ITASCA, Ill., Oct. 27, 2020 --- NAGASE Specialty Materials NA LLC (NSM) is proud to announce our partnership with ASAHI KASEI as the authorized distributor for Duranate™ isocyanates for polymerization and cross-linking of high weatherability polyurethanes. NSM’s Technical Account Managers will serve customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Duranate™ is Asahi Kasei’s line of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) based polyisocyanate curing agents. Duranate™ is offered as several types: biuret, trimer with low and extra-low viscosity, multi-functional with fast drying characteristics, blocked with low temperature curing, and adduct which offer high flexibility. Duranate™ provides excellent weatherability and color retention, good chemical and abrasion resistance, as well as good compatibility and drying properties. Suitable applications are coatings for automotive, architectural, industrial and consumer electronics products, adhesives, gravure, offset and screen inks. Duranate™ low viscosity grades are suitable for polyaspartic coatings that enable fast drying and zero or low VOCs.
“NAGASE Group has had a historically deep relationship with Asahi Kasei for Duranate™ sales & marketing in Japan and Asian countries. We know well that Asahi Kasei is an excellent and trustworthy company. We are so excited to have a new partnership with Asahi Kasei here in North America and to provide their innovative products and technologies to our customers” said Toshio Kondo, Director of Asian Business Development.
“We are very pleased to announce this new partnership. Nagase Specialty Materials has great sales & marketing resources, supported by its excellent professionals in the coating industry. We are delighted that this partnership will enable exceptional service with Duranate™’s remarkable technology as an environmentally friendly product to customers,” said Toshio Yamasaki, General Manager of Duranate™ Sales and Marketing, Asahi Kasei, Japan.
About NAGASE Specialty Materials
NAGASE Specialty Materials aims to drive value for market innovators as a leading distributor of specialty chemicals and manufacturer of chemical products. The company serves industries impacting everyday life around the world: textiles; coatings; inks; plastics; packaging; automotive; aerospace; personal care; household, industrial and institutional; pharmaceutical; and electronics. NAGASE Specialty Materials is committed to adding value to customers’ product development and manufacturing processes with extensive resources to fulfill that commitment. For instance, the Itasca Innovation Lab supports R&D and application testing, an expansive supplier network enables unmatched access to materials.
NAGASE Specialty Materials is part of NAGASE Group, a public company with $8 billion in annual revenue. Founded in Kyoto, Japan in 1832 as a specialized purveyor of dyes and chemicals, NAGASE now has 100+ group companies and more than 6,000 team members. Spanning 27 countries and regions, NAGASE connects the world with high-end Japanese technologies.
About Asahi Kasei Group
The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber business, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 40,000 employees around the world, the company contributes to sustainable society by providing solutions to the world’s challenges through its three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Health Care.
###
