Abrasive’s smooth operator Ekamant

aBrasive’s smooth operator

Ekamant is a global leader in the development and manufacture of coated abrasive products for the wood and metal industries. Its commitment to producing innovative, ground-breaking products has kept it at the forefront of the industry despite strong competition from Asian producers. Celebrating 90 years of trading this year, Ekamant is set to continue its positive pattern of sales growth in a buoyant international marketplace. Philip Yorke reports.

Ekamant is a privately owned company and one of the world’s leading producers of coated abrasives for the wood and metal industries. Founded in Sweden in 1928, Ekamant has seen solid growth as a result of its continuous investment programme and a dedication to new product development. Over the years it has established a broad portfolio of high-tech products that are designed for a wide variety of industrial applications.

Today the core focus of the Swedish company’s growth strategy is its consistent commitment to innovation and quality. This has been instrumental in protecting it from increasing overseas competition from emerging markets such as Asia and the Far East. Working in close collaboration with its global customers, Ekamant has been able to develop a wide range of unique technologies, which not only provides its customers with a competitive edge, but also helps to make each one more profitable. Today the company is represented in more than 60 countries and employs over 600 people worldwide.

Advanced anti-static technology

As the clear brand leader in the field of abrasives for the woodworking industry, it will come as no surprise that Ekamant has developed technologies that significantly advance sanding performance and finishing. Ekamant Antistatex® generates no electrical charges. The result is that any sanding dust follows the sanding belt and is carried out by the company’s built-in dust extractors. As a result, no sanding dust adheres to any part of the workplace, thus resulting in a better and cleaner wood surface which in turn makes it easier and cheaper to lacquer.

Furthermore, due to the absence of suspended sanding particles in the atmosphere, there is no need to clean the machine often. This saves operators both time and money. Conventional sanding belts generate significant electrical charges that may cause health issues and even a fire or a dust explosion within the sanding machine itself. As a result, it guarantees a much safer working environment in addition to a healthier and safer operational environment for all. New bonding system

Ekamant’s broad product portfolio covers abrasives for sanding, polishing and cutting and also encompasses an unrivalled range of solutions for metal work, automotive and composite applications. These range from sanding to aluminium and lacquer polishing. Its products are available in a variety of belt, sheet, grinder disc and roll options. In addition to its standard range of products and in tandem with its continuous commitment to innovation, Ekamant has developed a new range of abrasive brush products and finishing concepts – Eka-Brite – for polishing options, foam-backed abrasives and machine accessories. This is in order to complement its standard ranges, as well as other non-woven products for cleaning and polishing operations.

Ekamant metal products are ideal for all types of metal grinding, and here you can find products for everything for the preparation of non-ferrous metals to hard carbon steels. EKA Black is a new product designed for special applications mainly for use with stainless steels. It combines the capacity for high rates of material removal with the ability to present an excellent surface finish with an even scratch pattern.

Ekamant’s latest Antistatex® bonding system provides a fully antistatic effect which reduces clogging of the products and minimises dust load on the sanding surface. Another advanced metal sanding product from Ekamant is the EKA 1000Z. This is a Zirconia product that is specially designed for sanding stainless steel, mild steel, aluminium alloys and many other non-ferrous metals.

With the growing demand for polished wood flooring Ekamant has also developed a high-performance abrasive with an aluminium oxide grain coating. This is perfect for sanding floors from hardwood species such as oak, cherry, walnut and beech. As these floors have become more popular Akamant has produced its ‘ClearCut’ range in order to meet the increasing demand for hardwood flooring.

Customer-tailored products

Ekamant operates from its main site in Sweden, which has been significantly upgraded recently to meet the higher demands of the marketplace. Today the company’s strategy is to make more customer-orientated products, by fine-tuning its standard products to match more closely its customers’ needs throughout its conversion plants around the world. Today Ekamant has established synergies between modern technology, highly skilled employees and strictly regulated raw materials. This enables it to guarantee that the highest quality is maintained from materials to the finished product.

The global market for Ekamant remains positive, however the company is seeing more and more low-cost products coming to market and it confronts these challenges by delivering more innovative and effective high-tech products delivered direct to its distributors and customer base worldwide.

Ekamant told industry Europe that the next 12 months will see an increasing focus on the development of a range of new products and services. This is in addition to maintaining close collaboration with its selected partners in order to increase levels of service and product offerings to the market. n

For further details of Ekamant’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.ekamant.com