Akemi (company)
| Akemi
|
|
|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1933 |
| Seat |
Nuremberg , Germany
|
| management |
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| Number of employees | 250 (2019) |
| Branch | Chemical industry |
| Website | www.akemi.de |
The Akemi GmbH (proper spelling AKEMI ) is a global company in the chemical industry , headquartered in Nuremberg , which focussed on the production of two-component adhesive systems has. The chemical-technical special factory produces adhesives, putties as well as cleaning and care products for the natural stone industry as well as leveling and repair compounds, sealants, protective coatings, lacquers and products for preparation and care for the automotive industry.
Akemi products are manufactured at two locations in Germany in Nuremberg and Wiehl as well as at five other locations abroad. They are located in Atlanta in the USA, São Paulo in Brazil, Tuzla a suburb of İstanbul in Turkey, Bangalore and Delhi in India and Beijing in China. According to the company (2019), Akemi products are sold in more than 100 countries.
The brand name Akemi was included as a lemma in the only German-language natural stone dictionary due to its importance for the natural stone industry .
In a representative study carried out in 2018, 95% of the companies surveyed in the natural stone industry stated that Akemi was the innovation leader for two-component adhesive systems.
Company name
The company was founded in 1933 with the company name Akema. This name is said to go back to the daughter of the Japanese consul in Berlin at the time. In order to avoid confusion with the trade fair for chemical engineering, environmental protection and biotechnology Achema , the founder Erich Höntsch renamed it Akemi in 1952.
The name Akemi is protected by trademark law and enjoys great recognition in the global natural stone industry: "On account of there excellent quality and highly specialized assortment, the trade name AKEMI has become synonymuous for stone adhesive" ( German : "The brand name AKEMI is due to its excellent quality and its highly specialized range synonymous with stone glue ”).
Company history
Erich Höntsch founded Akema in 1933. He was a businessman in Dresden who dealt with chemistry in his free time and ran a laboratory in his parents' garden house. There he developed a putty in powder form with which animal hair could be glued into shaving brushes by adding water. This made him famous and built a company in Dresden that also supplied the shoe and electronics industries with adhesive products.
After the war ended in 1945, Höntsch fled to Hanover and then went to Nuremberg , where he produced adhesives from 1948. In 1949 the company moved to a former joinery. In 1952, he brought the first polyester- based adhesive to the natural stone market under the name Stone and Marble Putty Universal . In order to satisfy the steadily increasing demand for the products at home and abroad, he built up a sales network and expanded the range of his putty and adhesive systems. He brought out a new adhesive system based on epoxy resin , which was initially used for natural stone and later also for automobiles. After Erich Höntsch's death in 1970, his widow Angelika Höntsch took over the business. In 1972 the company was able to move into new buildings. Ms. Höntsch continued to run the business until 1996, and later the business graduate Torsten Hamann took over.
Torsten Hamann expanded the company's area to 12,000 m², expanded the product range and organized production, shipping and logistics. He took the incipient globalization into account and founded production facilities and sales abroad.
In October 2001, his son Dirk C. Hamann, who has a doctorate in law, joined Akemi's management.
Economic data
The company generates around 60% of sales in the natural stone industry and 40% in the automotive industry. Akemi employs around 250 people worldwide, 100 of them at its headquarters. The company invests 10% of its sales in research.
Gluing and putty systems
The name of the adhesives and stone putty usually refers to the chemical components, for example epoxy resin adhesive, and to the application, for example marble putty. With the adhesives, workpieces made of natural stone and quartz composite as well as other materials can be firmly connected, pores or imperfections in natural stone products are filled with putty. In the natural stone industry, the most commonly used adhesive systems are based on epoxy resins (EP resins) and unsaturated polyester resins (UP resins) and acrylic resins , methacrylate resins and polyurethane systems (PUR resins). But there are also products that combine two resins, such as epoxy acrylates. There are corresponding accessories for the adhesives and putties, such as numerous natural stone paints, cartridges, mixing nozzles, etc. For the automotive industry, fillers based on polyurethane and epoxy resins are primarily produced.
