GREEN TRENDS IN RESIN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Soybean, flaxseed and castor oil are typical representatives of green raw materials that have been used in Helios’ resin production since the very beginning. However, in the past decades, the share of such raw materials has drastically decreased at the expense of using oil-based raw materials, which are recognized for their better quality.

In the recent years, customer requirements, legislation and sustainability trends have again called for an increase in the share of sustainable raw materials. At the same time, there is a demand on the market for equal or even better-quality products, which normally cannot be achieved only by using classic oils.

The largest shift we have achieved in the recent years was increasing the share of water-based resins and high-solid resins, thereby significantly reducing volatile organic solvent emissions. In addition, saturated polyester resins are successfully replacing epoxy resins in can coatings, which enables the use of BPA-free coatings in the food industry.

As part of new development activities, we are introducing several new bio-based resins for a wide variety of applications. We are actively participating in Slovenian and European initiatives and projects with the aim of supporting internal development projects with the findings of established research institutions.

Close cooperation with our suppliers allows us to meet their requirements of quality as well as the price. Many new customers, especially from the markets of Northern and Central Europe, have shown interest in our environmentally friendlier products and development activities, which gives us additional encouragement in pursuing our green activities.