CATIA’s Interview with Xu Hang, Vice President Asia-Pacific,

Coating & Adhesive Resins, Evonik Specialty Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

CATIA: Currently, the sales volume of automotive in China accounts for one third of the global market, in which new energy vehicles increase by more than 50%, making China the focal spot of the global industry. In 2018, the application of APAO from Evonik increased very rapidly in this field. Would you please tell us what is the core competitiveness of the product? How would you prospect its development trend in the future?

Xu Hang: In the past 30 years, the rapid development of China's automobile industry is obvious to all. With the remarkable growth rate, we occupy a very important position in the global automobile industry. In recent years, thanks to a number of incentives and promotion measures put in place by the Chinese government to continuously promote the development of new energy vehicles, China has become a global leader in the production and technological innovation of new energy vehicles.

Evonik's products have been widely applied in the automotive industry because of their advanced technology and stable quality. For example, Evonik VESTOPLAST^® products are ethylene, propylene, 1-butylene terpolymer. As the raw material for hot melt adhesive, it does not contain harmful monomer. Its using process is without any solvent release, thus being widely used in car interior and external bonding, including ceiling, car mat, car lights, sun visor, etc. At the same time, VESTOPLAST^® products can also meet the needs of automotive lightweight, satisfying the industry development trend for green and healthy life. Wherever in Europe, USA or the APAC, VESTOPLAST^® serves as an important component of automotive adhesive.

Evonik makes long-term commitment to the innovative development of VESTOPLAST^®. With the most extensive product specifications, we can offer solutions to different application and performance requirements. Thanks to our most unique technology strength, our products have been constantly one of the most popular products in the market, even the most leading one. Our strict implementation of standard process management during production and quality control process enables customers to use our products with full confidence for decades. In addition, we have established professional technical teams in every important region of the world to provide timely services to meet the changing needs of customers. Our technical service laboratory and technical team in Shanghai keep close communication and contact with local customers through training and technical exchange. Also, constantly being close to the customers and conforming to the new trends have been very conducive to our own application innovation.

We believe that development comes from innovation. In fact, our investment in R&D and product updates outstands in the industry. This also enables us to continuously introduce new products to meet new trends and requirements in our fast-developing market. Our low odor, low viscosity product VESTOPLAST^® EP2103 shall be a good example. In the near future, we will also launch more new products with low viscosity and high SAFT to meet the requirements of automotive adhesive. We are confident about the future of the VESTOPLAST^® application in the automotive industry.

CATIA: VESTOPLAST^® products are complying with environmental regulations all over the world. In what areas would Evonik help Chinese customers to win the market?

Xu Hang: Evonik VESTOPLAST^® meets the European EU 10/2011 FDA standard, REACH and EU 1999/13 VOC emission standards, also conforms to the American FDA standard 175.105 adhesive contact, as well as the China National Standard GB/T 27630. In terms of technical service, in order to support Chinese customers to expand its local and overseas business, we can provide the environmental indicators written statement of VESTOPLAST^®. Also, we can provide the corresponding technical exchange and communication according to the specific requirements of the environmental protection laws and regulations. On the other hand, each year we share information about the global hot melt adhesive market and related industry trends with our global resources. For example, at the professional platform of China Hot Melt Adhesive Forum, we will not only share market insights, but also explain and discuss new environmental protection laws and regulations to help customers further understand the requirements of environmental protection standards in different regions and markets. These efforts help to ensure compliant production process and products.

CATIA: In recent years, the market of reactive polyurethane hot melt adhesive (PUR) has undertaken rapid development, and suppliers of polyester polyols continue to emerge. As a pioneer of the PUR market, Evonik launched Dynacoll^® series products. Could you please introduce the performance and advantage of this product?

Xu Hang: Due to the advantages of reactive hot-melt adhesive (PUR) without solvent emissions, excellent adhesion performance and safety and environmental protection, it is developing rapidly in different industries such as woodworking, textile, automobile and electronics.

EVONIK, as the pioneer of PUR technique, designed the product group as a "building block system" based on our countless experiments and the analysis of the market requests & applications. The "building block system" is divided into three series, Dynacoll^® 7100, Dynacoll^® 7200 and Dynacoll^® 7300. Most Dynacoll^® 7000 polyester-polyols are compatible with each other. By the different characteristics of the three series, you can easily get a precise formulation of reactive PUR hot melts for different applications with low application temperatures and high heat resistance. At the same time, we also developed a series of polymer polyester-polyols and acrylic resins for some special needs. By using Evonik products, you can easily cope with various application occasions and enjoy the fun of "building blocks" at the same time.

As a global leader in PUR raw materials industry, Evonik not only focuses on the improvement of product performance, but also on the sustainable development of resources and the protection of global environment. Therefore, Evonik has developed the TERRA series based on bio-derived materials. Compared to conventional petrochemical-based polyester polyols, the carbon footprint is reduced up to approximately 60% by using renewable resource, which leads to a reduction in global warming because less greenhouse gases are released.

In addition, Evonik has never stopped in innovation and research in PUR. In 2019, Evonik launched “2C PUR” resin and its corresponding related applications, which has better performance and wider application range compared with conventional PUR system. In terms of further reducing the VOC content of PUR, Evonik has also achieved excellent results. According to the test of German automobile regulation VDA278, the VOC emission of Evonik's innovative products is far lower than the existing automobile industry standards.

Therefore, the comprehensive and diversified product system of Evonik polyester and polyol is the basis for our leading position in PUR field. Meanwhile, continuous innovation and development is also the guarantee for Evonik to maintain its leading position in the future.

