Chemetall celebrates opening of new global Aluminum Competence Center in Italy

The Surface Treatment global business unit of BASF’s Coatings division, operating under the Chemetall brand, has celebrated the opening of its new Global Aluminum Competence Center in Giussano, Italy. The state-of-the-art facility will strengthen Chemetall’s position as a global supplier of solutions for the surface treatment of aluminium substrates.

The Aluminum Competence Center was established to bundle Chemetall’s comprehensive competences in the area of surface treatment of aluminium in one place. After the intensive analyses of existing capacities, development priorities, as well as customer and market requirements, the existing Chemetall site Giussano was identified as the best option. With the centralisation of the research and development activities for aluminium, Chemetall is positioned to develop technologies faster and more efficiently, resulting in transformative innovations in the field of anodising and pretreatment of this special substrate.

“The new global Aluminum Competence Center will allow us to bring new surface treatment solutions to the market faster. The centralisation of our research and development activities for aluminium will result in pioneering technologies that solve the challenges of our global customers, provide solutions for their needs and most of all deliver long-lasting sustainable value,” says Frank Naber, Senior Vice President of Chemetall.

“The Aluminum Competence Center at our Giussano site is a strategically important step towards further expanding our technological leadership. As a lightweight metal with high availability, aluminium plays an important role in architectural, aerospace and automotive construction. Aluminium is normally used in alloys because pure aluminium has different mechanical properties compared to materials like steel. Depending on the specific alloy, not only do the mechanical properties change, but also the chemical and corrosion characteristics of aluminium. This presents chemical challenges for pretreatment solutions. Our new technology centre will enable us to better manage the complexity of this material and empower our team to set new standards in the industry,” says Arjan Termaten, Director & Head of Global Technology at Chemetall.

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“We are very proud to play a key role in the research and development for our global aluminium business in Giussano. Our team has great expertise in development and application technologies and has achieved remarkable success in areas such as neutral cleaners and plastic recycling. In close collaboration with our global technology teams and through partnerships with universities and research communities we will provide new, innovative technologies for the aluminium market,” explains Daniela Polzot, Managing Director of Chemetall Italy.

Chemetall is a global provider of surface treatment solutions with a comprehensive product range of advanced pretreatment solutions like the chrome-free thin-film Oxsilan^® AL0510 and anodising technologies like nickel-free medium temperature sealing Gardoseal^® 1999 for the aluminium industry. In Italy, more than 70 Chemetall employees, including 15 technology experts, contribute to providing surface treatment solutions for a broad range of industries to the market. The new Global Aluminum Competence Center meets the strict quality requirements QUALICOAT, GSB and QUALANOD of the aluminium finishing industry.

Image caption (from left to right): Lorenzo Bottinelli, Managing Director and Vice President Country Cluster BASF Italy; Marco Citterio, Major of Giussano; Daniela Polzot, Managing Director Chemetall Italy; Guido Guidesi, Councillor for Economic Development – Regione Lombardia; Frank Naber, Senior Vice President Chemetall