Mercedes-Benz opens eco-friendly electro-dipping coating facility in Ho Chi Minh City

Mercedes-Benz Vietnam officially opened its technically most advanced and ecologically friendly electro-dipping coating facility, worldwide, in Ho Chi Minh City, last month.
Construction started on the 5000m2 site, located inside the Mercedes-Benz Vietnam factory at Govap District, in November 2011 and the facility represents an investment of nearly US$10M. Vietnam is Mercedes-Benz’s pilot country for this type of plant. Mr Ngo Van Tru, Deputy Director General – Ministry of Industry and Trade, attended the opening and said that the government appreciated Mercedes-Benz’s long-term investment in Vietnam and affirmed Mercedes-Benz to be a part of Vietnam’s auto DNA.
The two main parts of the electro-dipping coating facility are the surface pre-treatment and the actual electro-dipping coating.
With top-of-the-line so called Zircobond technology using zirconium transitional elements usually seen only in spacecraft production, the line ensures that car bodies are heat-proof and corrosion-resistant. The key advantage of the facility is its extreme environmental friendliness. Electro-dipping eliminates heavy and extremely hazardous metals such as nickel, zinc or manganese, decreases clean water usage by 40%, electrical energy by 40% and wastewater by 30% compared to traditional phosphate coating technology.