Chemetall Introduces Boron-Free Salt Carrier to Facilitate Wire Drawing

Chemetall, a unit of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ROC) and the leading producer of specialty chemicals, has launched Gardolube® SC 6226, the first in what will be a comprehensive line of salt carrier coating products for wire manufacturing that is completely free of boron. Gardolube SC 6226 is also free of chlorides and, unlike borax-containing products, performs superlatively even in humid environments.

Following a recent European Union investigation into the toxicity of boron, an environmentally sound coating product for this function will be a growing requirement in the global wire manufacturing industry.

"With the EU mandating new handling techniques and stricter environmental regulations applied in production plants for boron-containing carriers, we saw this as an opportunity to leverage our ongoing R&D for an environmentally sound product line that offers comparable performance to existing coating products,” said Dr. Peter Schubach, head of Chemetall’s global R&D efforts. "The introduction of Gardolube 6226 demonstrates that we have flexibility to meet the ever-changing needs in the marketplace with equally effective products that ultimately are safer and more efficient in manufacturing processes.”

In wire manufacturing, salt carriers are frequently part of the coating system, which is applied prior to drawing. On high carbon wire, salt carriers are used as a basis for the drawing process to efficiently separate the die and wire while serving as an ideal transfer of lubricant into the forming die.

"While simply reducing the borax content in salt carriers below the required EU limit was one option, we wanted to provide our customers with an effective alternative to products containing any borax to ensure sustainability and performance. Our company philosophy is to offer our customers products that will enable the greatest safety and efficiency in their manufacturing process and this is achieved through our Gardolube product range,” said Dr. Schubach.

Chemetall, a unit of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ROC), is a global company committed to specialty chemistry with 3,000 employees worldwide. The group's activities focus on products and processes for the chemical treatment of metal surfaces and plastics, as well as selected fields of fine chemistry, including lithium and cesium compounds. For more information, please visit www.chemetall.com.

Rockwood Holdings, Inc. is a leading global specialty chemicals and advanced materials company. Rockwood has a worldwide employee base of approximately 9,500 people and annual net sales of approximately $3.0 billion. Rockwood focuses on global niche segments of the specialty chemicals, pigments and additives and advanced materials markets. For more information on Rockwood, please visit www.rocksp.com.

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