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“Efficiency, resource conservation and digitalization are at the heart of our production activities”
150 years of ECKART: What began as the traditional craft of gold beating has evolved into a global manufacturer of effect pigments. Andreas Gipp, Managing Director of ECKART Europe, explains how the company is responding to challenges such as sustainability, decarbonization and digitalization while simultaneously developing new material concepts.
Which factors have been decisive in shaping ECKART’s development over the past 150 years, and what has remained constant throughout?
Andreas Gipp: Over more than 150 years, ECKART has repeatedly reinvented itself without losing sight of its roots. Step by step, the traditional gold-beating craft in Fürth developed into a world-leading manufacturer of effect pigments and functional materials. Key factors have included the continuous expansion of the portfolio, internationalisation and the consistent development of technological capabilities. Since 1876, we have been advancing materials, opening up new applications and creating solutions that help our customers succeed. What has remained constant is the core of our company: a passion for materials, a commitment to the highest quality and the conviction that innovation must create genuine added value.
The coatings and paints industry is facing a range of challenges at the moment. What do you currently see as the most pressing issues for ECKART, and where do you see the greatest opportunities?
Gipp: Our industry is undergoing profound change. Economic uncertainty, growing sustainability requirements and the decarbonization of industrial processes are major challenges. Moreover, demand in some traditional application areas is growing only moderately. For ECKART these developments also create opportunities. As the most sustainable supplier of effect pigments, we support our customers in combining emission-reduction targets with outstanding technical performance. With the potential to reduce our carbon footprint by up to 80% compared to 2019, we are making a key contribution.
We are globally positioned while remaining firmly rooted in regional markets. With our sites in North America and China and joint venture in India, we are strengthening our presence in key regions. A new state-of-the-art, automated effect-pigment facility in China has increased our production capacity fivefold.
How does ECKART aim to develop in the coming years, and what role will new fields of application, material concepts and production approaches play?
Gipp: Our goal is to further expand our leading position in optical effect pigments while strengthening the field of functional materials. Applications in which metal-based materials provide technical functions and optical properties are particularly relevant, e.g, in corrosion protection, special alloys or additive manufacturing. At the same time, we are working on new materials such as silver-coated products, innovative alloys and pigments with additional functional properties. One example is VERSALAN, our new aluminum pigment range: directly dispersible in water, it reduces the use of solvents, thereby improving production processes.
In general, efficiency, resource conservation and digitalization are at the heart of our production activities. This includes modern manufacturing and coating technologies, more targeted use of energy and raw materials, and the use of digital tools and AI. This way, we are laying the foundation for sustainable, competitive solutions over the long term.
