Wacker Receives Innovation Award for alpha-Silane-Based Adhesives and Sealants
Wacker, the Munich-based chemicals Group, received Frost & Sullivan’s New Product Innovation Award for its novel GENIOSIL® product class. The award was presented at a special event in London. According to Frost & Sullivan, the GENIOSIL® product class was chosen because it incorporates advanced alpha-silane technologies, offers superior performance during processing, delivers high value to customers, and gives them a fast return on investment. GENIOSIL® enables the formulation of fast-curing adhesives and sealants, with applications ranging from highly flexible, paintable sealants through to high-strength assembly adhesives and crystal-clear cabinet sealants.
Frost & Sullivan tested several construction adhesives and sealants. Assessment criteria included innovative element, leverage, value added features, return on investment and penetration potential. GENIOSIL® received top points in all categories. “Wacker’s GENIOSIL® products incorporate a special silane structure that equips them with high reactivity, which enables them to be interlinked with polymers, leading to a wide range of possible formulations. GENIOSIL® is able to successfully eliminate crosslinking problems associated with polyurethanes and enhance the properties of silicones,” said Best Practices Account Manager Macaulay Iyayi at the award ceremony. “Frost & Sullivan is therefore proud to present the 2011 New Product Innovation Award in the Construction Sealants Market to Wacker Chemie AG.”
Dr. Rudolf Hager, supply chain director and head of WACKER SILICONES’ alpha-silane project, accepted the prize. “We are very proud of this award, because it shows that even analysts and market experts are enthusiastic about our innovative silane and hybrid technologies.” Wacker’s so-called alpha effect is a phenomenon known for some time. Back in the 1960s, scientists discovered that substitution of certain structural elements led to higher organo-functional silane reactivity. This discovery, however, was slowly forgotten.
In the end, it was Wacker chemists who recognized the alpha effect’s potential and how to use it, emphasized Hager. “Highly reactive alpha-silanes enable the production of rapid-curing adhesives and sealants, isocyanate-free construction and installation foams, scratchproof coatings, abrasion-resistant composites and low-tin or even tin-free silicone sealants. That’s what makes alpha-silanes quite unique.”
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