19th October 2007
Akzo Nobel has picked up yet another major industry commendation. The company’s Sikkens brand took the Innovation Award at the 2007 Bodyshop Magazine Industry Awards for its Autoclear UV product. Winners were announced and awarded at a gala dinner held at the Hilton Metropole hotel in Birmingham on Friday 21 September, 2007.
Over 1,000 people from across the industry attended the 20th anniversary Bodyshop Magazine awards. The panel of independent judges concurred that the overall quality of nominations was extremely high this year.
Kevin Nineham, Country Manager UK, Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes, was delighted with the award and with market response to the product so far. “Akzo Nobel has long been aware that UV curing would bring massive throughput benefits to bodyshops, but to win this award so soon after introducing the product is exceptional,” he said. “Akzo Nobel is the first paint manufacturer to bring this technology to the car refinishes industry, and it’s great to have this professionally acknowledged.”
Autoclear UV is a patented three component system comprising a clearcoat, hardener and a special activator. While the spraying characteristics of Autoclear UV are the same as conventional LV clearcoats, Autoclear UV starts to cure as soon as it has been exposed to UV light. Six minutes after exposure, panels are dry enough to be handled, and can be refitted to the vehicle immediately.
Using Autoclear UV, bodyshops with capacity problems can increase their throughput, while reducing their carbon footprint, as the product offers both time and energy savings. Oven drying times and therefore energy usage are eliminated, as are warm up and cooling down times. As a result, process times are reduced by over half an hour.