CATIA: Odor has always been a growing concern in the sanitary and automotive industries. How does Evonik think of the odor problem? What are your related products or solutions to confront this problem?

Xu Hang: Odor is always an important topic in adhesive industry. In recent years, as consumers pay more and more attention to environmental protection and health, smell has become rather vital. In almost every application, smell leads consumers to question the quality of the material. In disposable sanitary products, mattresses, automobiles and other applications, consumers are particularly sensitive to odor. Most consumers will associate odor with chemical toxicity and believe that odor will be harmful to health.

On one hand, Evonik makes great efforts in reducing the smell of our own products as much as possible, or making our products with relatively friendly smell, so as to solve the smell problem of terminal products. On the other hand, we work closely with Chinese adhesive experts and associations to help Chinese consumers understand and distinguish odors and harmful gases correctly and rationally. In fact, VOC, odors and harmful gases are different things which should not be mixed up.

In order to help customers to better meet the requirement on low odor products, Evonik and the German research institution cooperated and tested VESTOPLAST^® scent. The research institute conducted numerous specific tests on different brands to determine which of the different components of the polymer might be the source of the odor. The result is clear: VESTOPLAST^® products contain limited amount of odor. In addition, polymers are rarely used alone as adhesives. So raw material in the formulation needs to be carefully screened and evaluated to control the odor source. Even if the polymer does not have an odor, the tackifier or antioxidant in the formulation may produce an odor. Most of the time, only a small part of the formulation is the source of the adhesive odor. Our technical team continuously studies odor problems to deepen our understanding of odors, and to help our customers achieve better solutions.

According to the German car regulations VDA270, we tested VESTOPLAST^® under different temperature and conditions. The result remains the same: VESTOPLAST^® products contain low odor. Of course we want to be even better. Based on our existing products, we have developed products VESTOPLAST^® EP 2103 and 2094 to meet the further request on smell.

CATIA: As a new type of environmental friendly material, hot melt adhesive has attracted so much attention in China's adhesive industry. What are the future innovation and development strategies of Evonik in the application of hot melt adhesive?

Xu Hang: Innovation is in the core of our strategies. The company has about 2,800 R&D employees worldwide. They constantly provide innovative solutions and develop new products to fulfill the customer needs. At present, about 10% of our sales come from new products and applications developed within the past five years. Our goal is to increase that to 16% in the medium term.

In recent years, Evonik has continuously introduced new products in the global adhesive market, such as VESTOPLAST^® EP V2094, Dynacoll^® Terra biodegradable polyester resin for reactive polyurethane hot melt adhesive, as well as a new innovative two-component polyurethane hot melt adhesive resin. This resin can replace the liquid polyurethane adhesive and meet the demand of high cohesion and elasticity for the temperature change of different materials during the bonding process of light weight automobile. The two-component polyurethane hot melt adhesive by using a new type of linear and branched DYNACOLL^® polyester polyol for physical before chemical crosslinking adhesive, can shorten the cycle and improve the production efficiency of car assembly. With an open attitude, we are willing to work together with customers to develop tailor-made innovative products for their specific needs.

CATIA: Evonik has been very successful in business localization of China. Please share with us how your R&D team in Shanghai can help small and medium-sized enterprises in China's adhesive industry to upgrade their technology?

Xu Hang: As an international chemical company, Evonik has entered the Chinese market for a long time. We position ourselves as a member of the adhesive industry in China and aim to build a real local team from the start. Only by truly understanding the actual needs of the local market and the local customers, can we better serve the Chinese market and gain trust from the local customers, so as to achieve win-win situation in the long run. In this process, we have received strong support from the association and our customers. As a leading raw material supplier, we would like to contribute more to the further development of China's adhesive industry in the coming years.

Our technical laboratory in Shanghai adopts the global high standard of Evonik, and our testing methods and standards are strictly in line with the German headquarters. We always adopt an open attitude. On one hand, we invite Chinese adhesive enterprises to visit the Shanghai laboratory for technical exchange and communication. On the other hand, we also arrange international technical and marketing experts to visit China regularly to share best practice and industrial updates. Moreover, our newly developed products will be launched simultaneously in Europe, the United States and China, with relevant training and sample testing provided. We look forward to cooperating with more Chinese customers and realize common development hand in hand!

CATIA: As an internationally renowned raw material supplier, could you help us analyze the existing problems and future development trends of the hot melt adhesive market in China from the perspective of raw material supplier?

Xu Hang: China hot melt adhesive has developed rapidly in recent years. It not only possesses a rapid growth and benign growth trend regarding production capacity and output, but also outstands in product growth, performance improvement and knowledge innovation. Our market is still in the ascendant stage of sound development. Our development is in line with the market trend, in line with national policies and regulations and future development plans. In this context, we have every reason to foresee an extremely promising future for the industry. As the Chinese government continues to promote environmental protection and green life, it brings hot melt adhesive enterprises more opportunities, while also putting forward higher requirements.

In the past years, the industry is also facing many challenges, especially considering the great fluctuation of upstream raw materials, rising raw material prices, supply conditions change constantly, emerging trade protectionism, risky exchange rate, more intense competition... How to stay competitive remains a common and vital issue for all hot melt adhesive enterprises and raw material suppliers.

We highly appreciate the theme of this year’s Forum. To ensure sustained success in the market, it requires our continuous efforts in self-renew and delivering cutting-edge products and solutions.