| TECHNOLOGY |
A case in point is Power Prime, a PPG system where the first two layers of paint are applied in separate electrodeposition baths. This process saves the step of spray painting on the primer coat. The single line that was using the technology--a Dodge Dakota plant in Campo Largo, Brazil--was shut down because of economic conditions there. But, Zahren says, Power Prime has run into two additional problems. One is that the technology can be installed only on a new paint line. The other is that the car industry is moving toward colored primers, and the color can't be readily changed with Power Prime. "With the Power Prime setup, you can have any color you want--as long as it's the color in the tank," Zahren jokes. But PPG has regrouped and, still aiming at the primer step, has developed another new technology, DuraPrime, that will be introduced by the end of next year. DuraPrime creates a smooth surface, like the primer, directly into the electrocoat layer. No primer application and resulting second oven cure is needed. "If I can put my base coat on without having to go through an oven, I decrease my capital cost and operating cost, and I don't have people working in that booth," Zahren says |
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