Competence in specialties and special chemicals for the coatings and construction material industry

By Roberto Wurst

The German company BK Giulini GmbH is a leading developer and producer of special chemicals. With more than 180 years of experience in the chemical business, the company is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of the coatings and construction material industries. Worldwide, BK Giulini products are integral components of water based paints, gypsum and cement systems and a vast variety of industrial products.

One of the company's core competences is manufacturing phosphate products for industrial use. "The activities in this business area are carried out under the name of BEKAPHOS®", tells us Mr. Roberto Wurst, Director of the BEKAPHOS® business unit. "As the world's leader of high quality special phosphates, we record yearly outputs of approximately 130,000 tons in the German plant". Phosphates play an important role in creating, processing and producing innovative foodstuffs, soft drinks and beverages, pharmaceuticals, pet food, cosmetics, cleaning agents in liquid and powder form, water treatment systems, leather, ceramics, adhesives, paper, building materials, fertilisers, catalysts, and varnishes and paints, to name but a few areas of application. Phosphates are modern additives for the broadest range of industries. They are products of natural, mineral origins, totally inert and inorganic, hence solvent free, and are 100 % active ingredients. Supplied in liquid, powder and granular forms, they fulfil the derived function in the end product recipe even at very low dosage. Wherever the processing industry needs functionalities like dispersing, pH regulation or sequestration of ions, phosphates are the modern additives of choice.

A constantly growing number of paint manufacturers utilise BK Giulini dispersing agents. "Two of our most successful product lines in this area are the phosphate based POLYRON® and the polyacrylate based LOPON® series", specifies Mr. Wurst. Both lines are used for significantly enhancing the covering power and stabilisation of paints and lacquers. LOPON®DV as anticorrosion pigment is perfectly suitable for protecting painted surfaces from rust. Under the brand name Phos-Chek®P30, a unique form 1 ammonium polyphosphate is offered for intumescent paints.

BK Giulini is also a pioneer in creating chemical additives for the building material industry. The BEKAPHOS® portfolio in this area covers a wide range of efficient additives for construction components such as cement plasters, concrete and gypsum. One prominent product group is the versatile TARGON® family. TARGON® retards the setting process of mineral binders and improves their plasticity. TARGON® is non-toxic, water soluble, and can be mixed with other additives.

The company is one of only a few one-stop-shops in its business. "On the one hand, we owe our excellent reputation and market position to having one of the most comprehensive portfolios of standardised and customised phosphates for technical applications including specialized technical application services", emphasises Mr. Wurst. "On the other hand, we are one of the very few phosphate providers that are fully integrated back to the raw material mining itself." In view of this, it is not surprising that the BEKAPHOS® business unit alone serves more than 800 active customers. "We export about 40 % of our products to clients on all continents", says Mr. Wurst. "But still, the lion's share of our additives is sold to the processing industry in Europe."

In a bid to promote the numerous advantages of its products, the company designed an informative homepage at www.bk-giulini.com and provides detailed brochures.

BK Giulini and its BEKAPHOS® division are synonyms for permanent engagement in developing future-oriented chemicals.

The main application of our paint additives is focused on the improvement of the production process of the architectural paint itself. Dispersing agents and defoamers play their part in optimizing the manufacturing steps. Besides, they improve the storage stability and the scrub resistance of the finished paint.

One of the main challenges of future innovation will be focusing on natural and renewable resources. BK Giulini made a first step in the defoamer product category creating Lopon E 81, which was developed on the basis of vegetable oils.

Environmental aspects have become the most important issue of future product development for BK Giulini's Business Unit Bekaphos. Sustainability and ecological compatibility are the key drivers of innovation. Ecologically friendly properties and sustainability are first principles for our development and innovation activities. The development of VOC-reduced and VOC-free additives for the coatings industry is the first priority in our application laboratory. As a successful example for a product based on natural and renewable resources BK Giulini is proud to present the green defoamer LOPON® E 81. Instead of mineral or silicone oil we concentrate on vegetable oils as raw material for this all-round talent speciality. This highly effectively defoamer offers best compatibility with different types of emulsions and offers a wide range of applications with lowest dosage.   This extraordinary speciality is almost VOC-free in comparison to other commercial defoamer products.

Currently the company is working on several projects such as new developments in the field of dispersing agents for the paint industry, additives for gypsum plasters and processing aids for cement based levelling systems. We are constantly enlarging our wide range of state-of-the-art specialties with respect to functional, economical and environmental performance. Optimum process control and technology, which can be optionally designed for on-line purposes, complete the range of service offered.  You are invited to learn more about our new additions during the coming European Coating Show in Nuremberg in Germany. BKG Giulini and its BEKAPHOS® division is looking forward to seeing you at their stand 7-237 hall 7. The exhibition takes place from 29^th to 31^st of March, 2011.

Biography

Roberto Wurst has been working in the chemical industry for over 25 years. He joined BK Giulini 10 years ago as General Manager of the subsidiary in Argentina, thereafter moving to the German head quarters where he heads the Business Unit Bekaphos as director since late 2006.