Greenkote Plc, a global coating technology company, will provide corrosion protection for selected Daimler automotive parts beginning the first half of 2010. Initial orders include components for passenger safety related applications. Additionally, the automotive industry giant is finalizing technical approval of Greenkote as one of its suppliers of zinc diffusion coatings, using the company’s patented Thermo-Diffusion coating process.
    
“The significance of this announcement can’t be understated. It represents another major OEM in the automotive industry that is adopting the zinc thermal-diffusion process for which Greenkote is the leader,” said Arie Laor, Greenkotes’s CEO.
    
The decision by Daimler to use Greenkote zinc thermal diffusion coating protection comes after nearly two years of testing zinc diffusion systems and topcoat on its products, especially those most sensitive to corrosion. The extensive testing involved mostly small screws, with more than 10 potential products identified to undergo the duplex coating process. Other small parts include fasteners, fixtures, screws, nuts and some critical wiper parts on several of Daimler’s automotive platforms including Limousine E-Class and S-Class vehicles.
    
Daimler received several samples of Greenkote PM-10 with topcoat for further testing. Greenkote developed PM-10 and PM-21 coatings for the automotive industry mainly as a base for corrosion protection and low friction topcoats. PM-10 is Zinc-Aluminum and PM-21 is a Zinc-Aluminum-Magnesium chemical composition.
    
Duplex coating PM-10, as provided to Daimler in this series of tests, is already approved for corrosion protection by other auto manufacturers across the world including Volks­wagen, Audi and GM. Greenkote PM Zinc Thermal Diffusion coatings meet the European ELV Directive requirements, with no hazardous materials, air pollutants or industrial wastewater discharge.