Benteler officially inaugurated a new paint shop at its Schwandorf plant at the beginning of June. In Schwandorf, Benteler produces battery trays as well as structural and chassis components for the automotive industry. A surface area of up to 7.8 million m² can be treated each year on the 2,000 m² plant area, equivalent to around 1,000 soccer pitches.
Sustainability through intelligent use of resources
The new system is a particularly sustainable system for cathodic dip coating: thanks to the intelligent use of resources, energy and water consumption is reduced and the waste heat for the entire process is reused. By using biogas, the plant will one day be completely CO2-neutral.
Lacquer based on epoxies
"With the new plant, we have introduced a separate pre-treatment line for aluminum," says Helmut Ascher, Plant Manager at the Schwandorf site. This makes it possible to achieve new quality benchmarks, while at the same time optimizing and stabilizing the corrosion protection of the steel material.
As part of the new process, components made of steel, galvanized steel and aluminium are immersed in an aqueous, electrically conductive paint based on epoxides. A voltage field is then applied and the paint is deposited on the workpiece. This enables a uniform, closed layer thickness, even in cavities and edges.