General Motors Corp. (GM) and Henkel have joined forces to launch the first global, full-production trial of Henkel's new conversion coating process, TecTalis, at GM's manufacturing facility in Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil. Henkel's TecTalis conversion coating process reportedly is the automotive industry's first nonphosphate conversion coating for multimetal bodies. This technology is projected to cut GM's process costs and improve efficiency of the vehicle assembly pretreatment operation while reducing the environmental impact.

"Our decision to implement this leading-edge technology globally reinforces our commitment to innovation and customer value," said Kevin Cunningham, lead, Global Process Pretreatment, General Motors Corp. "It allows us to streamline our production while providing an environmentally sustainable manufacturing process. Lowering overall costs by conserving energy, reducing water use and minimizing process byproducts is clearly an important part of our global vision."

In contrast to similar products in the marketplace, the TecTalis conversion coating completely eliminates phosphates, along with heavy metals such as nickel and manganese from the process. It also eliminates the need for expensive filtration equipment and processes at the manufacturing facility. In addition, this coating is free of any VOC and CO2 equivalent emissions resulting in minimal environmental impact. TecTalis is applied at room temperature, further reducing utility and natural resource requirements. With this coating, the pretreatment footprint can be reduced in a Brownfield site and anywhere from 20 to 40% in a new Greenfield operation.

For more information, visit www.henkelna.com.