Kansai Nerolac, pioneers of healthy home paints, donates ambulances to Srinagar hospital, Sopore hospital, Baramulla hospital and Anantnag Hospital in Srinagar
Srinagar, April 22, 2016: Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL), one of the largest decorative paint manufacturers in India, has donated four ambulances to hospitals in Srinagar, Kashmir. These include Srinagar Hospital (critical care type), Sopore Hospital (van type), Baramulla Hospital (van type) and Anantnag Hospital (van type).

To commemorate this occasion, a handover ceremony was held at Srinagar Medical College earlier this month.

This was attended by Dr. Kaiser, Principal of Srinagar Medical College; Dr. Sameer Mattoo, Director of Health Services; Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry along with over 70 people comprising of general public, Nerolac paint dealers and marketers of Nerolac products.<more>

Kansai Nerolac sees shades of grey on rising input prices, import duties
It's been a colourful quarter for Kansai Nerolac Paints as exceptional gain has boosted profits 10-fold. Speaking to Bloomberg TV India, Kansai Nerolac Managing Director Harishchandra Meghraj Bharuka says decorative has been growing at a brisk pace, but auto has been a drag. The uptick in crude oil prices and anti-dumping duties are increasing input costs for the paint industry, he said.<more>

Berger Paints, Nippon sign biz transfer pacts with BNB Coating 
After valuation exercises, Berger Paints India Ltd and Nippon group of Japan have signed formal agreements to 'transfer' some of their automotive paints businesses in India to their existing joint venture.

Berger Paints said on Thursday that it entered into a formal 'business transfer agreement' with the joint venture BNB Coating India Pvt Ltd. It also said that Nippon group signed a similar transfer agreement with BNB. However, the valuations of respective businesses, which are being added to BNB, have been kept undisclosed.

Through a non-binding agreement in November last year, Berger Paints and Nippon group had proposed to transfer their automotive colour coating businesses to their Indian joint venture.<more>

Asian Paints in distribution tie-up with Henkel Adhesive Technologies for Loctite
Asian Paints has entered into the retail segment of the adhesives category through a distribution arrangement with Germany's Henkel Adhesive Technologies. Under the arrangement, Henkel's adhesive brand Loctite will be sold at the retail level through a co-branding initiative. Currently, the company is selling Loctite in certain markets in western India. The company has a distribution network spanning 36,000 hardware shops.<more>

Asian Paints to set up plant in Visakhapatnam
If all goes according to plans, construction work on the proposed manufacturing facility of Asian Paints with an estimated investment of Rs 1,750 crore is expected to take off in the district by July or August this year <more>

Asian Paints hands over houses
Apr 25, 2016- Locals of Jugedi Pari in Dhading's Naubise VDC are more than gratified after they were handed over 30 earthquake-resistant houses with proper sanitation, road and solar light facilities by Asian Paints Nepal on Sunday.

Terming the day as 'Day for Solidarity', the company granted the facilities to mark a day of new beginning for those who lost their houses to the quake in the VDC.
The bamboo and mud houses were built with local participation while the funds, materials and technical education were imparted through collective effort
of Asian Paints group and
SEEDS, an INGO who has been working in Nepal for post-quake relief support.
The locals organised a ceremony, on Sunday, in the village to welcome the group of contributors who provided them shelters.<more>

Akzo Nobel inks pact with Atul to set up JV for the production of MCA
AkzoNobel and Atul have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to explore the feasibility of setting up a manufacturing joint venture (JV) for the production of monochloroacetic acid (MCA) in India. The two companies are planning to install a world scale MCA plant at Atul's facility in Gujarat, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, building on Atul's status as a leading supplier of crop protection chemicals (which uses MCA as a key raw material) and AkzoNobel's leading global position in MCA, with plants in the Netherlands, China, Japan and the US.<more>

Chinese TiO2 producers begin Q2 with biggest price rally yet
Following three price increases already this year, Chinese titanium dioxide pigment producers have started Q2 by increasing prices further. Both Western and Asian producers are now incrementally pushing up prices in the hopes that these will be accepted without the loss of any customers.

Following three price increases in Q1 2015 from Chinese titanium dioxide (TiO2) producers, China's market leader Sichuan Lomon Titanium Industry Co. Ltd yesterday announced its biggest price increase to date. <more>

Nippon Paint boosting output in Mexico, China
TOKYO -- Nippon Paint Holdings is increasing its production of automotive coatings in emerging countries, looking to overseas markets to offset slow growth in the Japanese coatings market.

In Mexico, the company aims to have a new automotive coatings and water-based paints plant in service in the central state of Guanajuato in 2017. Also, an existing plant will be expanded to give the company the capacity to turn out enough coatings for 1 million vehicles. Investment in these projects will total 2 billion yen ($18.4 million).

A new plant will also be placed into service in Brazil late this year.

