Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine September/October 2021 - 5

NEWS
Clariant to Construct New Collaborative
Innovation Center to Support North
America's Paints and Coatings Industry
Clariant has announced construction of a new collaborative innovation center it says
will support North America's paints and coatings industry in meeting the challenges
of emerging trends, increasing performance requirements, and meeting sustainability
needs.
This state-of-the-art laboratory will bring together its research and technical
experts in specialty formulation ingredients and additives to foster collaborative
product development across all formulation aspects. Customers will, the company says,
benefit from a unique level of R&D and application testing support.
" Delivering industry-targeted, sustainable innovation to advance our customers'
evolution is at Clariant's core. We are excited to expand our footprint in North America
with an additional regional innovation center. It enhances our market proximity and
ability to jointly develop solutions tailored to unmet needs, which will speed up our
customers' time to market in offering differentiated products, " says Gene Mueller,
Head of Region North America at Clariant.
Anthony W. Thornton
Honored with ASTM
International 2021
Cavanaugh Award
Anthony W. Thornton, Director of
Technical Information and Senior
Technology and Applications
Consultant for Micromeritics
Instrument Corporation, was recently
awarded the 2021 ASTM International
William T. Cavanaugh Memorial
Award.
The Cavanaugh Memorial Award
honors W.T. Cavanaugh, CEO of ASTM
International from 1970 to 1985, who
established ASTM International as
the world leader in developing and
disseminating voluntary standards.
Thornton was recognized for
outstanding promulgation of
standard test methods for powder
characterization and for masterful
leadership in international standards
development organizations.
" Tony's involvement in the
" There is so much more to modern paints and coatings than just color, they're
incredibly complex, " says Andy Michael, Technical Manager of Industrial Applications,
BU Industrial & Consumer Specialties. " With our Additives colleagues alongside us in
this new innovation center, we'll be able to take a more universal approach to solving
these challenges, working on the best technology and multifunctional solutions to
address customer needs. "
The investment will strengthen R&D support for customers across the industrial
space of paints, coatings, inks, adhesives and elastomers. Existing capabilities at the
location, which includes research laboratories and a pilot plant currently used by the
technical teams of Clariant Industrial and Consumer Specialties, will be upgraded and
expanded with an additional 5000 square-feet of new laboratories and office space.
New jobs will be created in the community as a result of the expansion.
The emphasis will be on innovating new ingredients, formulating, applying and
testing. This includes on-site application testing capabilities, with the ability to test a
paint formulation on performance, such as scrub, sag, levelling and color acceptance,
with industry draw down methods. Further research will be performed in the
areas of examining solutions for dispersing and wetting, emulsification, open time,
durability and formulation optimization. New equipment has been included that will
promote faster throughput screening, improved rheological testing, a spray booth and
accelerated weathering chambers.
Construction of the new Mount Holly West Innovation Center began in August and
is scheduled for completion in Q1 2022. Clariant's latest regional innovation center for
North America follows the opening of the Consumer Care Innovation Center in New
Providence, New Jersey, in September 2019.
www.clariant.com/coatings
www.cfcm.ca
5
international standards community
has resulted in a spirit of cooperation
throughout the industry, " says
Katharine Morgan, President, ASTM
International. " Over the course of his
more than 40 years in the industry,
Tony has been instrumental in the
development, promotion, and use of
international voluntary consensus
standards. "
Thornton has served in his current
position since 2017, starting his
career at Micromeritics Instrument
Corporation, progressing from
stockroom clerk to laboratory manager,
training manager, senior product
scientist, and director of product
integrity and performance.
Thornton served on ASTM
International's Committee of
Standards from 2008 to 2011 and
the Board of Directors from 2011
to 2013. He is also a member of the
American Chemical Society, American
Ceramics Society, and International
Standardization Organization.
www.astm.org

http://www.astm.org http://www.clariant.com/coatings http://www.cfcm.ca

Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine September/October 2021