Polyester glue and putty
In 1952 Akemi brought out the first two-component stone adhesive and putty system based on UP resins, called Stone and Marble Putty Universal , which was mainly used in construction. This Akemi adhesive system was ideal for the processors, because it did not matter whether something was to be repaired with this adhesive on horizontal surfaces or vertical surfaces had to be filled. In addition, the adhesive could be adjusted to the color and texture of the stone materials when mixed. The adhesive hardens quickly and can be polished. The adhesive force was significantly greater than with the systems previously used. The outdated adhesive technology has been completely replaced. The polyester stone adhesives or stone putties react and harden with the addition of a hardener and can be processed in a temperature range of + 5 ° C to + 30 ° C. The advantage of the polyester connection is the fast curing, the disadvantage is the moisture sensitivity of the adhesive connection. Since 1983 there have also been one-component systems that harden within a few seconds using UV lamps . In the natural stone industry, these systems are mainly used in grinding lines, where mainly small imperfections are cemented.
Glues and putties are also used in the automotive industry. Akemi first launched them in 1954 as fillers and primers.
Epoxy resin adhesives and putties
The epoxy adhesive systems are used both in the natural stone and in the automotive industry. In the natural stone industry, these products have replaced the only slightly weather-resistant polyester systems. They are able to withstand attacks from many acids and bases . The Akemi product family Akepox was created. Akemi developed stone adhesives based on epoxy resin , the adhesive bonds of which are high-strength and weather-resistant. Due to the reaction mechanism, these two-component adhesives must be mixed in an exact ratio depending on the application. The application therefore requires a certain technical know-how with regard to the mixing ratios, temperatures and occupational safety. Epoxy resin adhesives have the highest adhesive strength among natural stone adhesives, but are relatively slow to harden.
Another application is the surface treatment of cracked and porous natural stones with thin, transparent epoxy resin in the so-called resin process ( according to resina = resin ). This now also made it possible to deeply glue and fill cracked and porous stone slabs by applying epoxy resin, which otherwise could not be used economically. This is also of ecological importance. The industrial processes require the consideration of numerous factors such as temperature, viscosity , mixing ratio of the components and occupational safety measures , etc.
Epoxy resin systems are also used in stone restoration. Quartz grains are mixed with epoxy resin, colored and modeled on missing parts of historically valuable ornamentation and sculptures .
In 2003 Akemi brought out an epoxy resin filler for anti-slip strips, which can be used on stairs and floor coverings made of natural stone and artificial stone .
Epoxy acrylate adhesive
Adhesives based on epoxy acrylate are an alternative to polyester adhesives and putties, because they cure very quickly, have a low inherent color and are suitable for use in the food sector after curing. Because of these properties, they are used inside buildings for bonding natural and artificial stones as well as large-area ceramic tiles , for example for kitchen worktops , bathrooms and toilets. Visible joints can be largely avoided with color-matched or already colored products. These adhesives have high adhesive strength, quick surface drying and further processing.
Acrylic resin adhesive
Adhesives based on acrylic resins have similar areas of application as adhesives and putties based on polyester resin and epoxy acrylate. They are particularly suitable for bonding solid surface material . This is a material that has a granite-like grain structure and can be used, for example, in aircraft construction or for kitchen worktops due to its low weight. A weak point is the very strong odor nuisance when applying this adhesive.
Polyurethane resin adhesive
Special polyurethane resin adhesives distinguish themselves from other reaction resin adhesives in that they are particularly resistant to yellowing. Akemi developed such adhesives and has been offering them since 2014 for permanent bonding of particularly light-colored natural and artificial stones. They are also suitable for grouting stone surfaces. This glue can be used both inside and outside of buildings.
Other products
Silicones
One-component silicones are mainly used as binders for sealants and require moisture from the air to harden . Acetic acid or ethanol is released during the hardening process. Akemi offers specially formulated silicones for natural stone and guarantees that no discoloration occurs. These silicones are permanently elastic and therefore suitable for use in construction.
Cleaning, protection and care
Akemi has been offering natural stone and artificial stone as well as cleaning and care products for automobiles since 1984. The cleaners for natural stone are acidic , neutral , alkaline or contain solvents . The protective agents are mainly based on silicone compounds or modified polymers . These products do not form any surface layers, but penetrate the stone substance and produce a strong water-repellent effect and an additional oil-repellent effect. The stone surfaces are thus protected against dirt, which is particularly important for kitchen countertops.
