The European Association for Surface Treatment on Aluminium (Estal) addressed the topic of "Added Value on Aluminium" at the international congress in Istanbul from 18 to 21 September 2019. Thus, the high-quality, sustainably produced and attractive surface treatment of aluminium represents a clear added value for the viewer. From the influences that the European Commission has established in Europe in its numerous economic and industrial programmes, to new methods, to the sustainable and cost-reducing factors in surface finishing, informed speakers on an international level. Participants took the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and exchange views with experts from all over the world. Its positive properties, lightness and recyclability will make aluminium one of the most sustainable materials of the future, even in the light of global ecological debates. In the 1970s, for example, 75 percent of the vehicle was made of steel, but this proportion has now fallen to 50 percent and is expected to fall to 13 percent by 2030. Steel is being replaced primarily by aluminium.
Demand for high-quality surface refinement
Starting from the fact that aluminium must undergo a surface treatment such as anodisation, coating, laser or decorative treatment in order to offer the properties desired by customers and consumers such as colour, haptics and corrosion resistance, the ever-increasing use of secondary aluminium with a wide range of admixtures presents the industry with new challenges. How exactly the companies in the surface finishing industry can master this challenge in the required quality and meet customer requirements will be the future of science and research together with the European umbrella organisation Estal. The foundations for this were laid at the Estal Congress.
Globalisation and the trade dispute between China and the USA, for example, can have immense consequences. Congresses at European level help to focus attention on global developments and on the essentials: high-quality surface refinement on an equally good aluminium.
Autor(en): Ke
