Henkel recently announced it is reportedly the first winner of the SURCAR International Award for Environmental Footprint, honoring the company’s commitment to waste prevention and water treatment with its Bonderite Thin Film 1800 Series zirconium oxide pre-treatment process for car bodies. The award went to Henkel’s Surface Technologies team in Asia-Pacific and their partner, Qoros Auto Co., in recognition of a joint project implemented at the paint shop of Qoros’ manufacturing site in Changshu, China, near Shanghai. Henkel and Qoros were presented with the award during this year’s SURCAR International Congress in Shanghai.

The Bonderite film process reportedly is more environmentally friendly than traditional zinc phosphate treatments. While eliminating the use of heavy metals, such as zinc and nickel, it involves fewer processing steps and less rinsing, which can reduce water consumption by 20%. It also produces far less solid waste.

Qoros was reportedly the first Chinese automaker to use Bonderite thin film technology. In 2013, Qoros was the first company in China to use the Bonderite zirconium pre-treatment. Since then, Henkel has installed several thin film body pre-treatment lines in China.

“We have reference customers on five continents,” said Mark Hyde, Asia-Pacific business director, Automotive Surface Treatment for Henkel. “The zirconium based Bonderite thin film technology is appealing to automotive manufacturers everywhere, but especially in China, which has the strictest regulations on emissions and waste water discharge in the world. This is another acknowledgment of Henkel’s innovation leadership in the area of surface technologies and our competitive lead in the market.”

For more information, visit www.henkel.com.