COTEC™ GmbH and CADIS Engineering GmbH Jointly Develop Hydrophobic Coating Printer for Auto Displays

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: HASHIMOTO Osamu) today announced that COTEC™ GmbH (Managing Director: Alexander BRAND), a German subsidiary of U.S.-based group company SDC Technologies, Inc. (President & CEO: Richard CHANG), have developed a digital printer for innovative hydrophobic-coated automotive displays in partnership with fellow German company CADIS Engineering GmbH (CEOs: Rainer KöTZER / Markus GERSDORFF).

Used in ophthalmic lenses, among others, COTEC’s ultra hydrophobic coatings not only offer outstanding water repellency, but also helps to keep the　clear views and easy-to-clean, as fingerprints, sebum and dirt can easily be wiped off the coated surface. The new printer combines COTEC’s ultra hydrophobic coating technology with CADIS’s digital printing machine expertise. The result is a groundbreaking technology that allows continuous production of hydrophobic coatings for automotive displays in a normal pressure environment, as opposed to the current method based on batch production using a vacuum evaporator.

With demonstrations at a leading European automaker supplier completed in the third quarter of 2023, the plan going forward is to speed up initiatives aimed at the printer’s full-scale adoption.

As a leading manufacturer of ophthalmic lens materials, Mitsui Chemicals provides lens manufacturers worldwide with a variety of refractive indices and properties, including the MR™ series high-refractive index lens materials. Mitsui Chemicals has intensified its position in the field of coating materials essential for ophthalmic lens, following several key acquisitions including SDC Technologies in 2008, and SDC’s acquisitions including FSI Coating Technologies permanent anti-fogging coating materials; acquired to the group in 2010; UV-curable hard coatings material producer, LTI Coating Technologies acquired in 2014 and fully integrated into SDC in 2017; and hydrophobic and anti-reflective coating expert COTEC™ GmbH acquired in 2020; and then Coburn Technologies, which develops, manufactures and sells ophthalmic lens processing equipment, in 2022. Together these complementary technologies provide a complete end-to-end solution of products that contribute to the long-life and high functionality of ophthalmic lenses. Together these complementary technologies provide a complete end-to-end solution of products that contribute to the long-life and high functionality of ophthalmic lenses. And also, Mitsui Chemicals intends to leverage the collective coating material technology and know-how cultivated by these group of companies in an effort to provide new value and sustainable products to the automotive, construction, optical instruments and medical care fields, among others.

Reference

SDC news release: SDC's subsidiary COTEC™ Hydrophobic Printer (sdctech.com)

Established in 1986, SDC is focused on the Manufacture, sale and research of hard coatings, anti-fog coatings and coating equipment. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals in 2008.

Established in 1997. The company’s main areas of business are the manufacture, sale and research of ultra hydrophobic and anti-reflective coatings and process technology. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of SDC in 2020.

Established in 2016. The company manufactures and sells industrial inkjet systems for the automotive, packaging, and pharmaceutical sectors, among others. It also develops, manufactures, and sells special machinery for inkjet printing and digital printing equipment.

COTEC™ is a registered trademark of COTEC GmbH.

MR™ Series is a trademark of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.