On September 7, Hexion’s Coatings and Composites segment will be launching a unique online portal called “VeoVa House” (veovahouse.hexion.com). Designed like a contemporary home, it’s an interactive online platform for binders and coatings producers and other potential customers to explore different applications for our VeoVa™ monomers.
Ann Frederix, senior VP, coatings and composites, and Jeroen Jansema, global business unit director and general manager of our Versatics business, discuss what drove construction of the “VeoVa house” and the goals for the new site.
Hexion is a global leader in making today’s homes and buildings safer, more sustainable, and higher performing. One of the reasons is our VeoVa vinyl esters. These monomers are used in a variety of paints, adhesives and other construction materials to improve resistance to water, alkali, UV light and scrubbing. Essentially, VeoVa monomer makes a range of construction products perform better.
The applications for the building products industry are quite extensive, and we wanted a way to highlight them. The virtual VeoVa House, which is located at veovahouse.hexion.com, features call-outs to all of the potential VeoVa construction product uses, as well as data sheets and other customer resources.
We like to think of it as a show home for our VeoVa products – eye-catching, engaging, easy-to-navigate, etc.
Beyond our desire to spotlight the unique characteristics of VeoVa vinyl esters for construction materials, we also wanted to improve our service to customers.
A digital, fully virtual showroom lets us share a wide variety of information at the click of a button. Beyond the self-service features, the site also offers an option to interact with a Hexion technical representative, if desired.
We had both short-term and long-range reasons. Due to the pandemic, we haven’t been able to meet in person with customers at tradeshows and conferences or during scheduled visits. VeoVa vinyl ester-based binders and paints are unique, tailor-made solutions, and our R&D and technical service teams play an important role in helping customers develop and formulate products based on them. The “disconnect” created by COVID drove us to accelerate our digital support offering.
In addition, we know that paint, coating, adhesive and plaster producers are increasingly focused on improving the environmental profile of their products without compromising performance. In fact, they want greater sustainability and market differentiating product benefits at the same time. VeoVa monomers can help them achieve both things, making it uniquely suited for the current market. Our ultimate goal for the VeoVa House is to increase awareness of this.
VeoVa monomers are the vinyl esters of Versatic™ acids and have unique, highly branched aliphatic structures, which contribute to the performance of coatings and adhesives derived from them. VeoVa monomers can be used in a variety of emulsions to improve resistance to water, alkali, UV light, and scrubbing, resulting in coatings, adhesives and other construction materials that are more durable, easier to work with, lower in odor and with a better appearance.
Evolving environmental regulations around the world are placing increasingly strict limits on the emission of VOCs and other hazardous air pollutants from construction products. As a result, paint and coatings manufacturers, for example, are shifting toward regulation-compliant, low-VOC, and waterborne coatings. VeoVa monomer provides enhanced performance properties (hydrophobicity, alkaline resistance, improved adhesion to substrates, outdoor durability, etc) to low or no VOC decorative paints, adhesives and redispersible powder additives used in construction.