Automobiles
The entire Akemi-car product range is designed for both in technerischer and in qualitative terms for professional users such as for car paint shops , auto repair shops , car valeting , classic car restorers and coachbuilder . The product range includes repairs to the car, underbody , exhaust systems and windshields .
Two-component PUR primer for fillers and clear coats
Since the beginning of 2000 Akemi has been producing primers , fillers and clear coats based on polyurethane, which are mainly used in professional car paint repairs . They are also suitable for repairing small and medium-sized paintwork damage. This process is called spot repair ; it is not suitable for colored paints. The two-component fabrics are, however, compatible with commercially available colored paints from other manufacturers.
Products for the industry
In an in-house laboratory, epoxy joints in the food sector can be developed and manufactured according to requirements for major industrial customers in the automotive, rail, aviation and aircraft industries, container construction, furniture construction, wood and designer furniture. This also applies to the adaptation of orthopedic products in prosthesis construction.
Buildings
Akemi products have been used in numerous modern and historical structures.
- Buildings where Akemi products have been used (selection)
Temple of Abu Simbel in Egypt: The temples were dismantled and rebuilt using polyester adhesives and putties from Akemi
Abbasi Hotel in Iran: floors, stairs and facades were treated by Akemi
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain: Restoration work with epoxy resin bonding of limestone and steel was carried out
Delhi Airport in India: 25,000 m² of flooring was treated with stone cleaners and stain protection products from Akemi
Museum aan de Stroom in Belgium: Numerous suspended natural stone panels were firmly bonded to each other on the reveals with Akemi adhesives
Natural stone fairs
Due to the spread of Akemi's products, the medium-sized company is represented at trade fairs such as the National Stone + tec in Nuremberg and at other international trade fairs, for example the Marmormacc in Verona or the Xiamen International Stone Fair in Xiamen in China.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b trade fair highlight. Special show technology & chemistry. In: natural stone. 5/2015, p. 49.
- ↑ Heavily invested. In: natural stone . 2/2019, p. 12.
- ^ Albrecht Germann, Ralf Kownatzki, Günther Mehling: Natural stone lexicon. Callwey Verlag , Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7667-1555-0 , p. 11.
- ^ Die Familienunternehmer eV (ed.): Akemi. Global innovation leader in the field of natural stone chemistry (PDf) In: Wir Familien Unternehmer. In the metropolitan region of Nuremberg. Issue 11/2018, p. 4.
- ↑ a b c 75 years of AKEMI. Chemistry out of passion. In: natural stone. 04/2008, p. 85.
- ↑ By Means of Innovation and Quality always one step ahead. In: India Stones Magazine. January 2008, p. 22. (English)
- ↑ a b It started in the garden shed. In: Tiles & Slabs. 06/2008, p. 48.
- ↑ Trade fair highlight. Special show technology & chemistry. In: natural stone. 5/2015, p. 49.
- ↑ a b Horst Palau: Plastics for the processing and assembly of natural stone. Repair, resin and glue. In: natural stone. 7/2008, pp. 2/3.
- ↑ Horst Palau: Plastics for the processing and assembly of natural stone. Repair, resin and glue. P. 3/4. In: natural stone. 7/2008, p. 3/4.
- ↑ Jonas Pomakis: Resin can help. In: stone. 6/2010, p. 3/4. ISSN 0940-6905
- ↑ Michael Berude: stone restoration and historic preservation. In: Steinmetzpraxis: The manual for daily work with natural stone. Ed. Education center for the stonemason and sculpture trade Königslutter. 2nd, revised edition. Ebner Verlag, Ulm 1994, ISBN 3-87188-138-4 , p. 428.
- ↑ Ioannis Pomakis: Seguridad antilizante en suelos resbaladizos / Non-Slip safty on slipery parquet. In: Litos. 1/2017, pp. 50–54. ISSN M-13756-1992. (spanish / english)
- ↑ Chemical slip protection for natural stone floor coverings. In: natural stone. 8/2008. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ↑ Natural stone requires individual solutions. In: natural stone. 4/2008, p. 32.
- ^ Industry , on Akemi. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ′ 33.9 " N , 11 ° 3 ′ 45.1" E