SpecialChem Blog

Biocides in Paint and Coatings

2006-04-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

In the Biocide Center, in-depth technical information on the benefits and features of biocides for Dry-film protection and In-can preservation will be provided, along with help to select the most suitable biocide additives in accordance with new stringent European regulations. You will have the opportunity to view in detail the main paint applications (exterior, interior, etc...) where biocides are used and to obtain the formulation guidelines for paint protection and preservation.

matchmycolor.com announces the redesign of its Color Feasibility service and the expansion of its services into the Paints/Coatings and Inks/Graphic..

2006-02-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

matchmycolor.com announces the redesign of its Color Feasibility service and the expansion of its services into the Paints/Coatings and Inks/Graphic Arts industries.

matchmycolor.com, the online platform offering color management resources and services aimed at the entire color industry value chain, is pleased to announce the revamp of its Color Feasibility service and its expansion into two new industrial applications: Paints and Coatings, and Inks and Graphic Arts.

Color Feasibility now offers additional features to industry professionals, allowing users to check the feasibility of their targeted color palettes in real-world applications online, saving months of development time and avoiding unnecessary prototyping feedback cycles.

"Development of a final product involves many steps, each taking time, with the accompanying risk of errors arising from failures of communication," explains Christophe Cabarry, COO of SpecialChem, provider of the matchmycolor.com platform. "A design has to go from the designer to the brand owner to the specifier to the component manufacturer to their material suppliers ... And it may be months later that the final prototype comes back to the marketing department or the specifier, only for them to find that the color is not exactly what they were looking for. Precious time can be saved by taking advantage of matchmycolor.com's Color Feasibility service, which uses matchmycolor.com's Universal Colorant Database (based on real-world materials), an expert system containing an extensive range of data on colorants properties and a state-of-the-art scientific engine to calculate a feasibility verdict in seconds!"

The redesign of Color Feasibility makes the service even easier to use, while adding many new functions to make it even more useful. New features include:
• a more intuitive and user-friendly interface, tailored to follow the real-world workflows of industry professionals
• more ways to input a target color (including C.I.E. L*a*b* values, import of .cxf format)
• a tool to manipulate target colors and tailor them to the user's specific desires
• an option allowing users to set their own acceptable color deviation limits
• onscreen viewing of the calculated feasible colors under different illuminants (matchmycolor.com also provides a screen calibration tool)
• indication of a calculated feasible color’s fit to the user's specific technical performance or regulatory requirements
• easy and safe transfer of feasibility results to the user's clients or suppliers through a defined e-mail form
• guidance on how to move forward if the target color is not feasible

Alongside the improvements in Color Feasibility, matchmycolor.com is also entering new industrial applications with its services. The key matchmycolor.com services will now also be available to those working in the Paints and Coatings as well as the Inks and Graphic Arts industries.

The services include:
• Color Feasibility – which calculates the real-world feasibility of an input target color
• the Universal Colorant Database – the library of colorants accessible by Color Feasibility and Colormatching and also searchable by the users
• Technical Support – expert technical application advice from industry professionals
• Inspiration and references - which allow users to create their own color palettes using the latest color trends

"Apart from expanding our offering into new industries," says Cabarry, "matchmycolor.com allows brand owners and specifiers working on products and designs to work flexibly across applications and thereby achieve a unified design concept and branding for their products and brands. This is very exciting, as brand value is becoming increasingly important in today's developing market!

"These new improvements enable matchmycolor.com to offer still more efficient and cost-effective services and greater value-in-use to all our users throughout the value chain!"

About matchmycolor.com
matchmycolor.com is an innovative, state of the art, service-based color management platform, accelerating color development whilst simultaneously reducing costs. Among its many services, matchmycolor.com offers real-time, on-line Color Feasibility checking, real-time, on-line Color Matching, on-line technical support from an industrial application expert and color sampling of engineered prototypes. matchmycolor.com is targeted at the entire color value chain, from OEM brands to Designers, Formulators and Converters and across industries. matchmycolor.com’s partners are X-Rite, DuPont Titanium Technologies, Nelly Rodi TrendLab, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and Gretag MacBeth.

