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The Valspar Corp. has announced commercialization of a water-based, zinc-free coating technology and application process that will be used by the world’s largest shipping container manufacturing company.
China International Marine Containers (CIMC) has launched full-scale production of shipping containers coated with Valspar’s new Aquaguard at CIMC’s factory in Dalian, China, Valspar said Thursday (May 19).
The technology and application process mark Valspar’s entry into shipping container coatings—a $1 billion-a-year global market with highly specified technical and performance requirements, the Minneapolis-based company said
Focus on Environmental Performance
“We've leveraged our 60-plus years of expertise in water-based coating technology to develop and deliver a superior product and application process to the shipping container industry,” said Roeland Polet, Valspar senior vice president, Global Industrial.
Zinc Coatings
Valspar Aquaguard
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Valspar Corp. |
| Photos released by Valspar Corp. compare corrosion resistance of Aquaguard and an unidentified solvent-borne coating with zinc in a 710-hour salt spray exposure test. |
“Our technology allows the industry to improve its environmental performance by switching from solvent-based, zinc-containing materials to a water-based, zinc-free coating. Our solution will also assist manufacturers in lowering their capital and operational expenses.”
Solvent Emissions
Valspar says Aquaguard can reduce solvent emissions by more than 70 percent, when compared to conventional solvent-based systems in calculations using industry data.
With global production of two million to three million containers annually, the container coating industry emits more than 125,000 tons of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) every year, along with zinc, a heavy metal found increasingly in water levels, Valspar says.
Aquaguard’s corrosion protection characteristics have been “verified through field testing and independently conducted corrosion tests specified by the Institute of International Container Lessors,” the company said in a release.
Although new to the shipping container industry, Valspar noted that it has “more than 60 years of experience in developing water-based technologies for industries that demand rugged performance, including transportation, agricultural and construction equipment, structural steel and wood.”
‘Way of the Future’
Valspar and CIMC completed Aquaguard’s production line start-up ahead of schedule, said Paul McCrory, Valspar’s global business director for container coatings. “We were quickly able to run containers at line speeds equal to those of solvent-based coatings,” he said.
Quanguang Geng, CIMC Dalian deputy general manager, said his company considered Valspar “a close, long-term partner.”
An official of Triton Container, the world’s largest owner-lessor of marine intermodal cargo containers, called water-based container coatings “the way of the future.”
“We've conducted several trials, and all laboratory test results showed that Valspar Aquaguard performed as good as or better than the conventional solvent-based systems that we are currently using,” said John M. Williams, Triton’s director of engineering.
For more information, visit valsparcontainer.com.
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