AkzoNobel Provides Technology to Meet Growing Demand for Customization
Year:2009 ISSUE:31
COLUMN:M & A, BUSINESS & TRADE
Click:203    DateTime:Nov.06,2009
AkzoNobel Provides Technology to Meet Growing Demand for Customization      

"Personalization is getting strong," notes Alex Maaghul, Vice President of AkzoNobel's Specialty Plastics. Customization is gathering momentum.  
   The AkzoNobel technology that enables personalization and one-off production is called Pictaflex, the name given to a digital imaging transfer technology, which uses a process known as diffusion.
   The whole process - which is carried out using proprietary materials and equipment supplied by AkzoNobel - can be executed, from image to final product, in less than 10 minutes, with the added bonus of no clearcoat finish being required once the process has been completed.
   AkzoNobel is currently providing this technology to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in China. "There are other technologies being used within the industry, but none of them allow for the on-demand production of one-off items," explains Alex Maaghul. "That's one of the distinct advantages of the Pictaflex technology which gives us a real competitive edge. Plus the results it produces are stunning."
   Compared to gravure or in-mold printing, the Pictaflex process requires significantly less capital investment, and occupies only a fraction of the production space.  
   Its use is not restricted to laptops. Pictaflex can be used to decorate and customize items as large as desktop computers, while AkzoNobel is already supplying the technology to manufacturers of mice and other peripherals. Work is also ongoing with a number of OEMs in the wireless and consumer electronics markets.