BASF SE has entered into a technology license agreement with EM.tec design GmbH for the production of valure. The new production plant, located in Bingen, Germany, will have an annual capacity of about 1.5 million square meters of surface finished material. With this BASF has extended the availability of valure globally, complementing the existing production facility in India, which started up last year. BASF supports its licensing partners with the chemistry, technology know-how, and joint development with customers as well as application-oriented services.
“This partnership with EM.tec design represents a powerful opportunity for valureTM to accelerate and extend its reach in Europe which is a major market for BASF,” said Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, BASF Leather & Textile Chemicals. “EM.tec design has demonstrated the dynamic character of a start-up combined with solid know-how of the automotive industry. OEMs and brand owners will benefit from the versatility of valureTM to create more innovative surfaces for their products.”
EM.tec design is the wholly owned spin-off start-up of Heinz Einhaus GmbH which is a leading supplier of finishing systems for the automotive industry for small- and medium-size parts. “Our state-of-the-art production facility in Bingen shows our long-term commitment to valure,” said Manuel Einhaus, Founder of EM.tec design. “Together with BASF, we will focus our combined efforts to serving a broader range of customers in the automotive, fashion, furniture and packaging industries.”
Valure is a technology to create laser structured surfaces with almost limitless design freedom to create haptics and textures ranging from soft touch to hard, leather graining, the appearance of velvet and geometric patterns and impressions. A silicone mold is laser engraved and sprayed with a microporous polyurethane dispersion. The resulting film can be applied to a wide variety of materials like leather, fabric, cardboard, paper or plastic without impairing the air permeability of the material – helping to achieve surfaces with a distinctive character that are soft, warm to the touch, and offer attractive designs. The polyurethane surfaces are resistant to wear and tear, soiling, and within limits to the exposure to water, sweat and oil. Quick design changes present no difficulties enabling customers to produce different sizes on a smaller scale.
