replace traditi on al two-layer systems comprising primer an d topcoat with a on e-layer "direct-to -metal" appli cation of Int ercure® 99.

The en vironment also benefits from th e absence of coati ng layers. "The VOC con ten t of a two-layer system with an lntercure® 99 topcoat is abo ut 40 percent lower th an with a

com parab le three-layer sys­tem," says Gilhooley. Coatings based on polyaspartics thus help to solve the problem of incr easingly strict VOC (vola tile organ ic compound) guidelines. "Combined with a low-viscosity polyureth an e curing agent from the Desmodu r® N range , polyas­parties allow the formulation of ultra-high-solid coatings with a low VOC content which more

than meet the cunent statutory requirements," says BMS expert Baker happily. Excellent productivit y and good envi ronmental com patibi lity are decisive facto rs for enabling coating systems to achieve success in the market for ap­plications such as wind farms, silos and cran es. However, as a polyaspartic system, lntercure® 99 possesses a furthe r character-

PDA Europe Annual Conference "Taking Polyurea to th e Next Level": Comparing the first conference in Brussels (2007) to the 2nd conference in Vienna (he ld from November 18 - 20, 2008), this conference slogan is certainly a good fit. Being a bon vivan t an d a smo ker too (and there seems to be a lot in th e polyurea industry), you felt like you were in paradise. Excepting minor mish aps resul tin g from a somewhat turbulent evening event and very wind y weather dur ing the visit to the zoo, th e 2nd PDA Euro pe conference was a success.

In contrast to reports com ing th rough the gossip lin e, th e enclosures for elephants and rh inos, which were spray-coated with po lyurea several years

On November 21,2008, WET Wassertechnik GmbH he ld

a Polyurea Information Day for archi tects, project planners und owners in the Congress Center in Villach / Austria. Th e lim ited success of Polyurea in Europe as compa red to North America and Asia is due at least in part to the nu mero us regulations and lack of knowledge abo ut th is material prevalent in th e cons­tru ction sector. Norb ert Horner of WET Wassertechnik GmbH has decla red that it is his goal to change this situation and to achieve acceptance of polyurea as a construction ma terial by holding informat ion seminars for architec ts and construction autho rities.

ago (as report ed on last year in FAPU), were seen to be in good sha pe. In addition, the floor condition s in th e rhino house gave a good impression of wha t is actu ally mea nt by the term "chemical resistan ce".

Special praise goes out to Dana Popp of PDA Euro pe who was in charge of organ ization - positive feedb ack on her work was heard from all sides. The quality of the presenta­tions left nothing to be desired altho ugh opinio ns were heard th at even more appli cat ion reports by users would be desir­able.

With regard to the two presenta­tions conce rn ing polyaspa rtic coa tings by Bayer Materi-

Among th ose holding presenta­tions were Lee un d Kelin Bower and Dudley J. Primea ux II, who were ceremo nio usly greeted by Villach city mayor Harald Sobe. The 30 seminar parti cipants from various Cen tral Euro­pean countries were provided a wealth of informat ion on poly­urea including its development (First fabrication by the U.S. firm Hill & Walker, first patent in 1970, first ind ustr ial appli ca­tions in 1988) and carrying on

alScience, the question arose as to whethe r or no t adhesion (spe­cifically to hardened steel, cop ­per and alumin ium ) is possibl e without priming. Preliminary development work h as started here and th e parties involved are optimistic th at th ey will be able to present initi al positive result s in rough ly 3 mon th s.

The last day of the conference also mark ed th e last day of th e 2-year PDA Euro pe presiden­tial term of Marc Broekaert of Huntsman Polyurethanes . His successor, the first president in the ne w m odu s of 1 year terms, is Bernd Dietz of Rema Tip Top GmbH.

New President-elect is Karl H. Wiih rer, Bayer MaterialScience.

istic which makes it exception­ally attractive not just for the Bayer media facade bu t also for other repre sentat ive buildings such as stadiums, ba nk head­qu art ers, mu seums and airports: its high colorfastness and gloss reten tion. Thi s property ensures a highly esthetically pleasing ap­pearance which can withs tand th e ravages of time for ma ny years .

List of Board Members for the next 2 years: Teodor du Marteau, Sinitalia Marc Moerman (also elected trea­surer), Albemarl e Eliezer Niesenswieg, MMSL Gebhard Rauter, FastSetPowerUnits Stephan Rindfleisch, Graco

Some more information aside: APolyurea Spray Course is planned for March 2009. More information will be available in our next issue or visit website www.pda-europe.org. The next PDA Europe Annual Conference will take place 3rd week of November 2009 (more details are available in our event calendar). Market information Italy: Italy is on of the largest polyurea processing countries. With around 12-15ap­plicators, the yearly consumption is round about 800 tons per year.

1st Polyurea Information Day for Architects

through to tod ay's state of the art. An importan t point made clear to the part icipants was th at polyurea is by no means an un tried material but in fact has a track record of use spann ing 20 years. Reasons for polyu rea's success in residence constructio n were illustrated in a presenta tio n on th e "Euro-Cube" given by th e project architect, Peter Scherzer of Sch erzer-Vallent Architects. This residential expa nsio n

project (see report in FA PU Issue 50 ofJuly 2008) was the first of its kind carried out in Euro pe. The planne r, system supplier and superv isor for the project was Hercules GmbH of Villach / Austria.