About SpecialChem
SpecialChem is an on-line Innovation & Solutions Accelerator focusing on Specialty Chemicals and Plastics. It is active in markets like Polymer Additives and Colors, Adhesives and Sealants, and Paints, Coatings and Inks. SpecialChem expanded its coverage to the Plastics and Elastomers industry in December 2003 with the acquisition of OMNEXUS’ community and e-marketing activities. It re-launched a completely NEW Omnexus platform in June 2004.
SpecialChem also reinforced its coatings services by the acquisition and integration of PaintandCoatings.com into its existing range of services.
Since June 2005 SpecialChem offers also online colormatching & color management services with "matchmycolor" its new color dedicated platform.
SpecialChem was created in 2000 and is based in Paris, France.

GretagMacbeth partners with SpecialChem’s matchmycolor.com to offer on-line color management and color communication solutions

2006-02-16T05:50:00.000-08:00

GretagMacbeth and SpecialChem are announcing today a partnership to offer extended on-line services in color management and color communication on matchmycolor.com.

Besides matchmycolor.com’s existing services of on-line colormatching and color feasibility, the announced partnership will enable color professionals using inks, paints and plastics to access the following range of color services:

- Color Communication: GretagMacbeth’s solutions ensure everyone is speaking the same color language
- Color Management: Accurate color reproduction throughout your process, whether you are involved in design or production!
- Munsell Color Standards: Choose color standards from the GretagMacbeth’s Munsell Catalog and check their feasibility or get recipes to achieve them on your application
- Color Inspiration & creation: Create your own color palette with free access to Eye-One-Share solution at www.matchmycolor.com.

“We are very excited to start this collaboration with matchmycolor.com and join their unique color-dedicated platform" said Francesco Tomasello, VP Europe Sales Manager, at GretagMacbeth. GretagMacbeth’s partnership with matchmycolor.com clearly shows our compromise and desire to continue providing solutions to help customers capture new market opportunities, launch new, truly differentiated products, and thrive in competitive, global markets.

“matchmycolor.com is proud to embark on this collaboration with GretagMacbeth”, explains Christophe Cabarry, Founder and COO of SpecialChem S.A.. Over the past few years, GretagMacbeth has shown its ability to understand industry demands by using their own expertise and know-how in developing performance-enhancing solutions that meet complex customer expectations concerning color management. “Furthermore, adds Cabarry, we’re convinced that the services developed with GretagMacbeth match with our aim of offering a one-stop-shop to help the global community of color professionals ease and accelerate their color developments.”

To test the new capabilities of matchmycolor.com, color professionals are invited to visit WWW.MATCHMYCOLOR.COM

About matchmycolor.com
matchmycolor.com is an innovative, state of the art, service-based color management platform, managed by SpecialChem SA (Paris, France) accelerating color development whilst simultaneously reducing costs. Among its many services, matchmycolor.com offers real-time, on-line Color Feasibility checking, real-time, on-line Colormatching, on-line technical support from an industrial application expert and color sampling of engineered prototypes. matchmycolor.com is targeted at the entire color value chain, from OEM brands to Designers, Formulators and Converters and across industries. matchmycolor.com’s partners include X-Rite, DuPont Titanium Technologies, Nelly Rodi TrendLab, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and GretagMacbeth

About GretagMacbeth
GretagMacbeth is a worldwide technological leader of color management solutions for graphic arts, photography, digital imaging, paints, plastics, apparel, textile, automotive, and other industries. The company—part of Amazys Holding AG headquartered in Regensdorf, Switzerland—maintains offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. GretagMacbeth trains and supports customers worldwide and is an ISO-9001 certified company.

For additional information, call 845-565-7660 in the United States and Canada, +41 44 842 24 00 in Europe, or visit www.gretagmacbeth.com.

Elementis Joins SpecialChem Coatings & Inks' Webportal to Offer Expert Technical Support for Coating Development

2005-12-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

Elementis Specialties is partnering with SpecialChem to offer dispersing agents, organic thixotropes, defoamers and colorants solutions to the coatings and inks industry at
http://www.specialchem4coatings.com

This partnership allows SpecialChem's global community of 40,000+
coatings and inks professionals to get solutions for their foaming issues,
access high value advice to improve pigment dispersion, fine-tune the
rheology of their coating and get quick answers to any color needs.

