www.paintshow.com.br
PAINT & PINTURA
Jan/Fev 2010
17
Mayercryl - Partnership materializes
New agency agreement enhances Mayercryl’s range
of PVB resins.
Based in São Paulo, Mayercryl was originally found
by chemical engineer Helio Maia Gouvêa in 1999
to do business as a sales representative, marketing
resins and pigments for decorative paints, textiles,
paper and leather goods. “Now we have customers
in the paint, adhesive and ceramic market, and we
are getting ready to expand to other market seg-
ments, such as road-marking paints and plastics,”
says Helio Maia Gouvêa, director, technical and
sales.
In 2003, Mayercryl began to represent Kuraray,
although the relationship was only formalized in
2008. “Our goal is to follow our customers each
step of the way. Kuraray opened an office in the
US so that we could have a communication chan-
nel in America, bringing us closer to our custo-
mers and partners. As sales representatives, we
are responsible for the sales from the range of PVB
resins in Brazil,” says Gouvêa, adding that the line
of polyvinylbutyrals from Kuraray are marketed
by the trade name Mowital. Specializing in PVBs,
Mayercryl has a rather diverse range of products
that vary in viscosity, temperature and adhesion to
several types of substrates. “Mowital features great
compatibility with many plasticizers (adipates,
phthalates, glycols, phosphates) and other resins
(amine-formaldehyde, phenol-formaldehyde, epoxy,
alkyd). It is often used in combination with other
resins to enhance physical and chemical proper-
ties,” says Gouvêa. “We can do business in other
industries and market segments where our resins
provide a technical edge by adding great technical
properties and performance,” he adds.
Kuraray has acquired key parts of Wacker’s PVB bu-
siness to expand its product range and strengthen
its market position. “Kuraray Europe (KEG) acquired
the Pioloform (PVB) line from Wacker (WPS). The
agreement includes PVB patents related to the re-
gistered trademark Pioloform, product containers,
specifications and specific manufacturing know-
how. With that acquisition, KEG has expanded its
existing range of Mowital PVB products, which will
include PVB grades that are officially produced by
Wacker (WPS). That means that Kuraray is sure to
continue supplying PVB resins to all our customers,
P&P
as well as the domestic market. As a result of the
acquisition, Kuraray will provide a broader range
of PVB resins in the future, by the name of Mowi-
tal,” says the sales and technical director.
Investment - Lanxess’ new water treatment
plant
Lanxess AG is building a new chemical plant at its
site in Bitterfeld, Germany. This marks the specialty
chemicals group’s move into a new segment of the
water treatment business. The company is inves-
ting a total of around
€
30 million in this pionee-
ring project. Lanxess plans to develop and produce
membrane filtration technology in Bitterfeld. The
State of Saxony-Anhalt is sponsoring this project
by up to
€
6 million.
The new plant is scheduled to be taken into ope-
ration for a pilot and development phase towards
the end of this year. As things stand today, the
first products should be launched on the market in
2011. An area totaling some 4,000 square meters
has been set aside for the creation of high-tech
laboratories, logistics areas, offices and a new,
state-of-the-art production facility.
The membrane technology is used to filter out
unwanted substances from water. The membrane’s
chemical composition and structure make it possi-
ble to filter out substances such as nitrates, pesti-
cides, herbicides, viruses, bacteria and the smallest
particles. As the water passes through the filter,
this filter extracts suspended particles and other
unwanted substances. In other words, membranes
form a selective barrier. By moving into this new
field of technology, the Group is opening up further
areas of application in water treatment. The volu-
me of the global membrane market alone is curren-
tly estimated at around
€
1 billion, and this figure
is set to rise further.
“Usable water supplies are dwindling worldwide,
thus becoming an increasingly valuable resource.
Thanks to Lanxess’ pioneering investment in Bitter-
feld, we are now able to offer additional products
for water treatment and thus further strengthen
our strong market position,” explained Axel C.
Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management
of Lanxess AG. “Our high-tech products, such as the
powerful Lewatit ion exchange resins, are already
helping to ease global water problems today.”