Prince International Corporation is a global producer and distributor of minerals, additives and coatings, with the tagline ‘source to solution’. Its Bruges division manufactures high-performance components for enamel coatings used to protect a range of products including kitchen appliances, water tanks, silos, boilers, cookers and tunnel walls.
“Industrial support in the fullest sense: applying basic science to arrive at new insights, culminating in a patent application.”
Enamel coatings have been used to protect and decorate metal surfaces since time immemorial. Prince produces the basic material used for this purpose: a fine enamel powder that is fused to the metal surface by firing it at high temperature. Oxides of heavy metals such as cobalt and nickel are used to create a strong adhesion. However, with European REACH legislation imposing ever stricter environmental requirements, Prince had to look for an alternative – more environmentally friendly – way to create the adhesion between metal and enamel.
In its search for new avenues, Prince contacted Sirris in 2013 and we worked together on an R&D project that ended in 2015. This involved researching new adhesion mechanisms, in order to develop a new environmentally friendly enamel powder. The biggest challenge was identifying the adhesion mechanisms using basic science so as to generate new insights.
The research project came to a successful end in 2015. In collaboration with Sirris, Prince has introduced alternative, non-toxic chemicals that provide excellent adhesion of the enamel coating while also meeting European environmental regulations. The company immediately filed a patent application for the new production method.