“ECS is the ideal platform for us to present WACKER and our comprehensive product portfolio for the coatings, construction and adhesives industries,” adds WACKER POLYMERS President Peter Summo. “R&D has always been a major priority at WACKER, which is why we invariably look forward to unveiling our latest developments and solutions to a large, international audience of professionals at this tradeshow.”

Easy-Care, Dirt-Repellent Surfaces

A special highlight of this year’s ECS is WACKER’s latest solutions for dirt-repellent treatments for a wide range of surfaces. Thanks to their unique composition, the dispersions of the PRIMIS® SAF 9000 series, for instance, are both oleophobic and hydrophobic. In the end product, these dispersions protect walls and concrete and stone floors from many different types of stains – from coffee and red wine to colored pencils. For concrete and flowing-screed floors in high-traffic areas, the new SILRES® BS 6920 binder – a product based on the company’s alpha-silane technology – offers excellent stain protection and exceptional durability, yielding floors that are easy to care for with minimal cleaning effort. SILRES BS 710 is WACKER’s highly effective, concentrated antigraffiti agent: thanks to the permanent, elastic, protective silicone film that it forms, graffiti can be easily washed off with water, while stickers, posters and signs can be removed effortlessly. A special benefit of this product is that it contains no organotin compounds or oximes, and is formulated with little solvent.

New Binders for Numerous Adhesives Applications

GENIOSIL® XM 20 and GENIOSIL XM 25 are new silane-terminated polymers that serve as binders and modify the mechanical properties – particularly the modulus – of adhesives and sealants. These products improve the bonding properties of plasticizer-free adhesives, eliminating the need for traditional plasticizers in the end product. In low-modulus sealants, they ensure high elastic recovery, and, in so doing, open up applications in the adhesives and sealants sector that had previously been unaccessible to silane-crosslinking polymers. For paper and packaging applications, WACKER is presenting VINNAPAS® EP 400 E, a VAE dispersion that not only provides adhesives with good adhesion and cohesion, as well as good machine running properties – it is also extremely low in formaldehyde (< 20 ppm).

Industrial Coatings for Resistance to Heat and the Elements

Coatings that are stable at high temperatures and resistant to extreme heat – up to 600 °C – are the forte of the new SILRES REN70-M binder. This product is almost entirely free of aromatic solvents (< 0.1%) and is particularly suitable for formulating coatings for industrial equipment, engine parts or stoves. For weather-resistant finishes, WACKER offers SILRES IC 235, a silicone intermediate containing no aromatic compounds at all and used in coatings for bridges, wind turbine stators and industrial plants. The new VINNAPAS EZ 3067 dispersion promises improved fire safety when used as a binder in intumescent coatings – special fire protection coatings that form a jacket around steel girders to slow the rate at which the weight-bearing structures of a building melt or buckle in the event of a fire.

Versatile Paint and Coating Applications

Ideal for cool climate zones, the PRIMIS^® KT 3000 additive quickly forms a stable polymer network – even at low temperatures and in the rain – yielding exterior wall paints and renders that are resistant to the effects of weathering within just a short time. The new VINNAPAS EZ 3011 dispersion satisfies customers as a powerful binder for interior paints that have a low environmental impact – they are made without plasticizers, film formers or solvents, contain very little formaldehyde (< 20 ppm) and produce few emissions (VOC <1 g/L).

Polymeric Binders for Construction Applications

In addition to its excellent tensile adhesive strength after prolonged exposure to water and its outstanding crack bridging even at low temperatures, the hydrophobizing VINNAPAS 760 ED dispersion offers superb processing properties. This makes the binder ideal for formulating flexible, cementitious waterproofing membranes for use in sewers, pipes, basements and bathrooms. VERSA^® 12 is a powerful specialty monomer suitable for applications such as hydrophobizing water-repellent construction materials (grout mortar, etc.). For sealing applications in the construction industry, WACKER will be presenting its VINNAPAS EF7865, VINNAPAS EP7860 and VINNAPAS EAF7868 dispersions – sealants formulated with these products are paintable, have excellent processing properties, and produce little odor.

Surface Coating Resins for Sophisticated Digital Printing Inks

When used in solvent-based ink-jet printing inks, the new, low-viscosity VINNOL^® E 18/38 binder ensures excellent droplet formation and delivers high-resolution printed images, brilliant colors and faster printing speeds. It also offers excellent adhesion to numerous surfaces, making it ideal for printing on cables, packaging or large advertising banners.

Improved Rheology for Paints, Coatings and Adhesives

WACKER is showcasing four specialty grades of its HDK^® pyrogenic silica for a variety of paint, coating and adhesive applications. The benefits of these silicas include improved rheology control in automotive clearcoats and optimized mechanical properties in surface coatings and sealants. Plus, these products can be used as thickeners in two-component adhesives and fillers.