Ford turns to Henkel for green coatings
The paint shop is one of the least environmentally friendly divisions of any auto production plant. Work is being done however to reduce the impact of the painting process in producing new vehicles such as the announcement by Ford that they will partner with Henkel Corporation to produce the automotive industry's first production vehicle with a non-phosphate conversion coating process. The new multi-metal pretreatment conversion coating process, called Bonderite, streamlines the vehicle assembly paint pretreatment operations by improving paint adhesion and corrosion resistance of surfaces. Environmental impact and cost are also reduced by the manufacturing process.
The Bonderite process is said to reduced waste, VOC and CO2 equivalent emissions over current processes and incorporates phosphate-free and NPE-free cleaners; nickel-free conversion coatings; nitrite- and nitrate-free processes; phosphate-free conversion coatings; and chrome-free post treatments.
Analysis: As ever, when an environmental effort actually improves a company's bottom line, it's far more likely to get the green flag straight away. Everyone loves a great paint finish on their vehicle but no one wants it to cost the Earth.
Related:
- BMW announces, again, their clean production methods
- Volvo truck factory in Sweden going a little easier on the environment
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tony Belding 8:50AM (2/12/2007)
Most car companies have gone over to more environmentally friendly paint compositions. The new paints look just as good as the old ones -- but they are softer, so they ding and chip more easily. That's not a big negative for the car makers, since it all happens after the cars are out of the showroom. Car owners might have more mixed feelings about it.
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