The furniture industry is a front-runner in the implementation of waterborne coatings as an alternative to traditional solventborne systems. Now a collaboration between design furniture company Rifra Milano, coatings supplier Sirca and German chemical colossus Covestro shows that the sustainability of furniture can be improved even further.
The aim of the three partners is to reduce the use of fossil resources for wood coatings through the hardener Bayhydur eco 7190 from Covestro, which has a biomass content of 66%. The company with 2016 sales of €11.9 billion will launch this product at the European Coatings Show from April 4-6 in Nuremberg. Sirca used it for developing a two-component bio-based waterborne coating. Sirca´s customer Rifra, a well-renowned Italian manufacturer of design furniture, tried the new coating on one of its new furniture collections.
The coating application is as smooth to the touch as the standard clear coating of Sirca, delivering the same excellent performance as conventional fossil-based coatings. This is in particular true for its resistance to demanding environments such as kitchens or baths.
“Sirca has been developing bio-based systems for some years now, but most raw materials could not meet the quality level that our customers require”, said Maurizio Durante, Vice President of Sirca. “Bayhydur eco boosted the hardness and chemical resistance of the renewable system and contributed to create an outstanding coating.”
“A new coating has to fulfill our requirements regarding quality and style – Matteo Rivolta, Ceo of Rifra, said – but if it creates additional value for consumers, as this new bio-based coating does, this certainly is a great step forward to more sustainable living.”
The company regards renewable coatings as a key feature to enhance the end consumer´s wellbeing with materials more in harmony with the environment. A new collection with the coating will be showcased at the event Cromateria Experience at “Highline Galleria” in Milano in the occasion of Salone del Mobile, a major trade fair for the furniture industry from April 4-9, 2017.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 