Furniture manufacturers are continuously striving for a more sustainable production and for reducing their carbon footprint. Hence it is no wonder, that the furniture industry has been a front-runner in the implementation of waterborne coatings as an alternative to traditional solventborne systems. A collaboration between design furniture company RiFRA MiIano, coatings supplier Sirca and Covestro has now shown that the sustainability of furniture can be improved even further.
The aim of the three partners was to reduce the use of fossil resources for wood coatings through the hardener Bayhydur® eco 7190 from Covestro, which has a biomass content of 66 percent. The company will launch this product at the European Coatings Show from April 4-6 in Nuremberg. Sirca used it for developing a two-component biobased waterborne coating. Sirca´s customer RiFRA, a well-renowned Italian manufacturer of design furniture, tried the new coating on one of its new furniture collections.
High performance, improved carbon footprint
The coating application is as smooth to the touch as the standard clear coating of Sirca, delivering the same excellent performance as conventional fossil-based coatings. This is in particular true for its resistance to demanding environments such as kitchens or baths.
“Sirca has been developing biobased systems for some years now, but most raw materials could not meet the quality level that our customers require”, said Maurizio Durante, Vice President of Sirca. “Bayhydur® eco boosted the hardness and chemical resistance of the renewable system and contributed to create an outstanding coating.”
Matteo Rivolta, CEO of RiFRA, said, “A new coating has to fulfill our requirements regarding quality and style, but if it creates additional value for consumers, as this new biobased coating does, this certainly is a great step forward to more sustainable living.” The company regards renewable coatings as a key feature to enhance the end consumer´s wellbeing with materials more in harmony with the environment. A new collection with the coating will be showcased at the event CROMATERIA EXPERIENCE at “Highline Galleria” in Milano in the occasion of Salone di Mobile, a major trade fair for the furniture industry from April 4-9, 2017, in Milan, Italy.
Source
Covestro, press release, 2017-03-30.
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