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 A wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Dow Corning Corporation, Dow Corning India has been serving the Indian market for over 30 years with its innovative and proven silicone based solutions. A specialty chemicals company, Dow Corning India’s solutions include integrated combination of materials and services, customised for the Indian market. Involving energy saving solutions, anti-aging solutions, silicones in super-tall building and silicones in automotive headlamps, they run across various sectors like power and energy, automotive, health care and more. In the automotive space, the company offers lubes, greases, anti-friction coatings, adhesives and sealants. The HM-2500 sealant, for example, is a reactive hotmelt silicone sealant that provides instant green strength to increase productivity, improve quality and reduce costs in industrial assembly operations. A neutral care, reactive sealant, the HM-2500 is optimised for use with automated dispensing equipment, and is ideal for uniform application in automotive lamps and similar such applications.
According to David Garner, Sales Manager, India & Middle East (Automotive, Appliance Assembly and Maintenance), Dow Corning, the company offers technology in different areas. “Lubricants under the Molykote brand are supplied to OEMs. We also supply anti-friction coatings, grease and lubes for comfort solutions,” he adds. The Molykote brand of the company includes materials like silicone-based anti-friction coatings and lubes, which reduce friction and improve the durability of chassis and drivetrain systems. While the torque transfer and viscous coupling fluids made by the company address demanding applications in high-torque 4WD systems, performance of brakes is enhanced by using Molykote lube and friction control additives. In automotive electrical systems, the Molykote materials extend the performance life of small electrical motors and devices and boost the integrity of electrical devices. In automotive lighting, the specialty sealants ensure high-temperature sealing and non-fogging.
Pointing at the Molykote range, Garner avers that the company has a right product to offer in NVH, and liquid sealant rubber and silicone rubber solutions to withstand high heat ranges. In the area of cooling and climate control, Molykote greases and lubes find application in cooling fans, fan clutches, HVAC flapper doors, AC compressor pistons and clutches, actuators, water pumps, etc. In automotive interior, the solutions involve anti-friction coatings, adhesives and sealants, which find a place in door and lock systems, sun roof, mirrors, weather seals, wiper systems, restraint systems, multimedia, seating systems, instrument panel systems, trim and accessories like mirror mounts, sun visor and lighting.
Drawing attention towards the use of Dow Corning materials in automotive braking systems and electronics, Garner states that brake, NVH, electronics are areas that bring them to India. He quips, “As I stated earlier, we work with OEMs, tier suppliers. We bring with us a lot of knowledge from outside; from global experience we help our Indian customers to arrive at optimal solutions.” An area where Dow Corning India is keen to penetrate further is two wheelers. A rapidly growing segment of the Indian auto industry, Dow Corning already supplies its range of automotive solutions to the two wheeler industry. It is however looking at newer avenues. Explains David Garner: “Indian market is growing and we are therefore focusing on diverse automotive solutions. Newer areas for use include taking technology ahead in the two wheeler space. Like enabling the design of attractively styled head lamps where we could supply silicone gaskets that allow design independence.” For lamp sealing, the HM-2500 sealant mentioned earlier, offers a good combination of long open time and instant green strength. It also offers aggressive adhesion to PVC, aluminium, painted and treated wood, high performance paints, plastics and various substrates.
Says Mitsuhiro Sakamaki, Strategy Marketing (Body, Brake Chassis & Lighting), Global Automotive Market at Dow Corning Toray Co., “We are involved in airbags – coatings to release airbags and absorb heat.” Air bag sensors consist of many components; synthetic lubricants and fluorinated greases are appropriate to lubricate the inside of this module, which eliminates noise. The Molykote HP-300 and EM-50L finds application in airbags and help in the lubrication of plastics and electrical contact. Apart from airbags and various other automotive areas that Dow Corning is involved in, alternate fuel technology is also the one. Ask Garner and he replies that the company is indeed involved in new alternate fuel technologies. He points at Dow Corning’s participation in the solar photovoltaic sector, applying its expertise in silicon-based materials to improve the cost efficiency, durability and performance of solar modules and photovoltaic devices. The company, via its Hemlock Semiconductor joint venture, is also into the provision of polycrystalline silicon and other silicon-based products used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, and solar cells and modules. Many of these technologies could translate into improving the battery performance in electric and hybrid vehicles. “Voltages are going up – from 20 V to 100 V, to 140 V. We are involved in these,” concludes Garner.
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