New curing agent for the shipping container industry

20 feet (6.06 m) long, 8 feet (2.43 m) wide and 8.5 feet (2.59 m) high - the size of an ISO standardized shipping container is literally the measure of all things in the transport world. The idea of transporting goods on ships in containers came from US-American business man Malcolm McLean who sent the world's first container ship "Ideal X" to sea in 1956. By this, he has triggered a true revolution in global trade, which should have a lasting impact on all our lives. Today, over 90 percent of the world’s trade is carried by sea. That means almost every product manufactured through the global economy are transported by shipping containers on the sea.

Over 85 percent of the world’s total production of shipping containers are manufactured in China. Due to stringent environmental regulations in China to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions, all manufacturers in the country are required to change their container production from solvent-based coatings to waterborne coatings. As the important partners in this conversion, the coating suppliers are joining efforts to support the container manufacturers to achieve this objective by developing waterborne container coatings which boast both environmental friendliness and outstanding mechanical performance.

This is where Evonik and its innovative power come in: Developed by the Crosslinkers Business Line in China for China: a new waterborne epoxy hardener that is environmentally friendly and specially designed for the most demanding container coatings in terms of mechanical properties, processability, and appearance. Its name: Anquamine^® 469. The new member of Evonik's  waterborne curing agent portfolio offers excellent adhesion curing performance under high temperature in high humidity environment, ensures fast dry speed, water and styrene putty resistance and long pot life which makes it ideal for heavy industrial coatings exposed to highly corrosive environment.

Crosslinkers - Creating Marketable and Intelligent Solutions

Mechanical strength, durability, chemical resistance and excellent color stability and adhesion properties – Evonik´s business line Crosslinkers offers tailor-made solutions for customers all over the world. As a raw material supplier, we have a profound understanding of the needs of our customers and their unique markets. Our range of products and expertise generates added value in a number of areas: from coatings and adhesives to civil engineering, high-performance elastomers and composites.

Anquamine^® 469 satisfies the most demanding container coatings in terms of environmental friendliness and outstanding mechanical performance.