SpecialChem and Elementis have developed four highly technical zones
dedicated to four high performance additives to help coatings formulators
meet continually more stringent standards:

"We are very excited to start this collaboration with SpecialChem and
join their coatings and inks' platform" says Michel Janssen, Director of
Marketing at Elementis. Elementis Specialties is a leading worldwide
manufacturer of specialty additives and pigment dispersions, serving a wide
range of industries, including the coatings, inks, adhesives and construction
sectors. "Whether you're in Tokyo or Texas, Seoul or Stuttgart, this online
platform enables the global community of formulators to tap into our
expertise 24/7. For instance, a formulator can email a question and get an
answer within 2 working days. We are confident that through this platform
with SpecialChem we will increase the use of our high performance additives
in the industry by inspiring formulators and helping them solve their most
challenging product development problems."

"This new collaboration with Elementis Specialties consolidates our
strong relationship with this key player of the coatings and inks industry",
says Bernard Hasson, CEO of SpecialChem. "We are very proud to present other
additive-based technologies that address many of the key issues formulator
face in the laboratory. Expert technical support on Rheology, Dispersion,
Defoaming and Colorants is now available at SpecialChem to solve technical
issues and ease new product development."

About Elementis:
Elementis Specialties is a leading worldwide manufacturer of specialty
additives and pigment dispersions, serving a wide range of industries,
including the coatings, inks, adhesives and construction sectors. Elementis
Specialties is the premier producer of rheological additives and was the
first to introduce organoclays, castor based thixotropes, wax based
anti-settling agents and exterior alkali swellable thickeners. Our major
products (BENTONE(R), RHEOLATE(R), THIXATROL(R), M-P-A(R)) enhance the feel,
flow and finish of everyday products including surface coatings, building
products, drilling fluids and cosmetics. The world leading, industry standard
NUOSPERSE(R) dispersing agents serve to provide optimum color development in
coatings and inks. Elementis offers multiple colorant lines (TINT-AYD(R)) for
decorative and industrial coatings. Elementis also has an extensive global
technical service facility, designed to help our customers solve their most
challenging product development problems.

About SpecialChem:
SpecialChem is an online Innovation & Solutions Accelerator focusing on
Specialty Chemicals. SpecialChem is the gateway to several platforms, where
each platform is specifically dedicated to meeting the needs of one specialty
chemical market. It is active in markets like Polymer Additives and Colors,
Adhesives and Sealants, and Paints, Coatings and Inks. SpecialChem was
created in 2000 and is based in Paris, France.

Arkema and SpecialChem launch online Polyamide 11 & 12 Technical Center

2005-12-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

Arkema and SpecialChem launch online Polyamide 11 & 12 Technical Center to help designers and engineers to develop innovative products using Rilsan® polyamides unique properties.

Arkema's Technical Polymers Business Unit is pleased to announce the start of a collaboration with Omnexus, a division of SpecialChem, to promote a variety of high-performance Rilsan® polyamide grades and their breadth of suitable applications.

Arkema and SpecialChem have partnered to provide designers and engineers a user-friendly online technical center that will allow them faster access to product selection, application features, and information about Arkema's exciting new polyamide grades!

"Together these features will enhance our customers' business by allowing faster product design and reduced time to market" says Thomas Grimaud, Business Manager Rilsan® Polyamides.

"We are extremely pleased to start this new collaboration with Arkema" says Christophe Cabarry, SpecialChem's COO and Founder. "Materials like Rilsan® Polyamide 11 and 12 align themselves entirely with the Omnexus philosophy of diffusing and accelerating Innovation and Solutions within the plastics industry, all the way down to engineers and designers who are developing new products."

Rilsan® polyamides, both injection molding and extrusion grades, offer a unique combination of high-performance attributes including excellent chemical resistance, toughness, abrasion resistance, ease-of-processing, and customized levels of flexibility.

