Two new BYK additives, which have been developed primarily for the printing inks and inkjet inks segment, have won a Ringier Technology Innovation Award this May, one of the most prestigious industry awards in China. At the award ceremony in Shanghai, special attention was drawn to their groundbreaking wetting properties and broad compatibility in aqueous systems for the graphics and coating industries.
Both additives are silicone surfactants for aqueous systems and bring about not only a significant reduction in surface tension but also improved wetting on highly non-polar substrates without increasing surface slip.
Non-polar substrates such as PP, PE or PET as well as surfaces soiled by oily substances are difficult to wet with aqueous systems. These surfaces are usually non-polar and have a low surface energy. That is why, special silicone surfactants are required in these cases which achieve a very significant reduction in the static surface tension of the system being applied on the one hand, while ensuring very good wetting due to improved spreadability on the other. It is precisely in this respect that BYK-3450 and BYK-3451 with their special structure come into their own, producing the desired effects.
Holger Heilmann, Business Line Manager Industrial Applications at BYK, is delighted: "Winning the Ringier Innovation Award is a great honor for BYK, as innovations are an integral part of our corporate DNA. The trisiloxane-based additives BYK-3450 and BYK-3451, which were rolled out at the start of 2019, make it much easier for the user to apply even on the most difficult substrates. We are thrilled that the Ringier Award’s jury of experts have recognized and acknowledged this."
Representing BYK, He Jidong, Business Line Manager Paint Additives in China, and Zhou Keyao, End Use Manager Automotive Coatings, accepted the Ringier Technology Innovation Award in the category “Coating Industry” at the ceremony in Shanghai.
Every year since 2006, Ringier Trade Media has been honoring a selected group of innovators from various industrial sectors in China with the Ringier Technology Innovation Award.
BYK is one of the world’s leading suppliers in the field of additives and measuring instruments. Additives are chemical substances which, when used in small quantities, improve product properties such as scratch resistance or surface gloss. Manufacturing processes are also optimized by the addition of additives.
The coatings, inks, and plastics industries are among the main consumers of BYK additives. Yet with the production of oil and gas, the manufacture of care products, the production of adhesives and sealants, and construction chemistry, too, BYK additives improve the product characteristics and production processes. Testing and measuring instruments from BYK can effectively evaluate the quality of color, gloss, and appearance as well as the physical properties of paint, plastic, and paper products and are an important part of quality control.
As a globally operating specialty chemicals company, BYK has production sites in Wesel, Kempen, Moosburg, Schkopau and Geretsried (Germany), Deventer, Denekamp and Nijverdal (Netherlands), Widnes (UK), Wallingford, Chester, Gonzales, Louisville, Earth City (USA) and Tongling (China).
Today the company employs more than 2,300 people worldwide and forms part of the ALTANA Group
