GM and Henkel Take TecTalis Global

General Motors Corporation and Henkel (www.henkelna.com) have joined forces to launch the first global, full production trial of Henkel’s new conversion coating process, TecTalis, at GM’s manufacturing facility in Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil. Henkel’s TecTalis conversion coating process is the automotive industry’s first non-phosphate conversion coating for multi-metal bodies. This technology is projected to cut GM’s process costs, and improve efficiency of the vehicle assembly pretreatment operation while reducing the environmental impact.

“Our decision to implement this leading-edge technology globally reinforces our commitment to innovation and customer value,” said Kevin Cunningham, lead, Global Process Pretreatment, General Motors Corporation. “It allows us to streamline our production while providing an environmentally sustainable manufacturing process. Lowering overall costs by conserving energy, reducing water use and minimizing process by-products is clearly an important part of our global vision.”

In contrast to similar products in the marketplace, the TecTalis conversion coating completely eliminates phosphates along with heavy metals such as nickel and manganese from the process. It also eliminates the need for expensive filtration equipment and processes at the manufacturing facility. In addition, this coating is free of any VOC and CO2 equivalent emissions resulting in minimal environmental impact. TecTalis is applied at room temperature further reducing utility and natural resource requirements. With this coating, the pretreatment footprint can be reduced in a Brownfield site and anywhere from 20 to 40 percent in a new Greenfield operation.

GM LAAM Director of Paint & Polymers, Joao Sidney Fernandes, states, “Conversion to this new material technology is a step forward in the development of a more efficient Pretreatment Process. We expect that our experience will help prepare other GM facilities for conversion worldwide in the future.”

“We have worked together with General Motors from the technology’s infancy, to ensure it exceeds customer expectations,” said Dan Wohletz, vice president, NA automotive, Henkel. “This partnership builds upon our commitment to produce products that are better for the environment, reducing the environmental footprint of our customers, and help reduce manufacturing costs, while continuing to improve productivity.”