Pioneer Stories: Bio-polyester binders
Sustainability performance is increasingly seen, not just at Beckers but at our partners up and down the value chain, as a key business metric, and a key lever is the development of more sustainable products such as bio-based binders.
Flashback: the development of bio-polyester at Beckers
In coil coating, binders are the backbone of a formulation ensuring the coating remains intact and performs effectively over time. Coming out of Beckers’ FutureLab, Beckers R&D teams already saw the potential of bio-polyester binders in 2012. They could likely match and even outperform conventional fossil-based binders. After eight years of testing and exposure, Beckers Sweden successfully introduced the solution to customers in the Nordics. Today, we are observing more positive signs pointing towards a transition to bio-polyesters with a clear message: As we continue driving innovation on sustainable materials, our product performance is not compromised.
Zooming in to the Nordics – Successful transition to bio-polyesters
To date, line trials with our Nordics coil customers using bio-polyesters have shown positive results, with improved flow, high-surface finishes, and excellent mechanical properties. These outcomes have helped foster confidence among customers, particularly those in the high-end product sector, who are generally open to more sustainable alternatives.
The positive results have created an encouraging incentive for a broader adoption from other customers. So far, trials have been conducted with different product ranges such as Beckry®Pur, Beckry®Max, Beckry®Tough, and Beckry®Tex Pur Bio. In many cases, the flow with bio-polyesters has been better than with standard binders, resulting in a high-finish surface and good mechanical properties. By providing detailed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data, along with full transparency about the sources of our bio-based monomers, we are proactively building more trust in the market.
Bio-polyester concept explained at resin lab
Raising the bar on sustainability with our customers and partners
After completing the first step – a successful line trial with the bio-polyester Beckry®Tex Pur Bio, which is now adopted as a standard for all new color matching requests, we are working with our customers to convert the entire product line to bio-based materials in the near future.
Equipped with expertise and experience, Beckers will continue to innovate to make coatings more sustainable.