SpecialChem is an online Innovation & Solutions Accelerator focusing on Specialty Chemicals and Plastics. It is active in markets like Polymer Additives and Colors, Adhesives and Sealants, and Paints, Coatings and Inks. SpecialChem expanded its coverage to the Plastics and Elastomers industry in December 2003 with the acquisition of OMNEXUS' community and e-marketing activities, and it was re-launched as a completely NEW Omnexus platform in June 2004. SpecialChem was created in 2000 and is based in Paris, France.

A global chemical player, Arkema consists of 3 coherent and balanced business segments: Vinyl Products, Industrial Chemicals, and Performance Products. Present in over 40 countries with 18,600 employees, Arkema achieves sales of 5.2 billion euros. With its 6 research centers in France, the United States and Japan, and internationally recognized brands, Arkema holds leadership positions in its principal markets.

All services are available at: http://www.omnexus.com/tc/pa11-pa12

Degussa’s organofunctional silanes join SpecialChem’s Adhesives & Sealants Webportal with Dynasylan® solutions for Adhesives & Sealants

2005-10-31T05:51:00.000-08:00

Degussa is partnering with SpecialChem to present their Dynasylan® organofunctional silanes technology and its latest advancements to the Adhesives and Sealants industry and the related experts community at www.specialchem4adhesives.com/tc/silanes

This partnership allows SpecialChem's global community of 32,000 users like Adhesives and Sealants formulators, manufacturers, specifiers as also other interested end-users to have a better understanding of all benefits Dynasylan® silanes can bring to their current and future products and to discover the various applications in which silanes will help them to achieve outstanding technical performance.

Degussa has proven strong commitment to the Adhesives & Sealants industry in the past, said Dr. Gerrit Schneider, Global Market Segment Manager for Dynasylan® Silanes in Adhesives. Degussa’s partnership with SpecialChem shows the clear wish to continue offering the best value-added Dynasylan® solutions, but also to further inform the adhesives experts worldwide about latest innovations to this market.
As one of the most advanced communication channels for experts in the adhesives industry, SpecialChem will help the Degussa silanes enter into a new era by probing the latest global trends in the Adhesives and Sealants market.

We are delighted to start collaboration with Degussa AG and their Dynasylan® silanes on our Adhesives & Sealants platform, said Bernard Hasson, Founder and CEO of SpecialChem S.A., Paris. Over the past 60 years, Degussa has shown its ability to understand industry demands by using own expertise and know-how in formulating advanced Adhesives and Sealants in dedicated research labs. We’re convinced that Degussa & their Dynasylan® organofunctional silanes solutions will help our community reach and exceed their performance targets and to respond to ever demanding market needs.

One of the features Adhesives & Sealants formulators will discover is a brand new “Dynasylan® for Adhesives&Sealants” expert zone. This Silane Center has been developed to offer overall technical solutions to solve most of the current Adhesives & Sealants market challenges (adhesion promotion, dissimilar materials assembly, joint durability).

Additional service upgrades are expected throughout the year on the SpecialChem platform. With all of these services, effective online support is also available to deal with any specific technical requirements.

About Degussa:
With a sales turnover of € 11.2 billion of which three-quarters originate from outside Germany, Degussa is a multinational corporation consistently aligned to high-yield specialty chemistry, one of the top ten companies in the chemicals field who stands for innovation, reliability, excellence and intelligent linking. Degussa as its claim "creating essentials" expresses, provide products and system solutions that are valuable and indispensable for the success of its customers.

The Aerosil & Silanes Business Unit employs 1,900 staff worldwide at nine sites in Europe, the USA and Asia. During the financial year 2004, sales of approx. € 477 million were generated.
The extremely finely dispersed AEROSIL® is directly used to improve the surfaces and mechanical properties of diverse materials. They are used, among other things, to improve the scratch resistance of lacquers, strengthen silicon and adjust the ultraviolet protection of suntan lotions. At the same time, the chip industry uses AEROSIL® to polish wafers (wafer crystals).

