Sherwin-Williams’ Becker Acroma™ Wood Coatings first to launch LED curing solutions
New wood finishing process will generate significant energy savings, decrease maintenance costs, and reduce environmental impact.
Sherwin-Williams today announced the launch of its Becker Acroma™ LED cure wood coating solutions for home and office furnishing, kitchen and bathroom fittings and interior joinery.
Unlike traditional UV curing solutions, the Becker Acroma™ LED cure coatings harness narrow peaks of UV energy, namely 365nm or 395nm (+/-20nm). “LED lamps do not produce high heat or harmful ozone,” says Dave Wright, MD Sherwin-Williams Product Finishes UK & Ireland; Dublin, Republic of Ireland. “With this lower temperature technology, it is possible to finish pine and other resinous wood species without high reject rates.” Additionally, because LED lamps generate less heat, do not produce ozone pollution and are free of heavy metals, this technology can significantly improve work conditions for line staff while reducing environmental impact.
Manufacturers utilizing LED curing technology on their line can expect the same high level finish realized with UV curing but with a number of additional cost-saving benefits. “LED technology generates about 40% in energy savings,” explains Wright. “Additionally, these lamps last thousands of hours, decreasing overall maintenance costs, and without a warm up cycle there is less down time.”
The first plant to utilise LED technology will go into service in The Czech Republic in February 2012, where BJS will produce bedroom furniture. A number of UV lamps on the production line are currently being switched for LED units. “We’ve done an incredible amount of research and testing to get to the point where we are now sharing the benefits of LED technology with our wood finishing customers,” says Wright. “We can provide LED curing solutions for virtually every wood finishing need, whether clear or pigmented,” he concludes.
With the launch of this new technology, Sherwin-Williams is assisting companies that want to switch from traditional UV curing technology to LED curing technology. “Our engineers can help anyone with the design or redesign of a production line, from project planning and testing all the way to start-up and beyond,” stated Wright. “We have found that production lines can even be shortened,” he added.
Sherwin-Williams’ Becker Acroma™ LED cure wood coatings, first of its kind technology, will enable our customers to produce outstanding finishing results using the latest, environmentally preferable process.
About Sherwin-Williams Product Finishes
The Sherwin-Williams Product Finishes Division is a global industrial coatings leader, supporting original equipment manufacturers and tier suppliers with innovative liquid and powder technologies, extraordinary service, and the full complement of finishing equipment and supplies. Through an infrastructure dedicated to regional manufacturing and distribution capabilities that span six continents, Sherwin-Williams is a solutions partner with global reach–serving markets as diverse as heavy equipment, kitchen cabinets, wood and metal building products, wind energy, medical equipment and electronics, furniture, military and munitions, and general product finishing.
The company’s dedication to “helping customers make their products better” goes beyond delivery of quality coatings. With extensive on-site technical consultations, color and design support, and process improvement expertise, Sherwin-Williams delivers the full complement of finishing support to industrial finishers. For a Better Finish. Ask Sherwin-Williams.™
About The Sherwin-Williams Company
Sherwin- Williams is a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of coatings and related products with more than 32,000 employees and business in 109 countries. We go to market through more than 3950 company-operated paint stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. With annual sales of $7.8 billion, we are the largest coatings manufacturer in the United States, and the third largest world-wide.
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