One of the main vital axes of Caetano Coatings is the development of new technologies to optimize its production processes. Based on this goal, the company recently partnered with Peter Lacke to create a new chrome plating technique that eliminates the use of Chromium VI.
Widely used in the automotive industry, Metallurgy, Electronics and aeronautics, Chromium VI is a metal of high toxicity and extremely harmful to human health.
Through the reach regulation, the EU intends to completely ban the use of Chromium VI in coating (galvanizing) baths from 2024. Because of this, many companies are now looking for alternatives to traditional chromium plating.
Caetano Coatings, through its Research & Development Department, is working on solving this problem through the implementation of new techniques that can replace this process.
Nuno Rito, Innovation Engineer at Caetano Coatings explains: “Currently, an innovative project similar to our current painting process is already underway. However, for this new product, the paint scheme does not include the varnish, so only the primer and the base are needed. The project is already quite advanced and will allow us to test two different types of primer to verify which one allows us to obtain better results”, he concludes.
The level of corrosion resistance of this new product is quite similar to the products currently in production, thus being possible to maintain the high levels of quality without harming the environment.
In addition to everything that has already been presented, there is also the possibility of use in non-metallic materials, and it can be used in plastic parts. However, this is a future stage to be carried out within this development process.
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