From Solventborne to Waterborne Coatings

Robert Roop, VP, Chief Technology Officer
Joanne Hardy, Global Director, Research and Development

Over the last decade, the market for waterborne coatings has grown exponentially. Waterborne coatings provide our industry and customers with a solution that keeps appearance looking superior while offering environmental benefits, such as reduced carbon dioxide and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
Three important examples of Axalta’s leadership in waterborne innovation occurred in 2019, including:

• Axalta’s Refinish business launched its first ever two-component premium waterborne sealer – Spies Hecker Permahyd 2K Sealer 5650 – which offers customers the next generation of waterborne technology and reduces application time by up to 75 percent according to Axalta’s proprietary research. With just a single application and blowers to dry, the total application time is reduced to five minutes or less compared to approximately 20 minutes with traditional products. This eco-friendly product offers Axalta’s collision center customers the opportunity to get more cars through the spray booth in less time, resulting in improved sustainability, productivity, cycle time, and cash flow.

• Axalta’s Wood Coatings business launched the UNRIVALED Prefinish program, a premium waterborne coating system designed for customers that pre-finish house siding prior to delivery. When compared to other products and technologies in the market, UNRIVALED Prefinsh gives customers a competitive edge in quality, consistency and performance by requiring 17 percent less paint for the same film build versus other products. The UNRIVALED Prefinish program is backed by a top-tier 30-year warranty.

• Axalta’s Transportation business launched AquaEC 6000, a new waterborne electrocoat for the automotive market that provides improved throw-power, reduced bake-off loss, improved appearance and superior aluminum corrosion resistance. The low-temperature curing properties of the AquaEC 6100 technology help reduce energy costs. AquaEC 6100 is an industry leader in bake loss, resulting in less film shrinkage and increased coverage per gallon of paint.

Axalta will continue to innovate in this area and remains committed to providing environmentally friendly solutions for our customers around the world.


In 2019, Axalta introduced Voltatex 4224, an innovative high-thermal conductivity impregnating resin. Voltatex 4224 delivers significant improvements in thermal conductivity to enable higher motor efficiency and reduces the weight of an electrical motor by more than 15 percent according to customer feedback. This increases performance by conducting thermal energy as quickly as possible, while reducing thermal stress by up to 30° Celsius, which is important for use in high-performance electric motors such as those in vehicles, trains and windmills.

The development and introduction of this product in 2019 helped Axalta customers save energy, achieve their sustainability goals, and be more productive by using smaller and lighter electric motors. Voltatex 4224 won both the R&D 100 Award and the Gold Edison Award in the Material Science and Engineering category.

Manufactured with renewable raw materials, Voltatex 4224 enables a smaller motor size to perform at equivalent levels as larger motors. Running motors at lower temperatures can increase motor lifetime and downsizing motors allows for reduction of weight, both leading to a sustainability benefit.

Voltatex 4224 is a success story made possible by Axalta's global team of more than 1,400 scientists and engineers who are committed to offering our customers high-quality and technologically advanced products.

Go to Axalta’s listing in this year’s Top Companies Report for additional information.