Merck

CORPORATE

Merck launches with Meoxal® a new generation of effect pigments for the Auto Sector in India

·           Saturated colours with extraordinary brilliance

·        Meoxal® Wahiba Orange is the first pigment in the new product family

After Iriodin® in the 1980s and Xirallic® in the 1990s, Merck has now added another innovative family of effect pigments to its portfolio. The new Meoxal® effect pigments captivate with their brilliant colour saturation and exceptional performance thanks to their innovative layer technology and the use of aluminium flakes as substrate. Meoxal® is highly suitable for a multitude of high performance applications, especially for automotive and plastic coatings.

As a pioneer in the effect pigments, Merck has always been at the forefront of advanced technology and the latest in global trends. Taking its commitment forward, Merck created Meoxal® giving customers an opportunity to witness and experience the latest innovations in the world of automotive interiors and design. 

One of the first pigments under the new brand name, Meoxal®, is Wahiba Orange; named after the famous Wahiba Sands, a one-of-a-kind desert region in the sultanate of Oman. Inspired by the timeless, fascinating beauty of this desert, it adds saturated red, orange and brown tones to the styling spectrum.

Like all pigments in the new product series, Meoxal® Wahiba Orange has a specially treated surface. Thanks to this special CWT (“Carbitol and Weather Treatment”) surface treatment; Meoxal® Wahiba Orange is highly suitable for innumerable high performance applications – especially for automotive and plastic coatings as well as for other demanding exterior applications. Using the new pigment in waterborne coating systems is particularly straightforward because no additional passivation is needed.

Meoxal® is a result of continuous research to develop new pigment technologies at Merck. The effect pigments are a combination of well-known substrate layering with metal oxides, new flake technology and innovative, patented intermediate layering know-how. This structure gives Meoxal® especially striking saturation and brilliance combined with excellent performance.

Its properties at a glance

•   Enormous brilliance with outstanding colour saturation

•   Elegant sparkle effects of individual particles

•   Optimized particle size distribution for coating applications

•   Outstanding performance, particularly in waterborne coating systems

•   Easy to use – no additional passivation necessary in waterborne coating systems

•   Good shelf life

Speaking about the new launch, Siddhartha Sengupta, Regional Sales Director Asia (Decoratives) said, “With Meoxal®, we are setting a further milestone in pigment technology. This range will enable us to continue to support our customers in the development of new and innovative coatings. Wahiba Orange is the first in this range that we are bringing to India and we are confident that it will be well received by the auto and plastic coatings industry.”

About Merck

Merck is a leading pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company with total revenues of EUR 11.2 billion in 2012, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approximately 38,000 employees in 66 countries.  Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees.  Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%.  In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

Merck in India The Merck Group has been operating in India since a little before the turn of the twentieth century. Merck Limited (formerly E. Merck Limited) was set up in India as the first Merck subsidiary in Asia in 1967. The Company operates both its Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals businesses in the country. Merck was also the first Merck Group Company to go public in the year 1981. The Merck Group now holds 51.8% of the share capital in Merck Limited, while the remaining 48.2% is traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.

Following the acquisition of Millipore, a leading life science company in USA, in 2010; the resulting entity, Merck Millipore is now a leader in the field of life sciences. Prior to that, in 2009, Merck acquired Bangalore Genei to become one of the leading bioscience entities in India.  Merck, through its manufacturing facility at Goa, is the only manufacturer of Guaiazulene, Thiamine Disulfide (TDS) and Oxynex ST, in addition to being the largest manufacturer of Vitamin E in India. Merck in India also produces injectables and soft gel capsules; its Dehydrated Culture Media plant is the first for Merck outside Germany.  (For more details, please visit www.merck.co.in)

About Performance Materials

Merck’s Performance Materials division offers highly innovative materials, advanced technologies, and high-tech chemicals to clients in the consumer electronics, lighting, printing, plastics, and cosmetics industries. Our market leader products include liquid crystals for LCD displays, new lighting technologies, and functional and effect pigments.

Effect pigments from Merck: Merck is one of the world’s leading suppliers of effect pigments for the coatings, plastics, printing, cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Effect pigments underscore the emotional impact of colour and are an important design element when creating surfaces with a special appearance or quality. Application possibilities range from cars to packaging and high-tech products up to building facades. In addition to decorative effect pigments, Merck offers pigments that also have functional applications such as heat-reflecting or anti-counterfeiting pigments.

[Note: Merck KGaA or Merck shall mean Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.]