Dynasylan® organofunctional silanes are finding a wide range of utilization. They are deployed in adhesives and fillers, in foundry resins, isolation materials, as additives in paints and lacquers, as well as in the electronics industry. In addition, Protectosil®, a Silane Group product, protects buildings from graffiti and the resulting need for expensive removal work. Our Chlorine silanes are the basic raw material for the optical fiber industry.

The products from the Aerosil & Silanes Business Unit occupy leading global positions founded on 60 years’ experience. To ensure that this position is maintained in the future, we focus our research activities on the continuous further development of customer-specific solutions. Innovative products in the fields of edifice protection, electronics and high-performance ceramics are opening up new fields of application for us.Since January 1, 2005, Degussa Advanced Nanomaterials, the in-house start-up, has been integrated into the Aerosil & Silanes Business Unit. Degussa Advanced Nanomaterials offers its clients innovative problem solutions thanks to high-quality, nano-structured materials such as zinc oxide, indium zinc oxide and ceroxide. AdNano® products are in widespread use in the growth markets of the optical, electronic and paint, lacquer and varnish industries.

About SpecialChem:
SpecialChem is an online Innovation & Solutions Accelerator focusing on Specialty Chemicals. SpecialChem is the gateway to several platforms, each one specifically dedicated to the needs of one specialty chemical market. It is active in markets like Polymer Additives and Colors, Adhesives and Sealants, and Paints, Coatings and Inks. SpecialChem was created in 2000 and is based in Paris, France.

SpecialChem launches a breakthrough Online Color Management System

2005-06-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

SpecialChem is proud to announce the launch of a revolutionary online service
platform dedicated to Color Management.

A revolutionary approach to color management

matchmycolor.com™ (www.matchmycolor.com) is a service-only Internet platform
that enables professionals involved in Color Management, from formulators to
designers, to accelerate their color development and reduce their costs, with online
services like Colormatching, Color Feasibility, Color Sampling, Color Technical
Support and Color Inspiration.

“Many companies spend time and resources running their own colormatching
software based on their own colorants databases, an expensive exercise indeed.
matchmycolor.com™ offers an attractive alternative, with an online state-of-the-art
color management software and a universal colorants database” says Christophe
Cabarry, SpecialChem’s Chief Operating Officer. “We can therefore propose a cost
efficient solution and make colormatching accessible to companies who could not
afford their own system until today! We can also offer valuable new functionalities to
companies already having their own colormatching system”.

Efficiency and Innovation

Should a formulator want to achieve a specific color of a specific plastic,
matchmycolor.com™ will instantly advise the 10 closest colorants recipes he can
make and how close they will be to the target color.
“matchmycolor.com™ also innovates by telling designers who want to know if the
specific color they are imagining is feasible on the substrate they want, even before
starting investing in the development phase. If it is feasible, plastic chips can be
immediately ordered with their specific target color on their specific substrate” says
Cabarry.

World Recognized Partners

matchmycolor.com™ benefits from the partnership of recognized, global color
experts like Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Color Management engine, COLIBRI®), XRite
(color measurement / spectrophotometers), DuPont Titanium Technologies and
Nelly Rodi TrendLab (color trends).

matchmycolor.com (www.matchmycolor.com) is starting with plastics (PP, PVC, ABS,
HDPE) and will soon be extended to new plastics types, to paints and coatings as
well as graphic arts. New online services will also be added in the near future.

DSM's Stanyl® Joins Omnexus to Accelerate the Replacement of Traditional Materials in High-End Application

2005-04-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

DSM and Omnexus are pleased to
announce that the Stanyl(R) polyamide 46 product line is joining the Omnexus
platform to accelerate its market development. Stanyl can offer the most cost effective alternative for gear applications.

In today's challenging industrial landscape, designers and engineers are
under constant pressure to improve part performance and reduce system costs
in the products they develop. This is the case in nearly all application
areas, but in particular it effects established automotive and
electrical/electronic industries where system rationalization, part
miniaturization, and overall production cost optimization are among the
leading trends affecting the decision regarding the use of certain materials.

One area of special interest is in gears, where Stanyl can consistently
offer the lowest cost design solution and highest performance for gears
operating at temperatures above 85a". DSM has invested time to more fully
understand the needs of gear designers and developed useful information for
gear design with Stanyl, as well as the development of specific Stanyl grades
for plastic gear applications.

