International. Lanxess, Synthomer and Evonik develop Coatino, a formulation network that facilitates collaboration between raw material suppliers in the coatings industry.
In the last edition of the American Coatings Show , a comprehensive platform that provides detailed information and useful advice on formulations for coatings and inks called Coatino was presented.
This formulation network offers special additives from the company Evonik, polymer resin binders and dispersions from Synthomer and iron oxide pigments from Lanxess, with products from other suppliers.
"Coatino is not just a database of materials," said Gaetano Blanda, head of the Coating Additives business line at Evonik.
"This is precisely the differentiated selling point of our formulation network: users can filter, select and integrate all relevant products into the desired formulation, customized according to their specific requirements," he added.
On the website www.coatino.com, users can choose between different classes of raw materials and suppliers, but also define filters to look for the essential properties of the product they need: food contact, eco-label, VOC content or regional availability are just some of the possible filter criteria that can be applied with respect to all raw materials.
In the next stage, the user gains access to detailed information about products, such as technical, regulatory or safety data sheet.
There is also the option to order free samples in an easy way or contact the manufacturer directly.
Once the desired product has been found, Coatino provides targeting formulations, or can even calculate entirely new formulations.
The initial products of Evonik Coating Additives, Lanxess and Synthomer will also be complemented by products from other raw material manufacturers. In addition to additives, resins and pigments, in the future other materials such as fillers, for example, will also be included in the network.
"Coatino offers constant practical guidance to the user when selecting the right raw materials to create specific formulations," says Market Segment Manager Coatings at Lanxess' Inorganic Pigments business unit, Daniela Schmitt.
"The automated recommendation of suitable iron oxide pigments, with their specific product properties in applications in the coatings industry, is a good example of this: the Coatino platform does not leave customers alone with products, it provides specific assistance in the application," Schmitt said.
A total of 15 companies already integrate the formulation network and the goal is to transparently gather all the information necessary to easily formulate the best coating in a single space.
The partners not only include producers of raw materials, but also manufacturers of devices and equipment, as well as technology and media companies. In this way, Coatino creates an autonomous ecosystem that benefits the entire coatings industry.
"The industry faces the challenge of mapping all different kinds of raw materials to produce successful formulations. Coatino is the first online platform that does this in a meaningful way and then connects manufacturers to each other," said Raymond Somich, Director of Global Marketing at Synthomer.
"In addition to common regulatory challenges, we are already working on other issues such as, for example, the evaluation of the sustainability of products and the information of transparent classifications. We are thinking about how we can improve the customer experience to simplify the work of creating formulations and help ours find solutions faster," somich said.
