Valspar Commercializes Water-Based Coating for Shipping Container Industry
Minneapolis, Minn. – May 19, 2011 – The Valspar Corporation (NYSE-VAL) today announced that it has commercialized a proprietary technology and application process developed for the shipping container industry. China International Marine Containers (CIMC), the world’s largest container manufacturing company, has launched full-scale production of shipping containers coated with Valspar® Aquaguard™, a water-based and zinc-free container coating technology, at its Dalian, China factory.
“We’ve leveraged our 60-plus years of expertise in water-based coating technology to develop and deliver a superior product and application process to the shipping container industry,” said Roeland Polet, Valspar senior vice president, Global Industrial. “Our technology allows the industry to improve its environmental performance by switching from solvent-based, zinc-containing materials to a water-based, zinc-free coating. Our solution will also assist manufacturers in lowering their capital and operational expenses.”
The commercialization of Valspar Aquaguard marks Valspar’s entrance into the market for shipping container coatings and is an outcome of the company’s strategy of sustainable growth through technology leadership. The shipping container market, a segment with highly-specified technical and performance requirements, is estimated by Valspar to be approximately $1 billion globally. Compared to conventional solvent-based systems used in the industry, calculations based on industry data show that use of Valspar Aquaguard would reduce solvent emissions by more than 70 percent. In addition, Valspar Aquaguard is free of zinc and offers superior corrosion protection as verified through field testing and independently-conducted corrosion tests specified by the Institute of International Container Lessors. Valspar has more than 60 years of experience in developing water-based technologies for industries that demand rugged performance, including transportation, agricultural and construction equipment, structural steel and wood.
“Valspar provided tremendous support to our business,” said Quanguang Geng, CIMC Dalian deputy general manager. “We are very impressed with their teamwork, technical strength and market development capabilities and consider Valspar a close, long-term partner.”
Paul McCrory, global business director for Valspar container coatings, describes how Valspar’s technical expertise and application knowledge are key differentiators in servicing customers. “Our technical team partnered with CIMC to complete the production line start-up ahead of schedule. We were quickly able to run containers at line speeds equal to those of solvent-based coatings.”
Triton Container, a full-service global leasing company and the largest owner-lessor of marine intermodal cargo containers in the world, is also supportive of Valspar’s technology. “Water-based coatings are the way of the future,” said John M. Williams, director of engineering for Triton Container. “We’ve conducted several trials and all laboratory test results showed that Valspar Aquaguard performed as good as or better than the conventional solvent-based systems that we are currently using.”
To learn more, visit valsparcontainer.com.
“We’ve leveraged our 60-plus years of expertise in water-based coating technology to develop and deliver a superior product and application process to the shipping container industry,” said Roeland Polet, Valspar senior vice president, Global Industrial. “Our technology allows the industry to improve its environmental performance by switching from solvent-based, zinc-containing materials to a water-based, zinc-free coating. Our solution will also assist manufacturers in lowering their capital and operational expenses.”
The commercialization of Valspar Aquaguard marks Valspar’s entrance into the market for shipping container coatings and is an outcome of the company’s strategy of sustainable growth through technology leadership. The shipping container market, a segment with highly-specified technical and performance requirements, is estimated by Valspar to be approximately $1 billion globally. Compared to conventional solvent-based systems used in the industry, calculations based on industry data show that use of Valspar Aquaguard would reduce solvent emissions by more than 70 percent. In addition, Valspar Aquaguard is free of zinc and offers superior corrosion protection as verified through field testing and independently-conducted corrosion tests specified by the Institute of International Container Lessors. Valspar has more than 60 years of experience in developing water-based technologies for industries that demand rugged performance, including transportation, agricultural and construction equipment, structural steel and wood.
“Valspar provided tremendous support to our business,” said Quanguang Geng, CIMC Dalian deputy general manager. “We are very impressed with their teamwork, technical strength and market development capabilities and consider Valspar a close, long-term partner.”
Paul McCrory, global business director for Valspar container coatings, describes how Valspar’s technical expertise and application knowledge are key differentiators in servicing customers. “Our technical team partnered with CIMC to complete the production line start-up ahead of schedule. We were quickly able to run containers at line speeds equal to those of solvent-based coatings.”
Triton Container, a full-service global leasing company and the largest owner-lessor of marine intermodal cargo containers in the world, is also supportive of Valspar’s technology. “Water-based coatings are the way of the future,” said John M. Williams, director of engineering for Triton Container. “We’ve conducted several trials and all laboratory test results showed that Valspar Aquaguard performed as good as or better than the conventional solvent-based systems that we are currently using.”
To learn more, visit valsparcontainer.com.