News
Fluxless laser brazing BIC acquires
US paint
coil coater
AB Wilh. Becker has announced
that its North American subsidi-
ary, Becker Industrial Coatings,
has completed the acquisition
of Specialty Coatings Company,
a manufacturer of industrial
paints and coatings.
Corus, the international
automotive designers created. This is not without
Founded in 1953, Specialty
steel company, has
are substituting steel for problems, as a salt-based
is the leading independent sup-
developed ‘fluxless laser
aluminium for specific flux is more prone to expose
brazing’, a new and robust
plier of liquid coil coatings in
applications, such as the the joint to corrosion.
process for joining steel
bonnet and roof, where The new process removes
the United States and employs
to aluminium during
advantages beyond weight the need to apply a flux
eighty people at two production
automotive production line
reduction (such as weight during the welding process
facilities in Chicago and South-
assembly.
distribution for optimum which, Corus believes,
ern California. Its products are
The new technique has
ride and handling) can be will help to take significant widely used in applications that
been developed at the Corus
achieved.” costs and time out of the use coated steel and coated
RD&T centre in Holland,
Until now, however, manufacturing process. In
aluminium substrates. Before
to support the automotive
welding steel to aluminium addition, removing the salt-
the acquisition, Specialty was
industry’s increasing use of
has been a complicated based flux also removes the
owned by the Neems family.
multi-materials in new car
process and one that potential source of weld
design and manufacture, as a
“Specialty’s strong position in the
poses specific challenges corrosion.
way of reducing weight and
to vehicle manufacturers. The fluxless laser brazing
US market for coil coating products
improving CO
2
emissions.
For example, when the process works by applying
will be of great strategic value to
”Although reducing
two different materials are an aluminium-based filler
Beckers,” said Jenny Lindén Urnes,
weight to improve CO
2

welded together, it results wire to create a weld on the
Chairman and CEO of AB Wilh.
emissions remains one of
in a thick inter-metallic aluminium side of the joint. Becker. “As a leading producer of
the main drivers in the
layer, which can result in a The molten filler metal then coil coating products in Europe,
global automotive industry,
brittle and weak weld joint, ‘wets’ the steel creating a
and with a strong presence in Asia,
the need to lightweight is
clearly not suitable for any ‘brazed joint’ on the steel
Beckers looks forward to building a
balanced against the need
automotive application. side of the weld. Importantly,
platform to develop the coil coating
to keep manufacturing costs
Controlling the heat input tests have shown that this
down,” Corus told ISMR.
business in the United States.”
using laser-based welding new technique creates only
“Thanks to its performance
techniques has been one a very thin inter-metallic
Specialty will become a unit
and cost benefits, there
way of reducing the thickness layer making it possible to
of Becker Industrial Coatings,
is little doubt that steel
of this inter-metallic layer. create joints that are, in some
whose other operations in
will remain the material
However, traditional laser cases, stronger than the base
North America include Becker
of choice for main vehicle
welding methods require materials themselves. Industrial Coatings, Inc., based
body structures in volume
the use of a salt-based • For more details, access in Toronto. AB Wilh. Becker is
car production. However,
flux to enable a joint to be www.corusgroup.com
a global manufacturer and dis-
tributor of paints and coatings.
Trumpf office
TRUMPF has assumed all shares in at its current location in Hengelo Headquartered in Sweden, AB
its long-term Dutch sales partner, and employs about forty people. Wilh. Becker’s business units
opens in
Möller Metaal B. V. The new subsidiary will pool include Becker Industrial Coat-
The new subsidiary will operate the essential market activities of ings, Becker Acroma, ColArt
Netherlands
under the name TRUMPF Neder- the entire TRUMPF Group in the and Becker Powder Coatings.
land B.V. The company is to remain Netherlands. • www.beckers-bic.com
8 March/April 2007 International Sheet Metal Review
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