Job Profile: A priva te hom e owne r in Vil­lach , Aust ria was lookin g to expa nd his h ome. The pro blem ; he lived in a crowded City center, in a town

i

have an idea how to renovate myoid bathroom. Keeping the fact in mind that an owner who can afford an architect would hardly use cheap tiles from a D-I-Y market, the price of the system is absolutely within reason." An additional system feature is the bordering of the roof terrace. The GSR® glass­stretching-railing system from the Austrian firm GPP Glass­Project-Partner GmbH provides linear mounting of glass com­posites in fall-prevention appli­cations, e.g. glass balustrades or terrace bordering high up in the air. The glass pane elements are placed in a specially designed mounting frame, aligned and fixed in position. The joints are then filled with an elastic seal­ant compound (polyurea-based of course, in keeping with the project). Time is allowed for cur­ing of the sealant and no further fixing is required. "The Cube" proved a huge suc­cess. It added an additional 150 m- (1600 ft2) of much needed living space and was truly a pioneer project.

5. Spray Equipmentand Fittings for the Spray Polyurea Elastomer Technology

6. - 10.... and everythingelse, which has to be known for a successful and up-to-date Polyurea processing in China

Technical presentationshould not be more than 5,000words, A4, input by Word. Please list the author, working unit, address, postcode, telephone for contact. If the contact personis not the firstauthor, please note that. Oh! I almost forgot - please note patents with respond­ing numbersand date - makeit easier to find - and copy? I did not include the other "requirements of paper" as it wouldexceed the allocated spacein our magazine. I'm sure the organizers willappreciate a good technicaland innovative presentationon Polyurea, even if it doesn't totally fulfil the 8 points of requirements, The bestpresentation will be nominated for an awardduring the conference.

with strict zoning and historical preservation laws. The solu­tion; build a pre-fabricated box off site, coat it with PolyVers 42D, and lift it into place. "The Cube," as it is commonly referred to, was designed to have a minimal foot print, as space is a priority, and set behind and bellow the roofline of the exist­ing building so as not to change the historical city-scape from the street, and to blend into the exiting color of the roof. The floor, walls, and roof were constructed of framing timbers and plywood and lifted into place by a crane on the city street. Once in place, the prefab­ricated panels were secured and attached. The prefabrication of

us:PDA's 10th Annual Conference + Applicator Spray Course Dates PDA is set to commemorate its 10th Anniversary at the 2009Annual Conference, January 20-23 in Albu­querque, New Mexico. So join PDA in Albuquerque to 'Get Your Mixon Route 66!' Also the Polyurea Development Association (PDA) will host three Applicator Spray Courses in 2009 at Polyvers Facility in Houston,Texas.

1. March3-6, 2009 2. May5-8, 2009 3. October6-9,2009

The spraycourseis taught by two of the most respected leaders in the polyurea industry, Dudley Primeaux II and DougCommette. Primeaux and Commettegive you hands-on, applied instruction that can help you become a leaderin the polyurea industry. Theyare veryknowledge­ableand thorough, and the hands­on portion replicates real-world conditions, rather than laboratory conditions.

the project minimized distur­bance to city life and traffic and allowed for a quick construction time. Once assembled, Hercules and Fast Set Power Units primed the cube with Hertex Pox 008 and sprayed with PolyVers 42D using the Gama Evolution G 250 and Master Gun. The 42D was chosen for its UV stability, its ability to maintain color and ap­pearance over time, and its abil­ity to create a seamless, durable, waterproofing membrane that will adhere well to the plywood. The interior floors, including wet areas such as the bathroom, were then coated using the PV 425 PolyAspartic. The PV 425 was chosen for its seamless application, excellent

PDA members receive a discount on the course, howeverthe course is open to anyone in the polyurea industry. Forfurther information as well as the programmfor the 10th annual meeting please visitwww. pda-online.org.

2009 SPUA - China International Exhibition of both Polyurea Spray Technology and Its Application in CALL FOR PAPER After successful foundation of PDA Europe in 2008, Prof. Weibo Huang, memberof Qingdao Technologi­cal University has set himselfthe target to form a polyurea association - PDA China or PDA Asia too. Under his guidancethe Chinese Polyurea market has developed rapidly since 1995. At the PDA Europe Confer­ence in Vienna Prof. Huang has already introducedsome projects for the Olympic game in Beijing 2008. China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges is the host for this conference which is undertaken by Beijing Kaiqi Times Exhibition Service Centerand Bei­

waterproofing abilities, high gloss and attractive finish, and its color and gloss retention abilities. The wall coating was applied not only to the newly constructed surfaces but as well in renova­tion of existing tile walls in the lower floors. In the tour of the building after the presentation, you could hear the wheels turn­ing in people's minds. The price of the system (not low at 60 - 80 EURO / m-) was not seen as a deterrent when looked at in rela­tion to other costs of bathroom renovation such as removal of old tiles, disposal costs for old tiles and debris, new tiles and labor. As an architect there remarked to me, "Now 1finally

jing Huanyalian Exhibition Service Co., Ltd. Despite some previous negative statementsabout this event, a lot of American and European companies have already agreed to join. As described in the heading of the fair, it is still a mystery if it willbe a Bei­jing-, China- or Asian Polyurea fair and conference. Until lanuary 20, 2009it is still possible to submit a paper to the organizing committee, Prof. Huang, email: spua@163.com or Ms. Su, email: qin_su@shcoating. com. Following termsand condi­tions have to be fulfilled:

1. Studyon the Research Focus of the Spray Polyurea Elastomer Technology

2. Evaluation and Direction of the Polyurea Market

3. Investigation Report on the Spray Polyurea Elastomer Technology of Foreign Enterprises - why not Chineseenterprises?

4. Resin, Chain Extender, Pig­ment and Filler, and all kindsof additives for the Spray Polyurea Elastomer Technology