According to Nagoya-based market research company Fourin, the South American automobile market will grow 82% in the next decade, far outstripping the 32% growth projected for the global market. <more>

The paint industry has been a major beneficiary of the fall in crude oil prices and the Centre's housing and infrastructure push.
After slashing prices thrice in FY16, Kansai Nerolac is optimistic of accelerating growth in FY17 on the back of very aggressive pricing and marketing strategy. In an interview to Bloomberg TV India, Kansai Nerolac Managing Director HM Bharuka says he expects double-digit growth to continue. Excerpts:

For the paint sector, the industry has been doing well for the last 25 years, and we were having a double-digit growth. Even in 2008, the industry continued to do well. In fact, 2017 appears to be better, with government policies that are more pro-active and expectations of a better monsoon.

New policies like Smart Cities and 'Make in India' will help the paint industry. The Pay Commission mandate and OROP disbursals which is getting distributed will also help spur demand.

Have you passed on the benefit of low input costs to consumers by cutting prices?

We were the only company which felt that we have to pass on this reduction to consumers. We believe that when there was an increase in our raw material prices, we had increased our prices. Now we are duty-bound to reduce prices when the benefit of falling input prices actually come to us.

And how much was the price reduction?

It is ranged from about 2-3 per cent, depending on the product mix of the product. <more>

APMDC plans mineral separation plant in Srikakulam district
Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) has decided to set up mineral separation plant in Srikakulam, at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore, to bring value addition to the minerals in the sand.

The beach sand contains Ilmenite, Sillimanite, Monazite, Zirkan among other minerals.

They will separate the minerals and sell it to get value addition. Zirkan is being sold at Rs. 70,000 per tonne. APMDC will extract Titanium from Ilmenite and prepare Titanium dioxide for which there is great demand in the open market. At present one tonne Titanium dioxide is being sold at Rs. 1.5 lakh per tonne. It is used in the paint manufacturing industry. <more>

Dulux SuperCover
Dulux SuperCover -Colours of the World from Dulux, the flagship Decorative paints brand from AkzoNobel has been adjudged as Product of the Year 2016 by Nielsen India. One of the largest surveys for product innovation (co-conducted by 'Product of the Year' and Nielsen) pronounced 'Dulux SuperCover - Colours of the World as the best product in the paints category. The survey was undertaken with 7000 respondents in direct face to face interviews. The wide outreach, diversity and methodology of the survey is a testament to the authenticity & thoroughness of the process. In the same category, Dulux SuperClean was the winner in 2014.<more>


BASF agrees to buy Yinfan coating assets
German chemicals company BASF SE (BAS.XE) Wednesday said it has signed an agreement to buy the assets of Yinfan Chemistry Co. Ltd, a Chinese company that specialize in automotive refinish coatings.

A BASF spokesman declined to disclose financial details of the transaction, as agreed by the two parties, but BASF said the acquisition enables it to strengthen its coating production in China by gaining access to a "state-of-the-art automotive refinish coatings plant" there.<more>


Highly Efficient F, Cu doped TiO2 anti-bacterial visible light active photocatalytic coatings to combat hospital-acquired infections
Bacterial infections are a major threat to the health of patients in healthcare facilities including hospitals. One of the major causes of patient morbidity is infection with Staphylococcus aureus. One of the the most dominant nosocomial bacteria, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been reported to survive on hospital surfaces (e.g. privacy window glasses) for up to 5 months. None of the current anti-bacterial technology is efficient in eliminating Staphylococcus aureus. A novel transparent, immobilised and superhydrophilic coating of titanium dioxide, co-doped with fluorine and copper has been prepared on float glass substrates. Antibacterial activity has demonstrated (by using Staphylococcus aureus), resulting from a combination of visible light activated (VLA) photocatalysis and copper ion toxicity. Co-doping with copper and fluorine has been shown to improve the performance of the coating, relative to a purely fluorine-doped VLA photocatalyst. Reductions in bacterial population of log10 = 4.2 under visible light irradiation and log10 = 1.8 in darkness have been achieved, compared with log10  = 1.8 under visible light irradiation and no activity, for a purely fluorine-doped titania. Generation of reactive oxygen species from the photocatalytic coatings is the major factor that significantly reduces the bacterial growth on the glass surfaces.<more>

Anti-biofilm coating
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have developed an innovative anti-biofilm coating, which has significant anti-adhesive potential for a variety of medical and industrial applications.

According to the research published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, anti-adhesive patches that are developed from naturally occurring biomaterials can prevent destructive bacterial biofilm from forming on metal surfaces when they are immersed in water and other damp environments.

