Body color is an important component of car modeling, but the pure and lasting presentation of color is not easy – in the process of driving and parking, the car body is exposed to ultraviolet light for a long time, and the oxidation of the car paint makes the body gradually yellow, which has brought trouble to many car owners and car paint manufacturers.

Asahi Kasei Fine Chemical (Nantong) Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as “Nantong Asahi Kasei”) has solved the discoloration problem from the source by producing coating curing agent without fear of discoloration through special technology. Vaisala online refractometer PR-23-GP plays an important role in its core process monitoring.

Precision Enabling “core equipment” in complex processes

Founded in November 2005, Nantong Asahi Kasei Co., Ltd. is a foreign enterprise invested by Japan Asahi Kasei Co., Ltd. in Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone. The company mainly produces curing agent for polyurethane coatings, which is one of the important raw materials for automotive coatings and water-based coatings.

In 2021, a “Global Car Color Popularity report” released by a world-renowned paint manufacturer shows that most cars on the road are white, accounting for about 35%, which is one of the most popular colors. The white car is affected by the discoloration of the worst-hit areas, the situation of car paint yellow is widespread.

“Car paints made with our products will remain the same and will not turn yellow no matter how long they are exposed to the sun.” Mr. Yuan, manager of Nantong Xu Chemical Instrument, is very familiar with the characteristics and production process of the product: “But the manufacturing process and process of this product are relatively complex, including Vaisala online refractometer, there are thousands of instruments and equipment.”

Nantong Asahi Kasei follows the cautious style of Japanese enterprises. In order to carry out fine management of equipment, the company classifies the importance of each equipment according to the different importance levels of equipment, which are divided into five grades: A, A, B, C and D. Among them, the number of equipment with the highest level of importance, “special A”, is small, accounting for only about 5 per thousand.

Mr. Yuan said, “Vaisala’s refractometer is used to measure the refractive index during HDI synthesis, monitor the reaction process, and determine the reaction endpoint. After evaluation, the refractometer was determined to be A special Class A equipment and an essential part of our production.”

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Ten years of precision and stability

The synthesis reaction is the core of the production, and the real-time measurement of the refractive index is the key to the quality assurance of the synthesis process, so the accuracy and stability of the online refractometer are very important.

Thanks to the principle of critical Angle light refraction, digital signal processing technology and precisely designed optical core construction, Vaisala on-line refractometers are free from particulate matter, bubbles and color interference, and require no recalibration and mechanical adjustment even when used for a long time under more demanding process conditions.

Since the establishment of Nantong Asu Kasei factory, Vaisala online refractometer PR-23-GP has always maintained good accuracy and stability in more than 10 years of production operations, which left a deep impression on Mr. Yuan: Vaisala refractometer meets our production needs, not only to provide continuous real-time measurement, but also to have the same high accuracy in the laboratory environment.

Timely and reliable

Customer-focused professional services

In the use of products for more than ten years, reliable and professional after-sales service is very important.

“Active tour, timely answer questions, urgent users” is Mr. Yuan to Vaisala and its partners to fully affirm the value-added services. “Vaisala’s account managers are particularly dedicated and professional among suppliers.”

According to reports, Nantong Asahi Kasei’s online refractometer once needed to complete a replacement and upgrade without affecting production, when communication and coordination were complex and the construction period was tight. Vaisala’s account manager actively communicated and coordinated with colleagues and corresponding logistics in various departments at home and abroad, delivered products and spare parts in a shorter time than expected, and successfully debugging in one time, and finally won the recognition of the manager.

Mr. Yuan added, “In addition to their diligence, Vaisala’s account managers also took the initiative to help us consider many details in advance, eliminating hidden dangers for this upgrade and saving time and economic costs to a large extent.”

In 2024, Nantong Asahi Kasei will move to a new factory, and it is believed that the two sides will continue to write a new chapter of win-win cooperation, adding color to the new land and becoming new over time.