Jul 28 2006
On the occasion of an industry meeting in Ludwigshafen, BASF introduced two new coating technologies for adhesives to representatives of the global adhesives industry. So-called multilayer coating technology allows up to three different layers of adhesive to be applied simultaneously on to a carrier material using a special multilayer die. For coating adhesive labels, this means for example that an oxygen barrier or UV absorbent layer can be integrated between two layers of adhesive without requiring three individual production stages. Manufacturers of pressure sensitive labels can lower their production costs and save manufacturing time.
“Our innovative multilayer technology offers our customers genuine added value”, says Dr. Thomas Schwerzel, Director of Business Management Adhesive Raw Materials and Fiber Bonding at BASF. “We supply them with our high-quality adhesive raw materials, which are precisely aligned with multilayer technology. This guarantees faster production and lower manufacturing costs”, he adds.
acResin® products combine economic and environmental good sense
The further development of high-speed laminate coatings using the environmentally friendly acResin® product range is no less innovative. For the first time, BASF experts have introduced the production of clear-to-clear laminates with acResin® at a speed of more than 400 meters per minute. This enables ultra high-quality labels, for the perfume and cosmetics industry for example, to be manufactured – in other words labels that are so transparent that they are almost undetectable as labels. It’s also called the no-label look.
acResin® products are UV crosslinkable acrylate hot-melt pressure sensitive adhesives. These are water and solvent free and offer advantages over conventional adhesives both in processing and in environmental terms. Irradiation with UV light controls the crosslinking of the macromolecules in the adhesive film, which is responsible for the adhesive properties. If the polymers are highly crosslinked, the adhesive film is relatively firm and holds together when subjected to tensile loading. The contact between an object and the adhesive gives way first, which is why for example, a price label can be removed easily without leaving a residue.
Conversely, if the polymer chains are weakly crosslinked, they will break down before the adhesive detaches from the surface and a residue will remain on the surface. With acResin®, the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer can be varied according to the UV dosage deployed.
Pressure sensitive adhesives from BASF
BASF is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of adhesive raw materials for pressure sensitive adhesives. The company opened its modernized coating center for pressure sensitive adhesives in Ludwigshafen in May 2003. The center has two state-of-the-art pilot plants: the world’s fastest coating plant for aqueous pressure sensitive adhesives with a maximum speed of 1,800 meters per minute, and a UV hot melt adhesive plant operating at a speed of up to 700 meters per minute. The development and modernization costs of the center totaled €5 million.
The ultra-modern coating center guarantees BASF’s advantage in coating technology skills and at the same time strengthens its position as an innovative producer of pressure sensitive adhesives.