"Our solution addresses a pervasive need to design environmentally friendly materials to impede dangerous surface bacteria growth," the BGU researchers from the Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering explain. "This holds tremendous potential for averting biofilm formed by surface-anchored bacteria and could have a tremendous impact." <more>
 

parts2clean 2016 (31 May - 2 June):

Getting clean and staying clean

 parts2clean: solutions for component cleaning, preservation and packaging


Hannover. Whether car and automotive parts industry, medical technology, aviation, precision engineering, optics or electronics -- in many sectors, information about residual surface contaminants is now a standard part of the technical specification for components, and not only dimensions and to lerances. Of course, cleanliness is the only component characteristic that can change after manufacture simply as a result of environmental influences. So it is important not only to achieve the required cleanliness specification consistently and economically, but also to maintain it until the parts are delivered to the customer or have progressed to the next processing stage. This means not only devising an effective cleaning regime, with close monitoring of cleaning bath hygiene and ongoing checks on cleanliness, but also appropriate solutions for preservation and/or packaging.

'Exhibitors will be presenting a wide range of industrial cleaning solutions at parts2clean, which runs from 31 May to 2 June 2016 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre', reports Olaf Daebler, Head of Dept., parts2clean, at Deutsche Messe AG. Exhibitor bookings for the 14th Leading International Trade Fair for Industrial Parts and Surface Cleaning compare favourably with the last show in 2014. 'Our extended program of guided tours is a great way for visitors to gather information quickly and easily about specific topics of interest to them, and to discover solutions that perfectly meet their needs', adds Daebler.

Getting the cleaning process right -- for results that last


Today it is possible to clean components to the most exacting standards, consistently and economically ‒ but only if the cleaning process has been specifically designed for the job it has to do in terms of the type of dirt that has to be removed, the component geometry, the material, the throughput rate, and the specified degree of cleanliness that has to be achieved. The outcome and cost-effectiveness of the cleaning process depend on a number of factors, including the right type of plant and cleaning medium, and the design of the cleaning bath. Another consideration is the effective removal of the loosened dirt from the cleaning bath so that it cannot accumulate and be deposited again on the cleaned components. To guarantee a continuous removal of dirt, it is essential to prepare the bath properly. For optimum results, additional instrumentation needs to be put in place to monitor critical process parameters such as concentration of cleaning agent, temperature, rinsing water quality and filter condition. Modern cleaning plants, whether water-based or solvent-based, offer the option of carrying out cleaning and preservation/corrosion protection in a continuous sequence. This is another area of specialization covered at parts2clean.

Avoiding recontamination

As soon as the cleaned components exit from the cleaning bath, the main concern is to keep them clean throughout the following stages as they are removed, checked, transported and stored. Simply enclosing or covering the area where the components are removed from the bath protects them from recontamination by environmental pollutants. In the case of workpieces that have to be cleaned to very high standards it is advisable to remove them from the bath, check and pack them in a clean-room environment. To protect components against corrosion in transit or storage, so-called VCI packaging (volatile corrosion inhibitor) is available. These are packaging materials that create a corrosion-inhibiting atmosphere inside the packaging, while at the same time protecting against dirt ingress from the outside.

Cleaning know-how for components and surfaces

The three-day parts2clean Industry Forum is a valuable source of additional information and know-how. The presentations cover a wide range of topics relating to the cleaning of industrial parts and surfaces, and will be simultaneously translated (German to English, English to German). Taking place in parallel with parts2clean from 31 May to 2 June 2016 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre are O&S, the International Trade Fair for Surface Treatments and Coatings, LASYS, the International Trade Fair for Laser Materials Processing, and AUTOMOTIVE Expo, an amalgamation of five trade shows covering different aspects of the automotive industry.

Deutsche Messe AG

From its headquarters in Hannover, Germany, Deutsche Messe AG plans and stages leading capital goods trade fairs around the globe. The company ranks among the five biggest tradeshow organizers in Germany, with projected revenue of 335 million euros in 2015. The company's event portfolio includes such world-leading events as CeBIT (digital business), HANNOVER MESSE (industrial technology), BIOTECHNICA/LABVOLUTION (biotechnology and lab technology), CeMAT (intralogistics and supply chain management), didacta (education), DOMOTEX (carpets and floor coverings), INTERSCHUTZ (fire prevention, disaster relief, rescue, safety and security), and LIGNA (woodworking, wood processing, forestry). With approx. 1,200 employees and a network of 66 representatives, subsidiaries and branch offices, Deutsche Messe is present in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Your contact for further information:
Doris Schulz, SCHULZ. PRESSE. TEXT.
Tel.: +49 (0) 711 854085
E-mail: ds@pressetextschulz.de
Further press releases as well as photos are available for downloading at:
www.parts2clean.de/de/info/fuer-journalisten/ 

PaintExpo to Provide Information on Paint, Powder Coat, Coil Coat Processes
The 6th PaintExpo will take place at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre in Oberboihingen, Germany, April 19 to 22. With more than 470 exhibitors, the expo will provide comprehensive information for the optimization of liquid painting, powder coating and coil coating processes. The expo will cover innovations and developments ranging from pretreatment to quality control for different materials and material combinations, with an emphasis on industrial coating technology.