It was some 20 years ago that BASF Coatings at Muenster-Hiltrup, Germany, started manufacturing a chromate-free primer for customers in the white goods industry and, a short time later, also for construction applications. Total production of the environment-friendly COILTEC® CF Primer technology has now passed the 25,000-ton mark.

BASF Coatings had decided to celebrate this success with its customers on the user side. Around 20 customers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Benelux Africa and Korea came to Muenster recently for a symposium. Two experts in corrosion protection, Prof. Wolfgang Bremser from the Technical University of Paderborn and Dr. Guido Grundmeier from the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research, delivered papers at the event. A visit to the COILTEC® CF Universal Primer production plant and the various Analytical Services labs gave the customers further insight into the plant processes and operations.

In steel and aluminum coil coating applications, the primer ensures corrosion protection and optimum adhesion. A further attraction of the new technology is its environmental friendliness. BASF Coatings was the first company to offer such a product. The Internet address of BASF Coatings is www.basf-coatings.com.