Henkel’s automotive coating pretreatment process won the SURCAR International Environmental Footprint Award

Henkel’s zirconia thin film 1800 series is more energy efficient than existing processes , more environmentally friendly

Duesseldorf, Germany – Henkel recently became the first company to win the SURCAR International Environmental Footprint-Waste Treatment Award with its body pretreatment process: Zirconia Film 1800 Series. The award was awarded to Henkel’s Asia-Pacific surface treatment team and its customer Qoros Automobile for the joint completion of the automotive paint shop project at Qoros Automobile’s Changshu production base.

At the 2016 SURCAR International Conference held in Shanghai, representatives of Henkel and Qoros accepted the award. The event gathered more than 150 important automakers and body paint suppliers in the region. Since the first conference was held in France in 1964, the SURCAR International Conference has always paid attention to the development of the automotive coating industry, and it landed in Shanghai for the first time in 2014.

Henkel’s zirconia film technology creates perfect conditions for body spraying. Compared with the traditional phosphating pretreatment method, the new process is healthier and more environmentally friendly. It does not use heavy metals such as zinc and nickel, which greatly simplifies the process and cleaning work , can effectively save up to 20% of water and reduce solid waste generation.

In addition, the process can be carried out at room temperature, saving about 70% of energy consumption. The traditional processing flow contains at least 12 operating stations, of which 3 stations need to be heated. Henkel’s zirconia thin film process requires only 7 stations, of which only 2 stations need to be heated.

Qoros became the first Chinese passenger vehicle manufacturer to adopt Henkel’s zirconia film treatment technology

Qoros Automobile has been using zirconia thin film system since 2013, and is the first Chinese passenger car company to adopt this technology. At present, Henkel has at least 8 car body film pretreatment production lines in China.

Since its introduction in 2008, zirconia thin film processing technology has experienced rapid development. According to Mark Hyde, director of Henkel’s surface treatment business in Asia Pacific, 9 million vehicles pass through the new system every year.

Mark Hyde said: “Our zirconia thin film technology has attracted the attention of automakers on five continents around the world, and it is even more popular in the Chinese market, because China has the world’s most stringent exhaust gas and wastewater discharge standards. This time The award is a strong proof of Henkel’s innovative leadership and unparalleled market competitiveness in the field of surface treatment technology.”