NKK Chromium-Free Coated Steel Sheets
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| Hitachi's new series washer-dryer |
Two chromium-free coated steel sheets developed by NKK as environmentally friendly alternative products have been selected by Hitachi Home & Life Solutions, Inc., a home appliances maker of the Hitachi Group, for use in its next series of washer-dryers. The company will use both "Geo-Frontier Coat," a high-performance chromium-free coated steel sheet, and "Geo-Frontier Excel Coat," a chromium-free prepainted steel sheet.
NKK's Geo-Frontier Coat has been widely used since its launch in 1998 by audio equipment and copying machine manufacturers, but Hitachi Home & Life Solutions is the first manufacturer to adopt chromium-free coated steel sheet for use in home appliances such as washers. The company chose NKK products for their excellent properties.
Chromate treatment has been popularly used to prevent white rust on galvanized steel sheets, but environmental concerns have raised the need for chromium-free steel sheets that do not contain chromate. Until now, no manufacturer has succeeded in developing a chromium-free coating technology equivalent to the quality of chromate treatment in terms of corrosion resistance, conductivity and alkaline resistance, among other factors.
In developing Geo-Frontier Coat, NKK used proprietary thin organic coating know-how accumulated over long years of research and application to create a special organic composite coating. The innovative product offers improved corrosion resistance due to both a thin organic coating with excellent oxygen barrier properties and special inhibitors with self-healing effect. It also retains excellent corrosion resistance after alkaline degreasing (hardly damaged by alkaline degreasing).
NKK was awarded the 2002 Technology Prize by the Surface Finishing Society of Japan in recognition of the originality, innovation and industrial significance of Geo-Frontier Coat technology. NKK also made an acclaimed keynote presentation on chromium-free coating technology trends at the GALVATECH 2001 conference held in Brussels in June 2001.
Geo-Frontier Excel Coat is a chromium-free prepainted steel sheet that has also been chosen by Hitachi Home & Life Solutions for its next series of washer-dryers. Conventional prepainted steel sheets use chromate and chromium-based pigments to prevent corrosion, but users have long sought chromium-free prepainted steel sheets in order to make their products more environmentally sound. Until the introduction of NKK's product, chromium-free technology was not up to the corrosion resistance of chromate-based prepainted steel sheets and could only be used in applications where corrosion resistance was not a primary factor.
NKK's Geo-Frontier Excel Coat uses an original coating design to achieve significantly higher levels of corrosion resistance and functionality. This improvement led to its selection for washer-dryers, which require some of the highest levels of corrosion resistance of any consumer appliance.
Development of chromium-free steel sheets capable of withstanding harsh environments and prolonged use has opened the way for the spread of more earth-friendly home appliances. NKK will be expanding sales of its chromium-free steel sheets to meet "green procurement" needs of users in this market.
