International. The vehicle manufacturer, Mazda, received the Prime Minister Award for its painting system known as Aqua-tech, due to the contribution it makes in reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and CO2.
The award, which was part of the Manufacturing and Process category, was presented in Japan during the Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award ceremony, recognizing the three-layer wet paint technique – currently in use at all Mazda production plants in Japan – and reduces VOC emissions generated during the vehicle body painting process by 57%.
The Aqua-tech generates VOC emissions of 15 grams per square meter of body surface and is recognized as one of the water-based paint systems that generates fewer pollutants, according to the company.
Additionally, Mazda revealed that it has a technique to eliminate the problem of drying the paint through an improved paint shop air conditioning system and a new high-efficiency evaporation system that removes the water contained in the paint.
In addition, a new coating technology has allowed the development of a very sophisticated range of colors, as is the case of the Soul Red, which offers additional characteristics of primer paint; for example, brightness, durability or resistance to photodegradation.
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