongst other areas, characteristic properties of the fluoropolymer groups (PTFE and modified PTFE); fluorothermoplastics; and fluoroelastomers. It will also look at how elastic and viscoelastic materials perform under stress, and at static and dynamic seals. Various case studies and ways of avoiding part failure also will be discussed. More information: Web: www.isgatec.com Freudenberg-NOK forms new ARPM seals committee Freudenberg-NOK has formed a new Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers (ARPM) seals committee to make best use of industry knowledge and establish global testing protocols. This new working group is aiming to focus on the evolving technical needs of seals and gaskets manufacturers throughout the world, says Joseph Walker, Global Director, Advanced Materials Development, Freudenberg-NOK. Suppliers are being challenged to respond to intense customer requirements today, noted Walker. Challenges such as fuel economy, emissions reduction, less weight and more aggressive mechanical environments require suppliers to respond with new products and manufacturing methodologies that meet a myriad demands. ‘One of the drivers of this committee is to consolidate those demands into a regionally accepted portfolio of test protocols and methodologies that maximise efficiency and reduce costs,’ said Walker. ‘By working together and working with other industry organisations, we can maximise efficiency and reduce our costs.’ Federal-Mogul Powertrain expands, relocates facilities in China Federal-Mogul Powertrain, a division of FederalMogul Holdings Corp (FDML), has recently moved two engine bearing plants in Shanghai, into one larger facility to meet the growing demand for its products in China that reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency. Located in the Zhoupu Zhihui Industrial Park in Shanghai, the new plant is a Federal-Mogul majority-owned joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Co (Group) subsidiary Huayu Automotive Systems Co Ltd. The company expects that the 19 974-m2 (215 000-ft2) plant, which produces bearings, bushings and thrust washers for original equipment manufacturers, will double its current capacity of engine bearings for domestic customers over the next five years.
Sealing Technology
5