Not too long ago, coatings and their raw materials were produced by a limited range of long-established production methods. But in recent years new technologies have been studied and commercialised which are not merely significant improvements on the old established methods, but exemplify different ways of thinking about manufacture.
Improvements in quality and speed of manufacture have always been pursued, but sometimes what emerges from a new process may be better considered as a new type of product. One facet of this was considered in last month's column on 'precision polymers' where the emphasis was on the properties of the end product. This month's column focuses on production technologies themselves.
One aspect of production technology, the use of dispensing machines, is dealt with separately in this month's editorial, because the opportunity arose to interview a sales manager from a supplier of these machines. How do you produce a resin, a coatings additive or any reasonably complex chemical?