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In a major move to strengthen their product base, Amba Lamps Ltd of Banbury, Oxfordshire is now manufacturing short wave IR lamps. Since entering speciality lamp production just three years ago, Amba has grown to be one of Europe's premier speciality lamp producers. More than 60% of the production of all their lamps is exported to countries as far apart as Japan and the USA, Australia and Russia, India and Venezuela. The company confidently predicts that their new IR lamps will follow a similar pattern with about two thirds of the production going overseas.

Water‐borne coatings Increasing use of water‐borne emulsion coatings for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and product finishes is requiring greater efficiency in coalescing‐aid solvents, an Eastman Chemical Co. representative said at a recent Chicago Society for Coatings Technology meeting. Eastman's Ronald K. Litton said emulsions designed for OEM and industrial applications have higher glass transition temperatures than emulsions used in architectural paints. That requires higher levels of coalescing aid to achieve good film formation. As a result, coalescing‐aid efficiency with a given emulsion system is a key factor, both from environmental (lower‐volatile organic compound (VOC)) and economic standpoints. Several properties should be examined when a coalescing aid is selected for water‐borne emulsion industrial coatings. The formulator should consider the evaporation rate and solubility parameter of the coalescing aid, along with its distribution pattern in a specific emulsion system. Those properties are important in defining the efficiency of a coalescing aid in terms of its ability to lower the minimum film‐forming temperature (MFFT) of an emulsion system. The coalescing aids also must be hydrolytically stable to provide minimum loss of efficiency due to ageing, Litton said. He showed several charts designed to assist formulators in the selection of optimum coalescing aids for emulsion systems. At the same conference, James T.K. Woo of The Glidden Co. discussed the grafting of high‐molecular‐weight epoxy resins with styrene‐methacrylic acid monomers, producing a water‐reducible copolymer. Grafting takes place at the aliphatic carbons of the epoxy resin, according to carbon‐13 NMR spectroscopy. The study was a follow‐up to a paper presented 14 years ago. Woo said recent research indicates that five grafting “peaks” were identified on a 400 megacycle carbon‐13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy instrument. The paper provided several theoretical calculation on grafting. Three of the graft peaks resulted from grafting at the secondary methylene carbons ‐CH2‐ and two resulted from grafting at the tertiary carbon ‐CH‐. The ratio of grafting at ‐CH2‐ to ‐CH‐appears to be 2.7:1 — lower than the 4:1 ratio of protons present on the aliphatic carbons that are susceptible to hydrogen abstraction leading to grafting. That indicates that the tertiary hydrogen is somwhat more susceptible to grafting than the methylene hydrogens, he said.

A new high‐gloss HDPE resin is for continuous extrusion blow moulding of personal care, pharmaceutical, and food bottles. The 1.4‐melt‐index, 0.952‐density material is said to offer a good balance of room‐ and low‐temperature impact strength and stiffness. With a 350°F melting point, the product's superior melt strength ensures absence of melt fracture, supplier says.

Finishing Today's Bicycles The name Raleigh is undoubtedly one of the best known in cycling throughout the world and Kemira Coatings are proud to be their leading supplier of liquid surface coatings.

LETTER FROM AMERICA Valspar Unit to Acquire Cargill The Valspar Corp. has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that will allow its subsidiary, McWhorter Inc., to acquire Cargill Inc.'s Resin Products Division.

Powder coating in the car industry. “The future for powder coatings in the car industry is bright”, Chrysler Corporation's Ernie McLaughlin said in the keynote address at the recent Powder Coating '94 in Cincinnati.

Controlling paint production. Paint users are placing higher demands on the manufacturer. All paint producers should now consider data acquisition — and possibly automated paint manufacturing if the volumes of certain products will justify it.

This year marks another important milestone for the Circuit Equipment and Materials Association (CEMA). Plans for the third of our UK shows are entering their final phase as we prepare for the run‐up to CEMEX '94 at the NEC in September. Unlike any other event in this country, CEMEX is the only show dedicated to the manufacture of printed circuit boards and offers a unique opportunity for the industry to study first‐hand all the latest products and services gathered together under one roof.