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SUCCESS STORIES
Interpon Powder Coatings Puts Rodi on the Fast Track to Sustainability
Rodi, specializing in manufacturing aluminium rims and wheels for bicycles, has chosen the Interpon 610 Low-E powder coatings to reduce environmental impact of the coating process and ensure high-quality performance.
The cycling accessories team at Rodi – the Portuguese manufacturer of aluminium rims and wheels – has found an innovative way of accelerating its environmental ambitions by switching from anodizing to a more sustainable, energy-efficient process using Interpon powder coatings from AkzoNobel. Rodi needed an alternative to anodizing that was durable, sustainable, and capable of delivering style with a lower gloss finish. The answer was a bespoke Interpon powder coating that delivers a smooth, soft ultra matt finish –with just 3% gloss. It also comes with AkzoNobel’s X-Pro technology which delivers better protection against scratches, UV light and the weather. Rodi’s partnership with the Interpon team is built on a shared ambition to protect natural resources and reduce energy consumption.
© AkzoNobel
Rui Mendes, Manager of Rodi’s Rims and Wheels business, says he already has plans to further increase production capacity with the team’s support: “It’s a formula that attracts the trust of some of Europe’s largest bicycle manufacturers including ACCELL, Pon Holdings and Decathlon,” he explains. “We are serving an environmentally conscious audience who are pushing a more sustainable agenda which we take very seriously. For us, this starts with the suppliers we work with and the products we use, and it is why we use Interpon.” The partnership began two years ago when AkzoNobel demonstrated how switching from a previous supplier to an Interpon 610 Low-E powder coating reduced Rodi’s energy consumption by 25%. Interpon 610 Low-E requires much lower curing temperatures (170°C compared to 195°C required by the previous brand) and allows them to coat 20% more rims per box than was previously possible. Rodi also became the first manufacturer in its sector to use
Rui Mendes.
© AkzoNobel
SMART COMPLETE SOLUTION FOR POWDER COATING
E-Line
Powder coating system
• Economical entry into automatic coating • Optimized powder recovery with Energy Efficiency Package (EEP) • Fast color changes possible • Intuitive operation via 7“ or 12“ touch display • Fully integrated system control • Excellent, reproducible coating quality • Low space requirement
© AkzoNobel
AkzoNobel’s OptiMesure software which controls paint usage and minimizes any reworking by carefully measuring and managing the thickness of the coating being applied. Daniela Vlad, Director of AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business, says that collaboration is the key to success: “We continue to develop new ways to help customers improve their efficiency and performance and lower to their environmental impact. Our expertise goes beyond the powder in the box, and we are delighted to support Rodi in becoming even more sustainable and competitive.” Rui Mendes says that in a typical year, Rodi manufactures 3 million rims and 500,000 wheels at its 60,000 m2 manufacturing site in Aveiro, Portugal: “With the Interpon team’s technical support we have created the most efficient production line possible, with minimal powder wastage, and high-quality output so no resources or energy are wasted. We believe we have an exciting future ahead and one in which Interpon powder coatings will play an important role.”
