Q:  What can you tell us about AdvanSix?
A: AdvanSix plays a critical role in global supply chains, innovating and delivering essential products for our customers.  These products reflect a wide variety of end markets and applications that touch people’s lives, including solvents, packaging, paints, coatings, adhesives and electronics.  Our team brings decades of technical excellence and trusted partnership with customers in more than 50 countries.  We are agile and fast to respond, our customers are always our top priority, and our people are second to none. 

On top of that, we are a fully integrated manufacturer, participating in global supply chains, which ensures a reliable supply of products.  We use a range of advantaged chemistries to create safe, sustainable solutions for the world. 

Q:  How are you helping paints and coatings customers adjust to marketplace changes and challenges?
A: It is important to paints and coatings producers that their products deliver top performance as cost-effectively as possible.  In today’s world, as consumers demand safer, more sustainable products and governments around the world respond with ever more stringent regulations, AdvanSix has been able to work closely with our customers to meet their needs with sustainable and efficacious solutions.

Q:  What is a recent sustainable solution that you brought to the market?
A: EZ-Blox® anti-skinning agent is a great example of how we are helping paint manufacturers stay in compliance.  The EU reclassification of MEKO (methyl ethyl ketone oxime) to a Carcinogen 1B will take effect on March 1, 2022.  This requires paints and coatings producers, especially those operating in Europe, to find and implement a safe, cost-effective and proven alternative. 

In response, and far in advance of the regulatory deadline, AdvanSix invented and introduced EZ-Blox® anti-skinning agent as a drop-in replacement for MEKO.  It has been widely adopted as a simple solution that requires no reformulation – one that no other alternative can match.

Q.  What is the main challenge with alternative technologies? 
A: Developing a “safer” alternative technology can often involve a sacrifice in performance, or costly reformulation or processing changes, which can alone or together lead to potential supply chain issues.  Creating a product that fulfills all the requirements is not easy.  For EZ-Blox®, we started with a deep understanding of our customers’ key performance needs, and our R&D scientists matched those needs with several potential solutions which were then selected against other considerations, such as safety in manufacturing and use.  The resulting product, EZ-Blox®, ticked all the boxes including low toxicity – comfortably meeting the most exacting European standards; easy reformulation and manufacturing switchover – minimizing transition costs; and top-notch performance that meets or exceeds the best known and available other oximes. 

Q:  What other products do you make for the paints and coatings market?
A: We offer several other products used as solvents, additives and modifiers to enhance performance in paints and coatings formulations.  These include acetone, Nadone® cyclohexanone, Naxol® cyclohexanol and alpha methyl styrene. 

Q: In what specific paints and coatings formulations and applications is EZ-Blox® used?
A: EZ-Blox® supports a wide range of industrial uses, including architectural, industrial, building/construction (silanes), high gloss, and durable paint applications.

Q:  What are your plans for the future?
A: We view sustainability as a shared responsibility, requiring collaboration across industry to make a difference.  As a company with a keen focus on sustainable solutions, AdvanSix will continue to stay in tune with customer demands, investing in new molecules that enhance safety whilst maintaining top performance. We remain committed to these twin goals across product lines with all our customers. 

In fact, we recently launched 100% post-industrial recycled grades of Aegis® nylon 6 resins and Capran® films to help our nylon customers meet their sustainability goals.  We expect to see even more innovations across our diverse product lines in the future.  


EZ-Blox®, Aegis® and Capran® are registered trademarks of AdvanSix Inc.

For more information go to www.advansix.com.