"We see a tremendous opportunity for our Stanyl high performance
polyamide in many applications that require material performance close to
that of metals, but especially in power transmission applications," explains
Dan Bishop, Stanyl Global Marketing Manager. "Thanks to its impressive
coverage of the OEM and design engineering industry, and its services for new
business opportunities detection, Omnexus offers a great solution to
accelerate the growth of our business with Stanyl"

"Stanyl is the perfect case where the NEW Omnexus will fully play its
role of Innovation and Solutions Accelerator in Plastics. On one hand you
have an incredible material that provides unique solutions and on the other
hand you have a great number of designers and engineers that are looking for
these unique properties, without knowing polyamide 46" says Christophe
Cabarry, SpecialChem's COO. "And the fact that Stanyl is the second DSM
product line to join us is a very encouraging confirmation of the value we
deliver".

What is Stanyl?
Stanyl - DSM's polyamide 46 (PA 46) is a high performance polyamide
providing unmatched performance across a broad range of applications such as
automotive, E&E... Stanyl's performance characteristics include outstanding
mechanical properties at high temperatures, low friction and excellent
resistance to wear, as well as excellent chemical resistance. In particular
in gear applications, Stanyl offers a combination of excellent performance,
design freedom and productivity.

DSM and Omnexus have developed a brand new range of on-line services
focusing on highly technical and demanding applications, such as gears for
power transmission.

On-line technical and design assistance

Polyamide 46 Gear Material Selector (a unique interactive tool to assist gear designers with the first step of material selection)
An extensive Application Gallery featuring innovative applications for Stanyl technology
Solution DataSheets focusing on cases where Stanyl presents the perfect response to a combination of demanding required performances in certain applications.

All services are available at: http://www.omnexus.com/pa4-6

About DSM Engineering Plastics:
DSM Engineering Plastics is a business group forming part of Royal DSM
N.V.'s Performance Materials cluster. DSM Engineering Plastics is a global
supplier of various types of polyamides (PA6, PA66 and PA46), polyesters
(PBT, PET and TPE-E), polycarbonate and ultra-high molecular weight
polyethylene (PE), and extrudable adhesive resins. These materials are used
in technical components for electrical appliances, electronic equipment and
cars, as well as in mechanical and extrusion applications. The business group
had annual sales of EUR 624 million in 2004. With Stanyl, it is the global
market leader in high heat resistant polyamides.

About the NEW Omnexus and SpecialChem:
SpecialChem is an on-line Innovation & Solutions Accelerator focusing on
Specialty Chemicals and Plastics. By a series of on-line services, it helps
industrials to develop new and innovative products much faster with
innovative chemicals or plastics. Doing so, SpecialChem helps chemical
companies to accelerate the marketing of their performance products. It is
active in markets like Polymer Additives and Colors, Adhesives and Sealants,
and Paints, Coatings and Inks. SpecialChem expanded its coverage to the
Plastics and Elastomers industry in December 2003 with the acquisition of
OMNEXUS' community and e-marketing activities. It re-launched a completely
NEW Omnexus platform in June 2004. SpecialChem was created in 2000 and is
based in Paris, France.

Dyneon and SpecialChem Provide Interactive Online TechCenter for Dynamar Polymer Processing Additives

2004-11-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

Dyneon, one of the world's leading fluoropolymer producers, and SpecialChem S.A., a web-based service company, have entered into an e-marketing agreement focusing on promoting the use of innovative Dynamar Polymer Processing Additives (PPAs). The use of Dynamar PPAs can significantly reduce or eliminate die build-up, melt fracture and gel formation when processing a multitude of polyolefins and thermoplastics.

Through SpecialChem's platform dedicated to polymer additives and colors services, www.SpecialChem4Polymers.com, resin producers, compounders, masterbatch producers and processors can access a free-of-charge online TechCenter, which provides leading-edge Dynamar PPA technical information.

The TechCenter, in combination with an online expert advice service and online training sessions on Dynamar PPA technology, will help
increase adoption of Dynamar PPA technology both in growth regions and new applications.